Anne Geggis
Neither Democratic nor Republican politicians on the scene at the vote-counting for Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2018 victory are buying the former President’s claims that the feds got DeSantis over the finish line in Broward County. And the Supervisor of Elections Office is also shooting down Donald Trump’s claims.
President Trump lit up social media with his rambling diatribe against DeSantis, “Ron DeSanctimonious,” Thursday night, triggered likely by the widespread speculation that the Governor’s historic margin of victory this week positions him to claim the Republican presidential nomination. But his allegations about how DeSantis became Governor in 2018, has heads shaking in Broward County.
“I was all in for Ron and he beat (Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andrew) Gillum, but after the Race, when votes were being stolen by the corrupt Election process in Broward County, and Ron was going down ten thousand votes a day, along with now-Senator Rick Scott, I sent in the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys and the ballot theft immediately ended, just prior to them running out of the votes necessary to win,” Trump wrote.
“I stopped this Election from being stolen.”
The current Broward County Supervisor of Elections wasn’t on the job yet in 2018, but Joe Scott’s Office issued a statement in response to Trump’s allegation.
“The Broward County Supervisor of Elections Office has no documentation of any federal law enforcement presence during the 2018 elections,” spokesman Ivan Castro wrote in an email. “Also, to clarify, there is no evidence of corruption during the 2018 election cycle in Broward County.”
Republican Rep. Chip LaMarca, who was on the ballot for his first election to the House, said Trump’s claims are also news to him. He argued the allegations don’t even make sense because of other results, specifically Nikki Fried’s election as Commissioner of Agriculture, he said. She was down by half a percent as Election Day drew to a close.
“If they were going to do that (which Trump described) the Commissioner of Agriculture race probably would have changed.”
Fried became the winner over state Rep. Matt Caldwell after late ballots were tallied and 6,753 votes put her over the top. Fried weighed in over the dust-up that was hitting 7,000 retweets within three hours.
I'm sending a letter to the @TheJusticeDept this morning requesting an official response to the wild allegations made by a Florida resident last night claiming credit for the outcome of the 2018 election of Ron DeSantis and Rick Scott.
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) November 11, 2022
LaMarca said if he wasn’t present as the votes were being counted, he had representatives there.
“I didn’t hear about or bump into anybody from the federal government being involved in the election,” he said. “It was a close election on both their (DeSantis’ and Scott’s) parts. That said, I didn’t see any evidence of the federal government coming in to stop anything.”
It was a chaotic election, which eventually led to Brenda Snipes being suspended from her position as Supervisor of Elections in Broward County. Broward County Mayor Michael Udine was one of Snipes’ most vocal critics as the chaos unfolded. He called for her to step down, which she eventually did.
The election had misplaced ballots as well as poorly designed ballots that led to undervotes and late tabulations.
But reading Trump’s commentary on Broward County, Udine said his first reaction was “LOL.”
“I’m sure I would have heard about it,” said Udine, who has become a member of the county’s canvassing board as part of his effort to improve elections in Broward County. “I was very vocal about the tumult.”
But, as for federal agents? “I never saw that,” he said.
Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller, a former Democratic state Senator, said he agrees that Trump helped get DeSantis elected: Without the President’s endorsement DeSantis would have lost the Primary. But, as far as federal agents on the scene, Geller said he did not see that.
“Respectfully, because he is a former President and I try to be respectful, I have no idea what the hell he’s talking about,” Geller said.
The DeSantis administration has remained silent on the former President’s statements.
8 comments
Donald Trump
November 11, 2022 at 12:33 pm
I will soon make an announcement that me, Barron, Donald Jr, Eric, Ivanka, and Melania will all be running for president to crowd out everyone else. Also if Ron DeSanctimonious tries to run then he will be humiliated, degraded, and dehumanized by me. I have all the dirt on low energy, average governor Ron DeSanctimonious.
Shirley Schmidt
November 11, 2022 at 5:09 pm
Dear Mr. Trump,
I am going to try and remain as respectful as I can, given the circumstances. When you first ran for president in 2016, I must admit, I was very skeptical of what you would be like as a president. I saw you as a bragging, egotistical womanizing maniac and I wasn’t sure that you were the man for the job, even as I cast my vote for you, and again in 2020. I only knew what we had on the other side was definitely not what I wanted and felt she was a threat to our country. I was somewhat aware of your successes as a business professional, so I had a hunch you were economically schooled. Moving forward, after you were elected, I still had a difficult time with the way you approached people, but I cannot deny the results you brought to the table, even with all the turmoil you were put through from the moment you decided to run for president. You did a great job as president and your efforts of trying to drain the swamp are superb. I personally believe we need several more years of your kind of leadership to bring America back to being the powerhouse it once was. We currently have too many wannabe millionaires and not enough leaders who have America’s best interest at heart. Unfortunately, I do not make those decisions and obviously the current GOP does not give two hoots to what the American citizens want and need. If I had my way it would be Trump 2024, DeSantis 2028, DeSantis 2032 because I believe it will take that long to drain the swamp and get America back on track.
With all that being said, my Governor, no matter how he got there, has pretty much done the same thing for the state of Florida. He is NOT an average governor; Ron DeSantis is the BEST governor Florida has had in many years. We the citizens of Florida appreciate Governor DeSantis and the excellent job that he has done and continues to do. Governor DeSantis has proven that his policies and leadership are a good fit for the state of Florida. I hope and pray that Governor DeSantis does not get mixed up in the dark side of politics, which we all know exist. I pray daily for his wellbeing and safety.
Okay, I’ve been rambling and kind of lost sight of why I wanted to address you in the first place, Anyway, please refrain from being a braggart about things that frankly do not matter. Please refrain from name calling, it is childish and has no room in politics and it will lose you the people that currently believe in you. Stick to the issues that matter to people, economy, draining the swamp, get the criminals out of our White House, etc. If possible, refrain from attacking my Governors character, but if he is criminal, go for it. We all have skeletons in our closet, some are minimal and meaningless and do not matter when it comes to running this country. It is just petty to bring these things to the forefront unless they are criminal. I guess what I am trying to tell you Mr. Trump is you have a proven economical record while running this country, run with that. Refrain from personal attacks and petty meaningless bullshit, that only puts your opponent in the driver’s seat. Good luck to you.
A Lowly Independent Peasant and Concerned Citizen of the United States
Dan
November 11, 2022 at 2:25 pm
Ever since Brenda Snipes retired, things have ran pretty smoothly in Broward county elections. Their counts are mostly in by 10pm. Snipes was obviously the problem.
An independent voter
November 12, 2022 at 8:29 am
Dear Mr. Trump,
I am going to try and remain as respectful as I can, given the circumstances. When you first ran for president in 2016, I must admit, I was very skeptical of what you would be like as a president. I saw you as a bragging, egotistical womanizing maniac and I wasn’t sure that you were the man for the job, even as I cast my vote for you, and again in 2020. I only knew what we had on the other side of the isle was definitely not what I wanted and felt she was a threat to our country. I was somewhat aware of your successes as a business professional, so I had a hunch you were economically schooled beyond measure. Moving forward, after you were elected, I still had a difficult time with the way you approached people, but I cannot deny the results you brought to the table. Even with all the turmoil you were put through from the moment you decided to run for president, you made America Great again. You did a great job as president and your efforts of trying to drain the swamp are superb. I personally believe we need several more years of your kind of leadership to bring America back to being the powerhouse it once was. We currently have too many wannabe millionaires and not enough leaders who have America’s best interest at heart. Unfortunately, I do not make those decisions and obviously the current GOP does not give two hoots to what the American citizens want and need. If I had my way it would be Trump 2024, DeSantis 2028, DeSantis 2032 because I believe it will take that long to drain the swamp and get America back on track.
With all that being said, my Governor, no matter how he got there, has pretty much done the same thing for the state of Florida. He is NOT an average governor; Ron DeSantis is a GREAT governor who far SUPERCEEDS anyone Florida has had in many years. We the citizens of Florida appreciate Governor DeSantis and the excellent job that he has done and continues to do. Governor DeSantis has proven that his policies and leadership are a good fit for the state of Florida. I hope and pray that Governor DeSantis does not get mixed up in the dark side of politics, which we all know exist. I pray daily for his wellbeing and safety.
Okay, I’ve been rambling and kind of lost sight of why I wanted to address you in the first place, Anyway, please refrain from being a braggart about things that frankly do not matter. Please refrain from name calling, it is childish and has no room in politics and it will lose you the people that currently believe in you. Stick to the issues that matter to people, economy, draining the swamp, get the criminals out of our White House, etc. If possible, refrain from attacking my Governors character, but if he is criminal, go for it. We all have skeletons in our closet, some are minimal and meaningless and do not matter when it comes to running this country. It is just petty to bring these things to the forefront unless they are criminal. I guess what I am trying to tell you Mr. Trump is you have a proven economical record while running this country, run with that. Refrain from personal attacks and petty meaningless bull, that only puts your opponent in the driver’s seat. Voters for some odd reason, vote on a person’s personality rather that their track record. Good luck to you.
One Lowly Independent Peasant and Concerned Citizen of the United States
Charlotte Greenbarg
November 12, 2022 at 9:13 am
If anyone thinks that could’ve happened in deep blue Broward I have some very well irrigated land I’d like to sell you
LadyisaTramp
November 12, 2022 at 12:49 pm
Wet lands..Tom Legend been using your front lawn as a toilet again!?!
just sayin
November 15, 2022 at 10:06 am
The DeSantis team is doing a good job of just sitting back and letting Trump remind everyone why he is unfit for office.
Shirley Schmidt
November 15, 2022 at 12:44 pm
Please remove all correspondence from me. Thank you so much.
Comments are closed.