Despite news reports about his attempts to scrub his online record, Jake Rush’s campaign maintains he did nothing wrong.
The local attorney and congressional hopeful caught the spotlight this week after online comments insinuating sexual assault and drug use were traced back to a gaming account connected with Rush’s name.
“Jake has never lied about these activities,” said Alex Patton, Rush’s campaign spokesman. “He didn’t make those comments.”
Gamer Lee Snyder took responsibility for the comments in a release from Rush’s campaign Wednesday.
Rush will face local Congressman Ted Yoho in the August Republican primary. Yoho campaign spokeswoman Kat Cammack told the Alligator Thursday that Yoho doesn’t engage in “any of this sideshow distraction.”
In a statement released by Yoho’s campaign, the congressman distanced himself from the situation. He called the rumors about the sexual and drug references “extremely disturbing,” and he said the content does not reflect his values.
“This is an unfortunate distraction, and I remain focused on reducing our $17.6 trillion dollar debt, creating jobs, and support for our veterans,” he said in the statement.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 4/4/2014 under the headline "Rush denies wrongdoing, Yoho responds"]
