Politics
Dark money group attacks Mike Beltran from the right on immigration
A dark money group that Republicans accuse of working to help Democrats has mailers out attacking Mike Beltran.
American Forge Coalition, a nonprofit based in Delaware formed this year, put out a mailer attacking the Republican with the headline “Illegal Immigrants DESERVE DEPORTATION not protection.” There is no Federal Election Commission account bearing the organization’s name.
The mailer comes even though Beltran takes a hard line on the border on his campaign website: “Mike stands 100% with President Trump on immigration. We need to finish the wall, deport the criminals and fraudsters, and restore law and order at our southern border. Florida’s families deserve security, not an open-border disaster.”
The mailer bases its claim on Beltran’s work as a private lawyer, saying he made money defending a “criminal illegal” who re-entered the country, an accused drug smuggler and an accused drug dealer. No cases are cited.
“Democrats have one play in their playbook: use dark money to lie about their opponents,” said Beltran spokesperson Will Hampson. “Mike Beltran is going to win because no amount of dark money can erase Kathy Castor’s 20-year career of shady insider deals, ‘well-timed’ stock trades, and enriching herself at the expense of the people of Tampa Bay.”
Beltran faces U.S. Rep. Castor, a Tampa Democrat, in a heated race in Florida’s 14th Congressional District. Castor’s campaign said it had no involvement with the mailer.
The same group has been involved in battleground races nationwide, according to Fox News. It has funded negative mailers against U.S. Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa and Jen Kiggans of Virginia, all Republicans in seats targeted by House Democrats. It also has sent out mail against Republican Laurie Buckhout, who is challenging vulnerable Democratic U.S. Rep. Don Davis.
There is no contact information on the site for media or inquiries, just a signup to receive messages from the group. It presents itself as a hard-line conservative group that puts “Americans first, foreigners last.” It claims to have held 73 town halls in 50 states. Its website has a multiplank platform on retaining American jobs, securing the border and stopping Washington and globalists from “dictating to working families. Local control, real representation.”
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which has Beltran in its MAGA Majority program, decried the tactic.
“The Democrat Party is terrified of Mike Beltran heading into Election Day, so they’ve resorted to using dark money shell groups to lie to Florida voters in a desperate eleventh-hour attempt to influence the election,” said NRCC spokesperson Maureen O’Toole. “Democrats’ pathetic scheme will backfire, and their toxic brand will only sink further into the mud.”
Notably, the group hits many incumbents for co-sponsoring an immigration bill championed by U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Coral Gables Republican also targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this cycle, so it’s possible the group could play in other Florida districts before Election Day.
But in CD 14, the group appears to also be sending out positive mailers, not for Castor but for Libertarian Brian Lambert and praising his plan to “repeal all gun laws” (though that phrase doesn’t appear on Lambert’s “Issues” page).
The Nevada Independent reports the American Forge Coalition also funded mailers promoting an Independent American Party candidate in a battleground Nevada seat.
The post Dark money group attacks Mike Beltran from the right on immigration appeared first on Florida Politics – Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government..