How a Sham Candidate Helped Flip a Florida Election
The candidate and the man who prosecutors say recruited him to play spoiler in a Florida Senate race last year were both arrested this week.

By Patricia Mazzei
March 19, 2021
...

Later that day, former State Senator Frank Artiles, a Republican, asked Alexis Pedro Rodriguez by phone whether he still owned a home in the suburban Miami village of Palmetto Bay. Because in that case, Mr. Artiles wanted something else: to put his friend’s property and last name to use in the upcoming election.

The incumbent Democrat, State Senator José Javier Rodríguez, was on the ballot. And Mr. Artiles, a crafty political operator with a dubious reputation, had a plan: to plant his friend as a candidate and siphon off votes that could defeat Senator Rodríguez.
...

Mr. Rodriguez, a machine-parts dealer who had been struggling financially, agreed to help Mr. Artiles, who promised him $50,000 in return. He switched from Republican to no party affiliation and qualified for the ballot as Alex Rodriguez. He did not disclose that he actually lived far from the district, in Boca Raton, or that the money for his candidacy came from Mr. Artiles.

...

In November, Senator Rodríguez, an effective legislator who had crusaded for Florida to face the climate change crisis, lost to the Republican challenger, Ileana Garcia, by a mere 32 votes out of more than 215,000 that had been cast. Alex Rodriguez had received 6,382 votes and played the spoiler.

...

It was a devastating loss for Florida Democrats in a year of Republican successes in the state. It was also the result of criminal behavior, prosecutors say.

On Thursday, Mr. Artiles, 47, and Mr. Rodriguez, 55, turned themselves in for arrest. They were each charged with three third-degree felony charges related to violating campaign finance law, including for conspiracy to make campaign contributions in excess of legal limits, making those excess contributions and false swearing in connection to an election.

...

But it leaves unanswered the questions of where the money for the scheme came from — the Republican Senate president said the party had nothing to do with it — and whether the funds were tied to secretive dark money that oozed through two other State Senate races last year. Republicans have controlled the state government for more than two decades.

I was raised in Northwest Georgia. I love my home. Sure, it can be tough and we often get overlooked, but our roots are here and there’s a sense of comfort. You can call it southern charm, but I think mostly it’s just good honest people looking out for one another.

When I was growing up, my father was in the Army and so we moved around a lot. When he retired, we finally settled back down in Chattanooga, TN just North of where I am now in Ringgold. My daddy is a hardworking Veteran… strict and tough, but would also give you the shirt off his back. He really taught me the importance of work ethic that my papaw and Nanny taught him. And Momma taught me the same about hard work. They both taught me how to stand on my own two feet. Before Daddy would let me drive as a teenager, he made me learn to rotate my tires and change the oil and Momma taught me how to knock out a wall or anything else that she could dream up with home improvements.

I was raised in Northwest Georgia. I love my home. Sure, it can be tough and we often get overlooked, but our roots are here and there’s a sense of comfort. You can call it southern charm, but I think mostly it’s just good honest people looking out for one another.

When I was growing up, my father was in the Army and so we moved around a lot. When he retired, we finally settled back down in Chattanooga, TN just North of where I am now in Ringgold. My daddy is a hardworking Veteran… strict and tough, but would also give you the shirt off his back. He really taught me the importance of work ethic that my papaw and Nanny taught him. And Momma taught me the same about hard work. They both taught me how to stand on my own two feet. Before Daddy would let me drive as a teenager, he made me learn to rotate my tires and change the oil and Momma taught me how to knock out a wall or anything else that she could dream up with home improvements.

I am a mother, small business owner, and most importantly I am a member of this community. I can tell you that most folks in this district are honest, hard working people. When I go around town I hear people talking about some pretty basic things here. The issues facing Georgians aren’t too complex to fix, These are issues that affect each and every one of us every day.