Dirty tricks? St. Lucie County voters shouldn't be deceived by misleading MAGA mailout

The expression "often imitated, never duplicated" dates back to the 1920s, when Traub Manufacturing Co. used it to advertise its line of wedding and engagement rings.

Lately, though, it's easy to be reminded of that slogan whenever a politician tries to glom onto former President Donald Trump's political persona.

As was the case years ago with Ronald Reagan, it's become trendy for Republican candidates at all levels of government to try to tap into Trump's vast reserves of popularity and charisma.

A "Make America Great Again" voter guide that showed up in the mailboxes of St. Lucie County residents a few days ago fits that description.

Under Trump's trademark slogan, photos of Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, and a logo that looks like Trump's signature red baseball cap is a sample ballot for races ranging from the U.S. Senate to Republican state committee seats.

A reasonable person could look at the candidates listed on the sample ballot and assume they all have been endorsed by Trump and DeSantis.

It just isn't so. With the exception of Rick Scott, who is running for re-election to the U.S. Senate, none of the candidates listed on the sample ballot have been endorsed by Trump.

Local GOP leader calls misleading mailouts 'disgusting'

It's not clear how many of the candidates actually have DeSantis' endorsement, either. DeSantis hasn't been shy about backing candidates in local races when the mood strikes him. Earlier this month, DeSantis released a list of 23 candidates he's endorsing in school board races across the state, including St. Lucie County School Board candidate Nate Spera.

He's also endorsed the re-election bids of state Sen. Gayle Harrell and state Rep. Dana Trabulsy, but others on the list may or may not be his preferred candidates.

One would expect Trump to publicly announce his endorsements, rather than just relying on a mailout, if the Republican presidential nominee had the time or inclination to get involved in Treasure Coast races.

The mailout includes QR codes on the back side for the St. Lucie County Republican Party and the Florida Republican Party. Scanning those codes will take someone to those sites, leaving the impression the local and state parties are behind the mailer.

That, too, is inaccurate.

Kenny Nail, chairman of the local Republican Executive Committee, said his organization will be joining Republican chapters in several other counties in a lawsuit against the group that has been sending out mailers that they believe are misleading voters.

"There need to be laws against what's happening," Nail said. "It's disgusting. We can't have this in our democracy."

MAGA Committee not affiliated with Trump

The Make America Great Again Committee is a Venice, Florida-based political action committee. On its website, the PAC lists endorsements of Republican candidates in six counties: Brevard, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Sarasota and St. Lucie.

Campaign finance records show another Treasure Coast connection, dating back to 2020. During that election cycle, the PAC reported getting most of its funding from the Citizens Alliance for Florida's Economy, which used a Jensen Beach mailing address.

Attempts to reach representatives of the PAC were unsuccessful.

Similar mailouts with endorsed slates of candidates in local races were sent to voters living in all of those counties highlighted on the PAC's website.

Anthony Sabatini, an attorney who chairs the Lake County Republican Party, said the lawsuit is being filed on behalf of Republican organizations in the six counties.

In an ironic twist, Sabatini said most of the candidates "endorsed" in those counties tend to be more liberal and less closely aligned with Trump politically.

"It's deceptive," Sabatini said of the mailouts. "In most cases, these are the most left-leaning candidates in the primaries."

During this election cycle, the Make America Great Again Committee has also sent out mailouts in support of Keith Pearson, a candidate for St. Lucie County sheriff, and Audra Macon, a candidate for the District 5 seat on the St. Lucie County Commission.

"I wholeheartedly support President Trump and his agenda for America, as I have been a Republican all my life," Macon emailed in response to an inquiry about the mailer possibly being misleading. "I was happy to receive the voter guide. I do not know the committee, however it appears to me that they have chosen all conservative Republicans. I was happy to receive the endorsement."

“I am a trump republican, plain and simple," Pearson emailed in response. "I saw the mailer and thought it clearly indicated I was appointed by Governor DeSantis and Senator Scott was endorsed by President Trump. What wasn’t clear is that Senator Gayle Harrell, State Represenative Dana Trabulsy, and St Lucie School District canidate Nate Spera were endorsed by Governor DeSantis” 

Macon's opponent, County Commissioner Cathy Townsend, said she's been targeted by repeated mailers from the group, which she says has ties to Tampa political consultant Anthony Pedicini and his firm, Strategic Image Management.

Pedicini couldn't be reached for a response.

Even one of the disclaimers is misleading

On the St. Lucie County sample ballot with the listed endorsements, there are two asterisks beside Scott's name with a notation below that he has been endorsed by Trump. That's true enough.

Also, there's an asterisk next to Pearson's name, which describes him as "Gov. DeSantis' pick."

That's a bit deceptive. As TCPalm has previously reported, DeSantis named Pearson as an interim appointee for sheriff last December, following the abrupt resignation of Ken Mascara.

DeSantis made the pick days after Anthony "Tony" DiFrancesco, a Pearson ally, hosted a fundraiser for the governor's then-active presidential campaign. Then several members of the DiFrancesco family personally contributed more than $100,000 to DeSantis and supportive political action committees.

Records provided by the governor's office show DeSantis' staff began vetting Pearson for the interim appointment almost immediately after the DiFrancesco campaign contributions were reported.

Despite that history, and Pearson's repeated campaign claims that he is DeSantis' choice, the governor hasn't made a formal endorsement in the Aug. 20 Republican primary, which pits Pearson against acting Port St. Lucie Police Chief Richard Del Toro and Preston DiFrancesco, Anthony's nephew.

Campaign shenanigans will only get worse

Of course, not everyone who sees the mailout will be aware of all of this background. Some may take the recommendations at apparent face value, and cast their ballots accordingly.

This is a danger that permeates through our political system. Despite laws aimed at creating transparency so voters can at least know the sources of political propaganda they receive, there are enough loopholes to allow people to game the system.

Contributions to help particular candidates can be obscured by funneling them through PACs, so it's hard for an average person to trace who's really behind some pieces of campaign literature and how valid the claims contained in that literature may be.

Sadly, this likely won't be the last misleading mailout Treasure Coast residents will be getting in the days leading up to the August elections. Voters should treat the material arriving in their mailboxes with a healthy degree of skepticism.

As for the Make America Great Again mailout, it will be interesting to see what happens with the lawsuit. It may not be resolved before the election, but perhaps the case will result in some changes in state law that could benefit candidates in future election cycles.

The candidates "endorsed" in the mailout may not have had anything to do with its publication or distribution, but the honorable thing for each of them to do would be to publicly renounce the Make America Great Again Committee's work.

How the candidates choose to respond, or not respond, to this mailer may tell voters a lot about the amount of character they possess.

This column reflects the opinion of Blake Fontenay. Contact him via email at [email protected] or at 772-232-5424.