# Florida: Want to Win Election? Run Sham Candidate with Same Last Name as Opponent **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 19, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247 "2021-03-19T15:54:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/1 "2021-03-19T15:54:32Z")
> One of Florida’s most explosive political scandals in recent memory started with a Facebook message. > > Former Republican Sen. Frank Artiles sent a May 2020 message to Alex Rodriguez, an old acquaintance who he knew was in desperate need of money, to call him later that day. There was a proposal, Artiles explained according to [an arrest warrant](https://www.politico.com/states/f/?id=00000178-4749-d7b9-ab7e-77eb9b450000), that could help them both. Later, in Artiles home office, he told Rodriguez he would pay him $50,000 to run as a no-party affiliated candidate in a South Florida Senate seat as part of a coordinated effort to siphon votes from incumbent Democrat José Javier Rodríguez, who ended up losing by just 32 votes to now-Sen. Ileana Garcia, a Miami Republican. > **[Fake Range Rovers, $50K in cash and the downfall of Frank Artiles](https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2021/03/18/fake-range-rovers-50k-in-illegal-cash-and-the-downfall-of-frank-artiles-1368947)** > > Artiles’ alleged scheme likely flipped a Senate seat for Republicans. I really think they should remove Garcia from the Senate and replace with José Javier Rodríguez. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/2 "2021-03-19T16:37:35Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I really think they should remove Garcia from the Senate and replace with José Javier Rodríguez. But is what he did illegal? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/3 "2021-03-19T16:40:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > > [@PastTense](#): > > > > I really think they should remove Garcia from the Senate and replace with José Javier Rodríguez. > > But is what he did illegal? - Candidate colluding with a person who never intended to run as an actual candidate. It could be considered election fraud depending on local laws and definitions. Probably marginal in any case. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/4 "2021-03-19T16:49:33Z")
So if I say, “Hey Running Coach, I really want you to run against me for mayor of Straightdopia and here is $50k for campaign expenses because I believe in you.”, that’s fraud? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/5 "2021-03-19T17:15:03Z")
If you are also running, then obviously you don’t believe in them or want them to win. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/6 "2021-03-19T17:21:32Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > If you are also running, then obviously you don’t believe in them or want them to win But is it illegal? I’m not saying it isn’t unethical but in response to PastTense, should Garcia lose his seat and it be given to the first runner up if it wasn’t an illegal act. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/7 "2021-03-19T17:22:05Z")
As I understand the story, Frank Artiles was not a candidate in the district in which Alex Rodriguez was running. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/8 "2021-03-19T17:26:16Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > I really think they should remove Garcia from the Senate and replace with José Javier Rodríguez. Why should she be removed? She was not even implicated in the shenanigans. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/9 "2021-03-19T17:27:37Z")
She should only be removed if you value fair and ethical elections. Obviously that isn’t going to happen in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/10 "2021-03-19T18:37:25Z")
There was once a young woman who wrote a letter to then (former?) US Senator from Illinois, Carol Mosely Braun. She wrote how she admired her, and in her honor had decided to have her name legally changed to Carol Mosely Braun. CMB wrote back that she herself can think of better ways to honor someone, but has no objections to the name change. Then the newly-minted Carol Mosely Braun ran for some local office in Chicago, based on the very realistic notion that she could win just based on people who thought she was the (former?) Senator. At that point, the “real” Carol Mosely Braun went to court to force her to undo the name change. IIRC, she prevailed. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/11 "2021-03-19T18:42:12Z")
Although he wasn’t sponsored by the opponent, this is essentially the plot of “The Distinguished Gentleman,” a 1992 Eddie Murphy comedy, which, for increased plausibility, was about a _Florida_ congressional race. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/12 "2021-03-19T19:20:22Z")
The article addresses this directly: running a “ghost candidate” who has the same or similar name to another candidate is not illegal. The issue is they committed massive campaign finance violations in the process. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/13 "2021-03-19T20:10:56Z")
I don’t know the rules of the Florida Senate, but I doubt there’s a provision for removing her based on someone else’s malfeasance. Which “high crime or misdemeanor” did _she_ commit? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/14 "2021-03-19T21:02:32Z")
Well, maybe Garcia will do the honorable thing and resign. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/15 "2021-03-19T21:16:08Z")
I’m sure there isn’t. Florida is terrible. They elected Rick Scott governor. Twice. Then doubled down of the current goofball. I’d like to assume that in a sane world that if someone wins an election due to fraud they wouldn’t stay elected. But we don’t live in that world. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/16 "2021-03-19T21:16:57Z")
Of course, this is just another point in favor of ranked-choice/approval voting. The fake candidate would’ve gotten knocked out after the first round. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/17 "2021-03-19T21:22:12Z")
What would happen in New York if the same set of facts applied? Do their rules allow the removal of an officeholder for the actions of others? ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/18 "2021-03-19T21:40:25Z")
I don’t know. But I do know that Florida is largely terrible, by the fact that they continually elect absolute trash to state-wide office, so if anywhere were to do something (say a special election) _they_ wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2021, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/19 "2021-03-19T21:43:39Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So if I say, “Hey Running Coach, I really want you to run against me for mayor of Straightdopia and here is $50k for campaign expenses because I believe in you.”, that’s fraud? Is that even within a hundred miles of what is described in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2021, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247/20 "2021-03-20T00:02:48Z")
So you don’t know how it works in other states, but you’re more than willing to paint Florida with a (very) wide brush. Got it. 🙄 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-want-to-win-election-run-sham-candidate-with-same-last-name-as-opponent/938247.md?page=2)