‘Ghost’ candidate or disgruntled relative? Democrat’s aunt runs under nearly identical name
Former Democratic state Rep. Joe Saunders is seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Fabian Basabe later this year for a Florida House seat that covers Miami Beach and other coastal cities. But a new candidate in the race with an almost identical name to Saunders’ may complicate the Democrat’s path to victory.
Saunders’ aunt, Maureen Saunders Scott, filed June 7 to run as a no-party candidate for the House District 106 seat. On Thursday, the day state officials deemed Scott a qualified candidate, she filed an affidavit saying she would be running under a nickname, “Moe Saunders” — and swearing that she had not “created the nickname to mislead voters.”
Scott’s candidacy quickly raised alarm bells among Florida Democrats, who saw potential parallels with a 2020 “ghost candidate” scheme in which a man was paid more than $40,000 by former Republican state Sen. Frank Artiles to run as a no-party candidate in a Florida Senate race. Investigators said Alexis Rodriguez ran to “confuse voters and siphon votes from the incumbent,” a Democrat who shared the same surname and ultimately lost his seat by just 32 votes to GOP Sen. Ileana Garcia.
While the exact circumstances that led to Scott’s decision to run are unknown, Scott, 63, appears to be a disgruntled relative of Saunders, 41, and has made repeated public claims about his character. On a Twitter account seemingly belonging to Scott, she has suggested that Saunders failed to speak out and protect her against an abusive relative, though the Miami Herald has been unable to corroborate her account.
In a statement Friday, Saunders said Scott is “a distant relative who lives hundreds of miles away from this community” and that there are “obvious political games being played here.” He declined to comment on the allegations Scott has made about him and members of their family.
Scott did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Records show Scott is registered to vote in St. Johns County and lives in a townhouse she owns outside Jacksonville. Florida law says state legislator candidates are only required to live in the district in which they are seeking office once they are elected.
Under an election reform law passed last year, candidates wishing to run under a nickname are required to file a sworn affidavit attesting that they are “generally known” by the nickname or “have used it as part of [their] legal name,” along with a promise that the name isn’t being used to mislead voters.
The Florida Division of Elections did not respond to questions Friday about Scott’s candidacy.
It was not immediately clear what steps Saunders’ campaign may take, if any, to try to have his aunt removed from the ballot.
In 2006, former state Rep. J.C. Planas, who is now running for Miami-Dade supervisor of elections, succeeded in knocking his cousin off the ballot after the cousin tried to siphon votes from Planas under the name “J.P. Planas.” The Third District Court of Appeal said Planas’ cousin had not previously “transacted private and official business” under the name J.P., and therefore couldn’t remain on the ballot.
“Allowing him potentially to succeed through a stratagem clearly intended to deceive and confuse voters with the incumbent ... simply cannot be permitted,” the court ruled.
The primary election for Basabe’s seat is in August, followed by a general election in November. Basabe will face Republican attorney Melinda Almonte in the primary.
Saunders claims an ‘orchestrated effort’
On Thursday, Saunders campaign spokesperson Claire VanSusteren suggested Basabe and the Republican Party were involved in a “coordinated and orchestrated effort to fool voters” by having Scott on the ballot, though they did not provide evidence of the claim.
Basabe, a former New York socialite and reality TV star who has been a controversial figure since his election in 2022, denied any involvement.
“Maybe someone should just ask Moe why she’s running before throwing bogus accusations around!” he said in a statement.
In February, Basabe interacted on Twitter with the account seemingly belonging to Scott. After Scott posted that she was a “Survivor of the Saunders Family System,” Basabe replied that he was “so saddened and sorry for what you have gone through.”
Hi!
Thank you for trying to share truth.
I am so saddened and sorry for what you have gone through.
As for my opposition, voters clearly see I won’t run a dirty campaign.
I’m sure you notice I barely reference anyone’s name.
I don’t recognize nor do I acknowledge people…— Fabián Basabe (@FabianBasabeFL) February 18, 2024
Since his surprise election in a region historically controlled by Democrats, Basabe has angered some constituents with his votes alongside fellow Republicans on culture-war issues after he campaigned as a social liberal. He has also been accused of slapping an aide and of sexually harassing two staffers, claims he denied.
An investigation commissioned by the Florida House into the alleged slapping incident found there had been “physical contact” between Basabe and his aide but that no witnesses could corroborate the slap claim. A separate probe of the sexual harassment allegations concluded that they could not be substantiated but that Basabe “likely should exercise better judgment.”
Saunders was a Democratic state representative in the Orlando area from 2012 to 2014 and was one of the first openly gay members of the Florida legislature. He is now the senior political director for LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida.
