The Florida Republican Party is trying to defeat a Democratic candidate for local office in a unique way: by tying him to their own presidential nominee.
“Rick Singh = Donald Trump,” reads a mailer currently being distributed in the Orlando area by Leadership for Florida’s Future political committee, a group partly funded by the state GOP. Singh, property appraiser for Orange County, is currently running for reelection.
One side of the mailer features half of Singh’s head next to half of Trump’s, and the other declares that “Like Trump, Singh is simply unfit for public office.”
The attack ad gets even more detailed about the similarities, claiming that both candidates have been “involved in a scandal,” both have “made dirty deals,” and both have demeaned and objectified women.
Singh told ThinkProgress said he finds the strategy bizarre, desperate, and offensive.
“I’m the complete opposite of Donald Trump,” he said. “I was raised by a single mother who worked three jobs as a maid to make ends meet… I find it humorous that the Republican Party of Florida would compare me to Donald Trump.”
He also noted that he views the ad as racist, given that many Orlando voters are Latino citizens who may not understand the nuances of the attack on first glance.
“I find the targeting very racist,” he said. “They’re targeting Hispanics who just moved to this part of the country, and English is perhaps a second language. So they’re really predators on those new members of society who will see a picture of Donald Trump, see a picture of me, and react to it.”
“Even members of the Republican Party have come to me and said they’re insulted and ashamed of this type of attack coming from their party,” he continued.
Scott Powers, who reports for FloridaPolitics.com, wrote that the Florida Republican Party gave money to a PAC that supports Leadership for Florida’s Future political committee — the group running the ad — as recently as two weeks ago.
Not only is it surprising for a party to frame an attack by connecting a opposition candidate to one of their own, but the strategy is also questionable given that Trump is currently leading the polls in Florida. A New York Times Upshot/Siena poll released Sunday gives Trump a four-point lead — 46 percent to 42 percent — in a four-way race.
The GOP’s opposition to Singh comes in large part from his efforts to ensure that big businesses pay their fair share of taxes, the candidate said. Unlike Singh, Trump’s tax proposal is a giveaway to the wealthiest Americans and would result in lower taxes for both corporations and the rich.
“I’m holding big businesses accountable and I’ve held big businesses accountable,” he said. “A lot of the larger entities don’t like paying their fair share, and this is essentially why I’m getting attacked by the Republican Party.”