Anna Brosche calls for AG investigation into fake poll

Anna Brosche (2)
Brosche's request came one day before Tuesday's election in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville mayoral candidate Anna Brosche is calling for Attorney General Ashley Moody to investigate the origins of a phony Gravis Marketing poll of the Jacksonville race.

The survey purported to show Brosche’s opponent, incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry, at exactly 50 percent support. That would mean the race could be headed to a runoff should Curry fail to win a majority.

The problem? In comments first reported by Florida Politics, Gravis Marketing president Doug Kaplan said Gravis hadn’t conducted any polls in the race this year.

“According to the poll, this was conducted in the last few weeks,” Kaplan said. “It’s not us.”

Now, Brosche says she wants Moody’s office to look into who was behind the survey.

“I am shocked and disgusted to learn that someone knowingly and willingly engaged in fraudulent activity by creating and circulating a fake Gravis Marketing poll in an attempt to influence our election,” Brosche said.

“Aside from being unethical and potentially illegal, such activity smacks of corruption seeking to deceive the general public and impact votes.”

If the poll did have impact, Brosche would’ve been the beneficiary. She placed in second in the fake poll, putting her in line for the runoff against Curry.

“With as much national attention as has been dedicated to exposing those responsible for spreading false propaganda to shape the outcome of elections, it is truly concerning and disheartening to learn that the same tactics are being deployed on a local level in Jacksonville,” Brosche added.

“It is an affront to our democracy and to our voters and it cannot stand. As such, I have asked Attorney General Moody’s office to investigate the matter. It is my sincere hope that the responsible parties will be exposed and punished for their actions to the fullest extent of the law.”

One holdup on the investigation: Brosche’s letter came out one day prior to Tuesday’s election in Jacksonville. While the investigation could still be carried out after the votes are tallied, its findings won’t have any impact on Tuesday’s vote.

In a statement to Florida Politics, Moody’s office said, “We are reviewing the letter.” That letter to Moody is below.

Ryan Nicol

Ryan Nicol covers news out of South Florida for Florida Politics. Ryan is a native Floridian who attended undergrad at Nova Southeastern University before moving on to law school at Florida State. After graduating with a law degree he moved into the news industry, working in TV News as a writer and producer, along with some freelance writing work. If you'd like to contact him, send an email to [email protected].


3 comments

  • Frankie M.

    March 18, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    There’s no way LCs machine is behind these shenanigans. After repeatedly violating the Hatch act with zero remorse(not to mention copyright law) Curry’s team is beyond reproach.

  • Seber Newsome III

    March 19, 2019 at 8:24 am

    Waaa Waaaa Waaaa, that is all the Princess and her supporters do. They realize the ship is sinking and the rats are jumping off board. Swim away rats.

  • Beach Trash

    March 19, 2019 at 11:21 am

    I suspect that it came from someone close to her campaign but not on the payroll.

    She has a few folks running her political committee that have a long and storied history of “freelancing” when things start heading south.

Comments are closed.


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