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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.
A Twitter account seemingly belonging to Scott suggested that Saunders failed to speak out and protect her against an abusive relative, although the Miami Herald has not been able to corroborate that assertion.
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 could not 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 that Basabe and the Republican Party were involved in a “coordinated and orchestrated effort to fool voters” by having Scott on the ballot, although she 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.”
Since his surprise election in a region historically controlled by Democrats, Basabe has angered some constituents with his votes alongside fellow Republicans on culturewar 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 that 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 the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida.