A Fake Tea Party Candidate Led To Real Trouble

Jeffrey Garcia, the former campaign manager to former Rep. Joe Garcia (D-FL, no relation), pleaded guilty in federal court this week to financing a fake Tea Party candidate in Joe Garcia’s 2010 congressional race in an effort to take votes away from his Republican opponent. Joe Garcia denied knowledge of the scheme, but court documents suggested otherwise:

For nearly five years, former Miami Democratic Congressman Joe Garcia has denied that he knew his onetime campaign manager recruited a “shadow” tea party candidate to run in the 2010 congressional election against Garcia’s Republican nemesis, David Rivera.

But a federal court document disclosed Thursday suggests that Garcia’s former campaign manager, Jeffrey Garcia, communicated with him by email in February 2010 about his illicit campaign strategy.

“If I got a Tea Party candidate in the race, that will improve your odds,” Jeffrey Garcia emailed Joe Garcia, identified as “Candidate A” in the court record.

A week later, Jeffrey Garcia sent Joe Garcia another email entitled: “YOU WILL WIN IF,” followed by a bullet point stating, “Tea Party Candidate (will happen.)”

Fake Tea Party candidates will all the rage back in 2010. In 2011, a former Oakland County, MI, Democratic Party official was sentenced to one-year probation for putting fake Tea Party candidates on the ballot in 2010.

Also in 2010, Democrats apparently recruited a fake Tea Party challenger to future Rep. John Runyan (R-NJ). A Florida Tea Party with ties to Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) put several candidates on the ballot in various races. And, during a special election in 2011, a former Democratic candidate ran for Congress under the Tea Party banner.

#teaparty #factdc #jeffreygarcia #matthewgwhitaker #foundationforaccountabilityandcivictrust #repjoegarcia #miamidemocraticcongressman