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Alexis Rodriguez said prosecutors are correct that ex-Rep. Frank Artiles recruited him in 2020 to run in Miami’s Senate District 37 because his name was so similar to the incumbent’s.
Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges, detailed in a Miami courtroom how Artiles paid and coached him to run as an independent against then-Democratic Sen. José Javier Rodríguez.
He said Artiles, a Republican, wanted him to siphon votes from the incumbent. Artiles’ lawyers argued his accuser is a “pathological” liar.
Republican Ileana Garcia won the 2020 race by 32 votes. She denies, and isn’t accused of any wrongdoing.
– Jesse Scheckner, Florida Politics