BOTTOM OF THE BARREL! Wild Florida Republican primary features two Trump-pardoned felons and one disgraced congressman.
Florida's 19th District Republican primary has quietly become one of the most bizarre spectacles in American politics: a field featuring two Trump-pardoned convicted felons and a former congressman who publicly accused his own colleagues of hosting drug-fueled orgies in Washington.
First up: John Strand, a self-described former actor and model who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021. He was convicted of felony obstruction and four misdemeanors, served roughly a year in federal prison, and was released only after the Supreme Court narrowed the relevant obstruction law. Trump then pardoned him along with roughly 1,500 other January 6th insurrectionists. His current backers include election denier Mike Lindell, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, and General Mike Flynn.
Then there's former New York Congressman Chris Collins, convicted of insider trading and lying to the FBI — crimes he committed while still serving in office, arrested alongside his own son. He won reelection anyway despite the pending charges, before finally resigning and pleading guilty. Trump pardoned him too, rewarding one of his earliest congressional endorsers with a clean slate after just two months of a 26-month sentence.
And then there's Madison Cawthorn, the disgraced former North Carolina congressman who spoke to crowds on January 6th just days after being sworn in, publicly claimed fellow Republicans invited him to cocaine-fueled orgies in Washington, faced his own insider trading allegations, an Ethics Committee investigation into an alleged improper relationship with a male staffer, and a citation for illegal gun possession at an airport. He abandoned his own congressional office with nearly two months left on his term before relocating permanently to Florida.
Trump, apparently unsatisfied with this cast of characters, made a last-minute endorsement of an entirely different candidate: Catalina Lauf, a two-time failed congressional candidate from Illinois who recently faced backlash after leaked audio revealed she couldn't answer basic questions about the local district she's now running to represent.
This is the actual state of the modern Republican Party: a primary ballot stocked with insurrectionists, felons, and carpetbaggers, all vying for Trump's blessing in a district they may not even understand. Voters deserve better than a lineup that reads like a rap sheet with campaign signs.
This one should be first on your list at 0800!
Please no cut N paste and no deflection on this one!
