Gov. Ron DeSantis called it “wrong” and a “fraud on the donor” to deceive people into giving campaign contributions after he was asked Monday about allegations that a Republican congressional candidate in Northeast Florida raised money off the names of DeSantis and former President Donald Trump. The question came after a Politico report about fundraising emails by Congressional District 4 candidate Erick Aguilar.
During an appearance at Florida State College at Jacksonville, DeSantis said he hadn’t seen the emails but took issue with what he had heard about them. “I mean, at the end of the day, to use somebody's logo, and use their name and act like … people are supporting me, when it's really going out there, that's a fraud on the donor,” DeSantis said. “And that is wrong.”
According to Politico, Aguilar used WinRed, a popular Republican campaign platform, to solicit donations. The requests, distributed nationally, didn’t mention Aguilar or other candidates in the congressional contest, instead suggesting money would go to DeSantis, Trump or U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Politico reported. State Sen. Aaron Bean, a Fernandina Beach Republican running against Aguilar in the Aug. 23 congressional primary, has called for a state and federal investigation into “deceitful campaign activities.”
