Peter Schorsch
Campaign finance records indicate a recent direct-mail ad attacking Rep. Jim Mooney is connected to a Democratic operative who served as treasurer for Andrew Gillum’s political committee.
The disclosure statements printed at the bottom of the mailers say they were paid for by a political committee called “Floridians for Truth Now,” which lists Yolanda Brown as its treasurer.
Brown is a Democratic activist who works for dozens of Democratic candidates and political committees. Notably, she was listed as treasurer for “Forward Florida,” a political committee chaired by Gillum that served as his primary fundraising vehicle in the 2018 Governor race.
Floridians for Truth Now has received four contributions since it launched in January: $100 from Brown, $1,000 from Steven Morse, $1,000 from Jennifer Mallory and $20,000 from Maria Robinson-Thompson, a Fort Lauderdale-based consultant.
Its largest expenditure was a $19,000 payment to Precision Consulting for printing, likely for the ads attacking Mooney.
Direct-mail ads are common. However, the ads attacking Mooney are written to make it appear as if Floridians for Truth Now is a conservative political committee.
They slam the incumbent for his supposed opposition to “parental rights” and for voting against Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legislative priorities. Both allegations would likely make him a more attractive candidate to the same voters who supported Gillum four years ago.
They would also likely turn off Republican Primary voters — which would be a boon to Mooney’s Republican challenger, Rhonda Rebman Lopez. That appears to be the intention, as the mailers began hitting House District 120 mailboxes in early June, when the Primary between Mooney and Lopez started to heat up.
It’s unclear why Floridians for Truth Now would support Lopez in the Primary, but the tactic is not new.
It bears a resemblance to deceptive mailer campaigns led by Republicans in the 2020 cycle that pumped the candidacies of outsider candidates by claiming that they were more liberal than the party-backed Democrats running in Senate District 9 and Senate District 37.
Those efforts also relied on shill candidates, or “ghost candidates,” which does not appear to be a factor in the HD 120 race.
One comment
Glenn Reihing
July 11, 2022 at 10:42 pm
So your title says “Democrats…” yet when you read the article it talks about 4 people that appears not to have any direct contact with theDemocratic party in that district. They just work on Democratic campaigns.
I’m not condoning their actions. they are a bunch of knuckleheads.
But your title appears to be deceptive as well.
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