EPIC FAIL!
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s re-election campaign pulled two ads from broadcast television after questions about content were raised. Both were the subject of reporting by Florida Politics for offering incomplete presentations of facts, though the Rubio campaign says one of the ads is still appearing on cable TV.
One ad, “100%,” attacked Democratic challenger Val Demings for voting for pandemic relief checks that went to inmates and undocumented workers, but failed to mention that Rubio co-sponsored and voted for the legislation as well. The ad began running on Sept. 14, but the last airing was on Sept. 19.
The other, “Diego’s,” spotlighted a Panama City Beach business that benefited from the Paycheck Protection Program, which Rubio helped craft. But it turned out the business was owned by a man who pleaded no contest to a charge he solicited and procured a prostitute in 2001. That ad started airing on Sept. 9, but abruptly came off broadcast television, also on Sept. 19.
The “100%” ad was pulled three days after Florida Politics reported on the failure to mention Rubio’s support of the same bill. The “Diego’s” ad came down a day before Florida Politics first reported on the business owner’s criminal record.
Demings’ campaign criticized Rubio for a “series of campaign missteps” after the latest ad was taken off the air.
Here’s some more context:
The president of a company featured prominently in an advertisement for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s campaign has a criminal record.
Silvino Barragan, president of Diego’s Taqueria & Margaritas Bar, pleaded no contest in 2001 to a charge of soliciting or procuring a prostitute. After the Panama City man’s plea to the misdemeanor charge, adjudication on the case was withheld. Less than three months after a first appearance on June 28, 2001, Barragan paid $297 to the court.
Years later, Barragan in 2013 incorporated Diego’s. The business grew a local following within a few years, according to the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce. The restaurant now has two locations in Panama City Beach.
As the restaurant business was pilloried by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the company was among many Florida businesses to apply for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program. A search through a ProPublica database of recipients shows the business received $256,080 that was forgiven in 2021.
Of note, state business records show Barragan also opened food truck Cheo’s Latin Kitchen shortly after the loan was pulled.
Rubio played a key role in crafting the Paycheck Protection Program, and he has touted the federal response as he seeks a third term in the Senate. He faces a challenge this year from U.S. Rep. Val Demings, an Orlando Congresswoman and the Democratic nominee for Senate.
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