Randy Ross pushes back on accusation he falsely claimed Rainbow Dems association
Randy Ross throws his hat in the ring.

Randy Ross ART
The Democratic group said he attacked Linda Stewart. The Republican said he's focused on his own GOP Committeeman campaign.

An Orange County Committeeman candidate is pushing back on accusations he made a robocall slamming Sen. Linda Stewart.

Randy Ross denied an accusation from the Orange County Rainbow Dems that he put out the call.

“This type of noodles on the wall defamation politics cannot be allowed,” the Orlando Republican said.

He sent Florida Politics a statement after the LGBTQ+ group issued an alert naming Ross

“MAGA hardcore Republican Randy Ross is calling voters in the OC d3 race on behalf of Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe and claiming to be part of our LGBTQ+ caucus,” the alert reads. “This individual is not a member, nor has he been according to our records. He is spreading misinformation on the eve of the primary.”

Stewart faces Uribe in an Orange County Commission Democratic Primary Tuesday.

Ross, who is gay, has been active for years in Orange County Republican politics. He ran for Orlando City Council last year against City Commissioner Patty Sheehan, and he served as Orange County Chair of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

While Ross was appointed to the county committee by Uribe in the past, he said he has focused this election cycle entirely on his GOP Committeeman race. He suggested at first AI may be involved in the call, but was frustrated by reporting by Watermark Online that relied on one source who said he heard the call.

Florida Politics has not heard any recording of the call.

“There’s no proof of a call and yet an entire effort was put forth to defame me and my role on a County board after six years of solid service,” Ross said. “It will be my intention to sue both the Orange County Rainbow Democrats and Watermark Magazine for deeming this story founded in truth via allegations with no facts.”

Jacob Ogles

Jacob Ogles has covered politics in Florida since 2000 for regional outlets including SRQ Magazine in Sarasota, The News-Press in Fort Myers and The Daily Commercial in Leesburg. His work has appeared nationally in The Advocate, Wired and other publications. Events like SRQ’s Where The Votes Are workshops made Ogles one of Southwest Florida’s most respected political analysts, and outlets like WWSB ABC 7 and WSRQ Sarasota have featured his insights. He can be reached at [email protected].


One comment

  • Cathy J

    August 21, 2024 at 10:55 pm

    I know Randy Ross and this sounds exactly like something he’d do!

Comments are closed.


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