Jacob Ogles
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.”
