The Casey Wardynski campaign denied participating in, or having any knowledge of, a text message blast falsely claiming that Wardynski had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
The Dale Strong campaign did not buy the denial.
The text message blast in question – which was delivered to hundreds of voters across the state – was sent around 5:30 p.m. on Monday and included a picture of Wardynski above the words “Endorsed by former President Trump, Casey Wardynski is the REAL convervative Alabama needs.”
Small problem, however: “We are not aware of any new Trump endorsements in this race. Any texts on this topic did not come from the Wardynski campaign,” said Wardynski’s campaign.
Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the 5th Congressional District race between the two men, who are looking to replace Mo Brooks in Congress.
The Strong campaign was not buying the denial from Wardynski’s camp.
“Throughout this campaign Casey Wardynski has lied about Dale’s record and lied about his own,” a spokesperson for the Strong campaign said in an emailed response. “Every time he has been confronted with proof of those lies he changes his story and blames someone else. This fake Trump endorsement seems like more of the same and is a new low.”
A new low in this race would be noteworthy. Last week, the two candidates traded nasty personal attacks during a televised debate.
Strong claimed Wardynski received “personal sexual gratification” from a contract he awarded while superintendent of Huntsville City Schools. Wardynski, who denied the allegations, called Strong a “scumbag.”
Despite the vitriol, primary voting and subsequent polling have consistently shown a race that is not particularly close. Almost all polling has Strong with a comfortable lead.
