It's happened here before.
- In 1990, Republican campaign consultant Rod Shealy recruited an African-American candidate to run in a congressional race. The reason, and for which Shealy was later convicted? To screw up the election in favor of another candidate, and with racist intentions.
- In 2010, Rep. Jim Clyburn told media that he found three Democratic congressional candidates in South Carolina - Frasier, Alvin Greene (for US Senate) and Gregory Brown (for Congressional Disrict 6) - to be represented by a Republican campaign consultant.
It's happening in other races in other states, too.
- In 2012, the Wisconsin Republican Party planted six of its own to run as Democrats in that year's special elections. The state's GOP admitted in court that it did so just to help its own candidates.
- In 2012 Mark Clayton, a far-right conservative and conspiracy theorist, entered the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Tennessee. There were already six Democratic candidates, and Tennessee doesn't do primary runoffs; by getting many non-Democrats to vote in the primary, Clayton "won" the Democratic Party nomination with only 30 percent of the vote. (The next day, the state Democratic Party disclaimed that he was an actual Democrat.) The seat was already held by Republican incumbent Bob Corker, who had barely won the last election by only three percent. Thus, by Clayton taking the Democratic primary, Corker faced no real competition and was easily re-elected.
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