Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Put Jason Maughan in the sore loser column.
The Sanibel Island Republican had hoped to unseat Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto in Senate District 27. He failed — receiving 31 percent of the vote to Benacquisto’s 70 percent. But rather than concede gracefully, Maughan took to Facebook to bash Benacquisto, who is expected to play a prominent role in the Florida Senate in the coming years.
“We have accomplished a great turnout in defense of our community. We faced a genuinely bought-and-paid-for bad person in our current state senator, with unlimited money from out of county and fawning cowardly media that refused to interview me even once about the issues and blocked any chance for debate or head to head,” he wrote in his rant, which was first reported by The Capitolist. “This experience has merely shown us the righteousness of this cause and the criminality of current politics that are intentionally destroying our waterways.”
Need more proof he’s a sore loser? Maughan said the only reason Benacquisto received as much support as she did was because he was only in the race for two months.
“Our combined efforts showed over only the last two months (!) delivered a third of the county. She and Big Sugar knows that if we had six months she would have zero votes; I intend to give her that experience,” he wrote. “My team and I sat up last night and drafted a multi-front battle plan to move forward for clean water and real conservative values.”
There’s probably a few other reasons why Benacquisto saw so much success. She’s a popular Lee County lawmaker, and is a friend and ally of Senate President Designate Joe Negron and Majority Leader Bill Galvano, whose mother lives in her district.
And Maughan had another thing working to his disadvantage — his past.
In 1995, he was charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree and malicious mischief in the second degree, both felonies, in a Washington court. The charges stemmed from a June 1995 incident involving Maughan. Prosecutors said Maughan shot out the window of an occupied vehicle parked on the side of the road. Maughan eventually accepted a plea deal for reduced charges. Records show he was sentenced to 45 days in jail, with 43 days suspended. He was ordered to pay $1,127 in fines.
He may get his wish on one front. Benacquisto only faces a write-in candidate in November, meaning she was essentially elected to a four-year term on Tuesday. It will be her last in the Florida Senate because of term limits.
But if he’s thinking of mounting a campaign in four years, the odds won’t be any better. At least three Lee County lawmakers — Reps. Heather Fitzenhagen, Matt Caldwell, and Dane Eagle — are all considering a run, and each are formidable opponents who can raise boatloads of cash.
