State GOP leadership relieved at withdrawal of endorsement of Mike Caruso

Filed 2h ago · Via Florida Phoenix · The Buffoon Desk

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Kevin MacLeod · incompetech.com · CC BY 4.0

Photo: The White House · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons

The Republican Party of Palm Beach County removed Mike Caruso, charged with five felony counts of child molestation, from its midterm voter guide, after Gov. Ron DeSantis called the original endorsement a mistake. Caruso, a DeSantis appointee as Clerk of Court whom DeSantis had already suspended following his August arrest, remains on the November 3 ballot against Boca Raton Councilmember Yvette Drucker.

The local party said it was required by Florida statute to list every Republican nominee and removed Caruso as soon as it was permitted for a constitutional office race. DeSantis said Caruso deserves the presumption of innocence criminally, but that a party choosing to actively endorse someone is a different matter.

Sen. Rick Scott called the situation disgusting and urged Caruso to withdraw immediately; party chair Evan Power thanked the county party for doing the right thing.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.

✒ FROM THE EDITORIAL DESK

A party that needs a governor's public nudge to stop endorsing a man facing child molestation charges has told you plenty about its own instincts. Statutes forced the listing, sure, but nothing forced the enthusiasm that came before it. Around here we'd call that the kind of mistake a fence makes only after the neighbor points out the gate's been open the whole time.

Source: Read the original at Florida Phoenix → Scored: Investigations · Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 4.0

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