Ron DeSantis smeared this trans candidate. She just won her primary. Ashley Brundage could be the state’s first out trans lawmaker.

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/08/ron-desantis-smeared-this-trans-candidate-she-just-won-her-primary/

26 Comments

  1. >***Brundage joins two other winning LGBTQ+ candidates in Florida, former state representative Joe Saunders and climate advocate Nate Douglas, in trying to erase Republicans’ super majority in the state legislature in November.***

    >*Brundage’s opponent in the general election is a former teacher in the Tampa area who voted in favor of Don’t Say Gay legislation and book bans in school libraries. Brundage is the award-winning author of* [*Empowering Differences: Leveraging Your Differences to Impact Change*](https://www.amazon.com/Empowering-Differences-Leveraging-Impact-Change/dp/1736087134)*.*

    >Brundage says Pittman “only helped to scare away people from wanting to come to Florida” with the “draconian laws” she’s helped to pass.

    >Those include Gov. DeSantis’ signature Don’t Say Gay legislation, which Brundage described in [an interview with *LGBTQ Nation*](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/08/ron-desantis-gave-ashley-brundage-a-trans-democrat-an-award-now-shes-challenging-gop-power/) as “absolutely ridiculous.”

    >***In 2022, Brundage was given a Spirit of the Community award by the Florida Commission on the Status of Women for bringing in tens of millions of dollars to the Tampa area with an international economic empowerment conference. Brundage received a letter of congratulations from DeSantis, who, it turns out, didn’t know Brundage was trans.***

    >*But news organizations did, and Brundage says DeSantis “dodged everybody’s request for comment on it. No comment. No comment. No comment. I announced my candidacy, of course, and talked about the letter. And then he finally responded — to the Daily Mail in the U.K.* ***And he told them that he would have never given me the award if he had known that I was a transgender woman.”***

    >Like his hateful Don’t Say Gay laws, Brundage called DeSantis’ disavowal “ridiculous.”

    This brings me great joy to see DeSantis and his loser Moms for Christian nationalism coterie continue taking losses. Ashley is an award-winning author who is dedicated to standing up to make Florida a warm and welcoming place to be. Meanwhile, DeSantis is doing everything counterintuitive to making his state a place people want to go. Even Canada is saying “Damn, don’t go visit Florida! DeSantis is fucking it up there!”

    Elect Ashley and other Democrats to the state legislature, Florida! The guy who eats pudding with his fingers is ruining your state, but you can vote to make it better.

    [https://www.ashleybrundage.com/](https://www.ashleybrundage.com/)

  2. _reversegiraffe_ on

    Hope she wins. DeSantis and the rest of our awful Republicans have been demonizing trans people for so long and I’m completely sick of it and them.

  3. This is the best tl;dr I could make, [original](https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/08/ron-desantis-smeared-this-trans-candidate-she-just-won-her-primary/) reduced by 81%. (I’m a bot)
    *****
    > Ashley Brundage, 44, a DEI educator and former bank executive, moved one step closer on Tuesday to becoming the first elected transgender lawmaker from Florida despite a smear campaign perpetuated by the state's governor, Ron DeSantis.

    > "I am incredibly honored and humbled to announce that we've won the Democratic primary election with a resounding victory over 80% for Florida State House District 65!" Brundage posted on X. Brundage joins two other winning LGBTQ+ candidates in Florida, former state representative Joe Saunders and climate advocate Nate Douglas, in trying to erase Republicans' super majority in the state legislature in November.

    > Brundage received a letter of congratulations from DeSantis, who, it turns out, didn't know Brundage was trans.

    *****
    [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/1ezk3vb/ron_desantis_smeared_this_trans_candidate_she/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ “Version 2.02, ~692811 tl;drs so far.”) | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr “PM’s and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome.”) | *Top* *keywords*: **Brundage**^#1 **Florida**^#2 **DeSantis**^#3 **state**^#4 **still**^#5

  4. BadgeOfDishonour on

    Assuming she has the credentials behind her, I’d be thrilled if she gets the job. Screw the bigots.

  5. It must take such courage to put your name and face out there in the National spotlight while people with violent ideations watch from the wings. I find it so impressive.

  6. Watch out for dirty tactics. She may have won but that won’t stop them from smearing or otherwise attempting to undermine her or her constituents

  7. Good for her. Fuck DeSantis.

    There is something to be said for bigots giving someone more name recognition than they would have gotten on their own and having that bite them in the ass.

  8. How are people not insulted that politicians think so little of their intelligence they think they can distract them from real issues by complaining about transsexuals.

    These people are literally too stupid to understand how stupid they are.

  9. It’s sad that this is “news.” I long for the days when elected officials were in the press for actual accomplishments and not someone as trivial as the color of their skin, religious beliefs etc.

  10. Unless her district is part (near is not enough as that just means suburbs) of a major city that isn’t Miami, she doesn’t stand a chance. You can thanks the Cubans in Miami for inflicting Rubio on the country.