![erik aguliar](https://floridapolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/erik-aguliar.jpg)
Erick Aguilar loves pretending to be someone he’s not. It’s lucrative for him.
As reported by Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida, Aguilar has been funding his campaign for the Republican nomination in Florida’s 4th Congressional District by bilking seniors.
His strategy is simple: Pretend to be Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis. Ask for money. Profit.
It’s basically identity theft.
But Aguilar is also going through an identity crisis.
According to voter registration records obtained by Florida Politics, Aguilar has flipped parties twice in the past decade.
Until the mid-2010s, he had been a Republican registered to vote in Duval. However, in April 2014, records show he switched his affiliation to Democrat.
It’s unclear what lured him away from the GOP — maybe he was inspired by Barack Obama’s second term, or he might have felt compelled to vote for Charlie Crist in the Democratic Primary for Governor.
Either way, he didn’t switch his affiliation back to Republican until April 2018. For those keeping track, that means Aguilar — a candidate who professes to love Trump and even masquerades as him — wasn’t even eligible to vote for the former President in the 2016 Republican Primary.
It’s not clear why he switched back, but perhaps it was because he decided it would be easier to impersonate Republicans if he was registered as one.
What comes next for Aguilar? A likely beatdown in the Aug. 23 Primary and, if the schemes he’s perpetrated are half as bad as they look, criminal charges.
But the more important question is how the Republican Party of Florida will respond. There’s a brand at stake, and it’s up to Joe Gruters, Christian Ziegler, Helen Ferre and the RPOF Executive Board and Committee members to make a choice: Do they protect their Star or not?
There are already murmurs among the committee members and electeds that there is no way they will attend an event where Aguilar has a platform. As the story makes the rounds, they are looking for leadership.
This isn’t about an issue debate, or record comparison, or vision. This is about honor, and the Star.
In 2000, Terrell Owens scored in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium, ran to the Star at the 50 and downed the ball, taunting the home crowd and disrespecting the symbol of what was then “America’s Team.”
Then old Gator Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith responded, and Owens did it again. But the Cowboys wouldn’t let it stand.
Is the Republican Party of Florida to reward Aguilar for impersonating the Governor and the former President with an invitation to speak and debate at the Sunshine Summitt?
Is stealing from seniors by stealing an elected person’s identity something RPOF wants to encourage?
Of course not.
They’d better protect the Star, which in this case means rescinding Aguilar’s debate invitation and telling him to prepare for a criminal investigation.
7 comments
Elliott Offen
July 16, 2022 at 9:30 am
Vote RED for wealth and income inequality the likes of which the world has never seen.
Vote RED for a culture of greed, racism, incivility, and mind bending politicized religion.
Vote RED for low wage exploitation and capitalist scams
Vote RED for domestic terrorism to eliminate government so that hogs can grift Americans into slavery.
Vote RED for ancient Roman plutocracy all in the name of God!
Matthew Lusk
July 16, 2022 at 11:18 am
BOTH PARTIES are in desperate need of better gatekeepers who are not of the criminal class. What’s wrong with switching parties? Candidates need one of the two major parties to score. Third parties have a deficit from the starting gate. True Republican mouth a more honest platform and democrats love pork unlimited, but opportunist and crime puppets hold 80% of the seats. I have finally noticed average citizens are looking to get involved in gatekeeping at a National level this year.
Just the facts
July 16, 2022 at 11:21 am
Great article Peter. Well done.
“Mr Bean goes to Washington!”
PeterH
July 16, 2022 at 11:53 am
2022 Gallop polling on Party Affiliation:
27% Republican
27% Democrat
43% Independent
Folks ….. INDEPENDENT VOTERS DECIDE ELECTIONS.
Let the grifting proceed unabated and watch our Democracy spiral to the bottom of the swamp.
Sumter53
July 16, 2022 at 2:27 pm
If candidates are not “America First” and can actually prove it by their track record under heavy scrutiny, they will not be considered at all.
Jenvanka
July 18, 2022 at 7:39 am
He’s a demtard lib. GOP is sooooo stupid not seeing that. Once a lib…
John Hallway
July 25, 2022 at 4:56 pm
Wow! Seems like this reporter likes to be one-sided and make up nonsense. It’s time that reporters get held accountable for their BS too. Clearly, reporting facts isn’t your thing Mr. Schorsh. Aaron Bean is a con-artist and a snake. Why aren’t you reporting about that? #fakenewsmedia
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