ORLANDO, Fla.,None — Questions are being raised about a new candidate getting in the race for state attorney of Orange and Osceola counties. This latest candidate recently donated to the campaign of a man he's now running against.
As WFTV's Drew Petrimoulx reports, some believe it could be a strategic move to make it more difficult for other candidates to beat Lawson Lamar.
Orlando defense attorney Joerg Jaeger admits that he is friends with Lamar. He's hosted fundraisers for him. He and his business interests have donated money to Lamar's campaign. Jaeger's son and wife have chipped in, too.
All told, the attorney has had a role in at least $4,400 in donations that have flowed into Lamar's war chest since last October.
And that's why Lamar's chief rival, Jeff Ashton, scratched his head when Jaeger announced he, too, would enter the state attorney race.
"I was surprised that he would get in as an opponent of (Lamar)," Ashton said.
Jaeger's announcement has led to rumblings in legal circles that he and Lamar are in cahoots.
Here's why: Before Jaeger entered the race, all three candidates were Democrats.
If that remained the case, then all of the 772,000 registered voters in Orange and Osceola counties would have been eligible to cast ballots in the race.
But with Jaeger, a Republican, entering the race, the three Democrats will compete in a closed primary. In the two counties, the 333,000 registered Democrats are the only ones eligible to vote in that primary.
University of Central Florida political scientist Aubrey Jewett said Lamar's advantage in organization and fundraising are magnified in a closed primary.
"This could be good news for Lawson Lamar and potentially bad news for Jeff Ashton and the other challenger (Ryan Williams)," Jewett said.
And Ashton's advantage: Lamar's name recognition is diminished.
"He was probably planning on his notoriety from the Casey Anthony trial to help him with independents and even Republicans," Jewett said.
Ashton insisted Friday that the closed primary helps him. Lamar's camp said they have no idea why Jaeger entered the race.
Jaeger said the fact that he's funding his own campaign is proof that he's in the race to win.
WFTV
