In 2020, a couple GOP ops ran a scam where they syphoned votes away from a Dem candidate by setting up a sham candidate in a Miami-Dade case. These guys were arrested. You can read about the scheme here https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article250529414.html
Yesterday, it was reported that Gaetz may have been involved in a similar scheme to help one of his buddies and, perhaps ominously for Gaetz, it goes back to Seminole County (like the sex case). Just like the Miami case, they were exposed, in part, by their own stupidity:
"Federal investigators were told that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) discussed running a sham candidate in the 2020 state Senate race with a lobbyist, two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times.
The Times reported that the Florida Republican discussed the possibility of running a sham candidate with lobbyist Christ Dorworth to help Jason Brodeur, an associate of Gaetz’s, win an open seat in the Florida state Senate.
A third-party candidate named Jestine Iannotti was on the ballot in that election, according to the Times. The candidate did not raise much money for her bid and did little campaigning, according to the paper.
Fliers sent to voters depicted her as a Democrat, though she had no party affiliation. One flier portrayed a Black woman and said “Jestine Iannotti will always be there for us.”
The Times pointed out that the real Iannotti is white.
