'MAGA' campaign mailer faces backlash with claims it misleads

A campaign mailer that some say incorrectly implies that the listed candidates all have the endorsements of former President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Brevard Republican Executive Committee has local Republican officials and some candidates steaming mad.

"It's fraudulent and it's deceptive and it's very sleazy, in my opinion," Brevard Republican Executive Committee Chair Rick Lacey said.

The mailer was sent by political action committee with ties to the former head of Republican Party of Florida, Joe Gruters, who is a member of the Florida Senate.

Lacey believes many thousands of the mailers were sent out to Republican voters in Brevard County in two batches, and that many of those voters will be misled by it — and will use it as a guide to cast their vote-by-mail or in-person ballots for the Aug. 20 primary.

The mailer ― called a "Voter Guide" — contains photos of Trump and DeSantis; depicts a red baseball cap with white "MAGA" lettering; and says "Make America Great Again PC is proud to have endorsed." It then lists candidates, most of whom are on the Aug. 20 primary ballot in Brevard.

The problem is most of the candidates listed are not officially endorsed by Trump, and the Venice-based Make America Great Again PC is not officially tied to the Trump campaign.

The other side of one of the two mailers that went out includes the logos of the Republican Party of Florida and the Brevard Republican Executive Committee, incorrectly implying those organizations are involved in the mailings, which Lacey said they are not.

"It's extremely misleading to Republican voters," Lacey said.

Brevard Republican committee calls flyer 'borderline fraudulent'

The Brevard Republican Executive Committee had put a notice on its website, saying the mailer is "borderline fraudulent and extremely misleading" and "should be disregarded."

Then, BREC replaced that with a more prominent warning to "watch out for fake MAGA and America First voter guides."

Similar mailers were sent to Republican voters in several other Florida counties.

The group behind the mailers

Make America Great Again PC, the group behind the mailer, lists its headquarters the building that is also the offices of Gruters' Venice accounting firm. It was founded in 2018 by Gruters' partner in the firm, Eric Robinson, a former Sarasota County School Board member.

The Make America Great Again PC lists about $2.3 million in contributions and $2.1 million in expenditures since 2018, according to Florida's campaign finance database. Its expenditures this year included $300,000 in July to SIMWINS (Strategic Image Management), Anthony Pedicini's Tampa political consulting firm, for design, printing and distribution of mailers.

Pedicini is listed as a contact on Florida Rep. Randy Fine's Florida Senate campaign news releases. Fine's name tops the list of the "endorsed" on the mailer.

Fine actually has been endorsed by Trump, something the mailer points out in a footnote. But Fine, the only Jewish Republican in the Legislature, had a very public falling out last fall with DeSantis, with Fine saying the governor had done little to battle antisemitism in the Sunshine State.

Asked about the voter guide, Fine said: "I got mine in the mail yesterday, and as the first state legislator in Florida to get President Trump’s 'complete and total' endorsement, I appreciate the official Make America Great Again PC spreading the word!"

"I think the voter guide from MAGA PC and the endorsements from the political committee speak for themselves," Pedicini said, adding, "I was proud to work on it."

Some candidates see 'cheap trick,' others see no problem

Karen Colby, one of six candidate for Republican state committeewoman, sees the mailing as "a cheap trick. I think it's a shame that they're capitalizing on the MAGA name" without many of the listed candidates having gotten the official Trump endorsement.

Anthony Sabatini, a Mount Dora attorney who is running for Lake County Commission — says he soon plans to file a legal complaint about the flyer, the Lake County version of which recommended his opponent in the race, Doug Shields.

Sabatini says Lake County is one of at least six counties the mailing targeted.

Sabatini texted FLORIDA TODAY the cover page of his proposed legal complaint that includes as plaintiffs the Brevard County Republican Executive Committee, the Lake County Republican Executive Committee and the St. Lucie County Republican Executive Committee. It lists as defendants Pedicini, Make American Great Again PC, Eric Robinson and Randy Krise. Krise until recently was chairperson of the Make America Great Again PC, and Robinson is its treasurer and registered agent.

"It's to have a judicial order ordering these individuals to stop breaking the law," Sabatini said via text, adding that it is to supplement other legal and ethical complaints he is pursuing with state agencies on the matter. "The individuals violated the law in six counties at least, and continue to do so. We know they will try it again next cycle also, so we need a court order."

Political science expert weighs in

Aubrey Jewett, an associate professor of political science at the University of Central Florida, said the mailer seems like "a classic example" of what some people may perceive as deception in political advertising.

It relies on "something popular and familiar" — Trump's photo, along with the MAGA acronym and red baseball cap ― to influence voters.

"They're trying to cash in on the MAGA brand and the Trump brand, which has been so strong in Republican circles," said Jewett, who also is assistant director of UCF's School of Politics, Security and International Affairs.

Jewett said voters are more likely to be influenced by mailers and other advertising in what he called "low-information" local races — such as a county commission or city council election — than they would in a national or state race.

The mailer encourages voters to "bring your Official Voter Guide with you to the polls!" and adds that "all candidates were thoroughly researched and vetted."

Lacey said the mailer "was very cleverly done," and will lead to a number of voters using the listed candidates as their guide to who to vote for.

"The damage as been done," Lacey said. "It was a very sophisticated, sleazy move on their part. It wasn't done by an amateur."

'Ethics and integrity have been lost'

Erika Orriss, one of four Republican candidates for Florida House of Representatives in South Brevard's District 33, is concerned that candidates who have not been endorsed by Trump but are still listed on the mailers are not speaking out against the mailing. The mailer lists Monique Miller, one of Orriss' opponents in the GOP primary, as among the endorsed.

"Our elected officials at one time or another have to make various decisions," Orriss said. "If we cannot count on our people to be ethical and operate in the election process, how can we possibly count on them to have the citizens' best interest at heart? Ethics and integrity have been lost in the shuffle for power and prestige."

But a primary candidate listed on the mailer, Chandler Langevin — one of six candidates from Palm Bay City Council Seat 3 — said he sees nothing misleading about it. Earlier this month, Langevin posted a photo of one of the mailers, commenting: "I encourage all of my friends to support great MAGA endorsed candidates!"

Several people commented under his post that the mailer was fake or misleading.

But Langevin doubled down in an interview with FLORIDA TODAY, saying that, while he had nothing to do with producing the mailer, "I am happy that I am on it. I don't think it's misleading. It's not misleading at all."

He said candidates on the list either were endorsed by Trump or DeSantis, or are being supported by people who were endorsed by one of them, such as Fine.

He said the candidates who are complaining probably "are butt-hurt" because they aren't mentioned on the mailer.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at [email protected], on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

Contact Waymer at 321-261-5903 or at [email protected]. Follow him on X at @JWayEnviro.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Republican mock voter guide faces criticism with claims it misleads