Name: Did mysterious independent candidates swing Florida House, Senate races to Republicans?
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Did mysterious independent candidates swing Florida House, Senate races to Republicans?

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Independent candidates with clear ties to GOP donors and operatives whose names appeared on ballots in two competitive Florida Legislature races received enough votes to swing the outcome of those contests, possibly costing Democrats those seats. The little-known candidates running without party affiliation, known as NPAs, received more votes than the Republican candidate’s margin of victory, and if some of those ballots had been cast for their opponents, the Democrats could have won. Advertisement That was the case in the tight contest between Republican Fred Hawkins and Democrat Barbara Cady to represent Florida House District 42, which includes parts of Osceola and Polk counties. Hawkins won by fewer than 1,200 votes while NPA candidate Leroy Sanchez received 7,460. Sanchez, the brother of Domingo Sanchez, the politically connected former chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority and affordable housing developer, did no public campaigning, interviews or fundraising. Domingo Sanchez, a GOP donor, was the only contributor to his brother’s campaign and the website set up for the candidate, who was registered as a Republican until recently, now sends web browsers to GOP.com. Advertisement The presence of the candidates who are unaffiliated with either major political party in the high-stakes races — three in Seminole County and one in Osceola — has prompted Republicans and Democrats to accuse each other of planting stooges to siphon votes away from their opponents. And the race for a South Florida Senate district appears headed for a recount after the initial tally found the Republican challenger defeated the Democrat incumbent by roughly 30 votes. In that race, an NPA candidate who did no fundraising or public campaigning — but shared a last name with the Democrat and was touted by a group connected to a GOP operative — received more than 6,300 votes. Michael Binder, associate professor of political science and public administration at the University of North Florida, said the major parties sometimes recruit people to file without affiliation in tight local and state-level races where many voters know little about any of the candidates. Some voters do little research before they go to the polls and may be persuaded to cast ballots for other people whose names sound like theirs. Often, individuals and groups looking to siphon votes away from major-party candidates look for people who represent a strategic demographic, such as a woman or someone with a Hispanic-sounding name. In a tight race determined by just a few hundred or thousand votes, that tactic can be successful and inexpensive, he said. “It’s probably a lot cheaper to get somebody filed and on the ballot than to run a couple of radio ads or print mailers to the entire district,” he said. In races stretching from Miami-Dade to Seminole County, thousands of voters cast ballots for candidates who didn’t set up websites, grant interview requests nor state policy goals. That was the case for voters who backed Leroy Sanchez, who has declined interview requests from the Sentinel. In the final weeks of the campaign, Jeremy Fetzer, a registered NPA who is active in county politics, created the committee People Over Politics – Florida, which paid the fee for the domain of a website promoting Sanchez’s candidacy that now sends browsers to the national Republican party’s website. On social media, Fetzer, who state records show received $4,775 from Cady’s campaign for marketing work on mailers and text message campaigns, also urged Republicans to vote for Sanchez instead of Hawkins, who he said he’s opposed since 2009 for several votes Hawkins cast on the Board of County Commissioners. Fetzer said he didn’t encourage Leroy Sanchez to run for the seat, but decided to get behind his candidacy. Cady and Hawkins, who didn’t return phone calls from the Sentinel this week, said in September they didn’t have any involvement in Sanchez’s candidacy. A similar scenario is playing out in South Florida’s Senate District 37, which includes portions of Miami-Dade County. Republican Ileana Garcia holds a razor-thin lead over her Democratic opponent, incumbent Jose Javier Rodríguez, and the election is likely to go to a recount, the Miami Herald reported. NPA candidate Alex Rodriguez received more than 6,300 votes, enough to sway the outcome. A secretive group behind ads for a little-known independent candidate in the fiercely competitive state Senate race that pits Republican Jason Brodeur against Democrat Patricia Sigman has ties to a GOP consultant in Tallahassee. While Alex Rodriguez didn’t do any public campaigning, he was the subject of ads mailed to voters promoting his candidacy by a Political Action Committee called Our Florida, which also sent mailers to voters in neighboring Senate District 39 touting Celso Alfonso, the NPA candidate in that race. The mailers tout progressive-sounding promises, saying Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso will “fight climate change," “hold police accountable" and “guarantee a living wage.” The chairwoman of the Our Florida PAC, Sierra Olive, apparently is the friend of a woman who owns a Tallahassee home with GOP strategist Alex Alvarado. His firm, Alvarado Strategies, contributed $1,000 to Garcia’s campaign in October. Alex Rodriguez and Alfonso did no fundraising. They each had one contribution to their campaign accounts, $2,000 loans they made to themselves on the same day: June 10. Rodriguez’s campaign treasurer is Jose Riesco, an accountant who has served in a similar role for several Republican-backed political action committees. Little is known about Rodriguez and Alfonso. Someone named “Alexis Rodriguez” once was listed on the deed for the Palmetto Bay home he used as his address on election records. But the woman who was listed as a co-owner for the home in the county’s property records sold it in 2015 to a different couple that has a homestead exemption now, records show. Someone who picked up the phone at a number listed for his stated place of employment, a diesel mechanic shop in Miami, hung up the phone when a reporter called. Advertisement Unlike the District 37 race, the NPA candidate didn’t appear to be a factor in the outcome of the District 39 contest — Republican Ana Maria Rodriguez won the open seat handily with more than 55% of the vote, while Democrat Javier Fernandez received less than 43%. Even as Joe Biden, Stephanie Murphy and Democrats turned Seminole County blue atop the ticket Tuesday evening, Republicans cleaned up the ballot winning three state-level battleground races, three seats on the Board of County Commission and maintained a stranglehold on each constitutional office. A separate group tied to Alvarado also sent out ads promoting Jestine Iannotti, who filed to run without party affiliation for the Florida Senate District 9 seat, a closely watched contest between former state representative Jason Brodeur and attorney Patricia Sigman. Similar to those sent to voters in Districts 37 and 39, the ads for Iannotti trumpeted promises that might appeal to left-leaning voters. Brodeur defeated Sigman by 7,654 votes to win the seat representing Seminole and part of Volusia counties. Iannotti received 5,785 votes. When the Sentinel emailed questions to Brodeur this week about whether he had any involvement in Jestine Iannotti’s candidacy, prior knowledge of the mailers, and whether he thought those had any effect on the outcome of the race, a spokeswoman responded on his behalf. “No, no, and no, because math," Erin Isaac wrote in an email answering the Sentinel’s questions. Weekly Political news from Central Florida and across the state. You are now following this newsletter. Sigman, who was also targeted in the weeks leading up to her primary by a group with ties to a Republican attorney, said in a text message that NPA candidates need a closer look. Advertisement “In light of the millions of dollars in dark money schemes and the pattern of supposed ‘NPA’ candidates tied to majority party operatives, it is clear that furthers investigation, much closer scrutiny, real enforcement of the existing law and additional legal safeguards are needed," she said. "These schemes and tactics do a disservice to the public. Floridians deserve better.” Advertisement While most of the ads promoting NPA candidates didn’t mention their opponents, in at least one case, they did. Mailers sent by a GOP-backed group encouraging voters to cast ballots for Juan Rodriguez, an independent candidate who filed to run for House District 29, described Democrat Tracey Kagan as “too radical." A text message some voters received the morning of Election Day from an anonymous source falsely linked Kagan to the extremist group Antifa and described Rodriguez as “a reasonable consensus builder.” Rodriguez, who did little fundraising of his own, received 2,759 votes, far less than incumbent Republican Scott Plakon’s margin of victory. It’s unclear what effect the ads and Rodriguez’s candidacy may have had on the outcome of the race, a re-match of the 2018 election, when Kagan lost by a smaller margin, receiving 49% of the vote to Plakon’s 51%. Correction: A prior version of this story incorrectly stated Jeremy Fetzer’s party affiliation. He’s an NPA. anmartin@orlandosentinel.com, rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement

Independent candidates with clear ties to GOP donors and operatives whose names appeared on ballots in two competitive Florida Legislature races received enough votes to swing the outcome of those contests, possibly costing Democrats those seats. The little-known candidates running without party affiliation, known as NPAs, received more votes than the Republican candidate’s margin of victory, and if some of those ballots had been cast for their opponents, the Democrats could have won. Advertisement That was the case in the tight contest between Republican Fred Hawkins and Democrat Barbara...

Did mysterious independent candidates swing Florida House, Senate races to Republicans?

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