Frost congressional ad calls Grayson ‘corrupt,’ and Bracy ‘compromised’

A flyer sent out by Democratic U.S. House candidate Maxwell Frost’s campaign directly attacks opponents Alan Grayson and Randolph Bracy, calling Grayson “corrupt” and Bracy “compromised.”

The ad hits former U.S. Rep. Grayson over the congressional investigation into his offshore hedge fund, and criticizes Bracy over his past votes on environmental and other issues.

Grayson called Frost’s flyer “a desperate move by a chronic liar.” State Sen. Bracy also criticized Frost, saying, “he’s obviously down, so he’s attacking me.”

The flyer is the latest salvo in a heated Democratic primary race to succeed U.S. Rep. Val Demings, D-Orlando, who is running for U.S. Senate.

Ten Democrats have filed to run for the seat, including Frost, a gun reform activist, Grayson, Bracy, civil rights attorney Natalie Jackson, pastor Terence Gray, businessman Jeffrey Boone, and former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown.

The redrawn seat is heavily Democratic, and the winner of the Aug. 23 primary will be the overwhelming favorite to win in November. There is no runoff, so a candidate can win with a simple plurality.

Frost, who has far outraised his opponents by taking in more than $1.5 million as of August, said his campaign sent the ad because “what we wanted to do is ensure that people know peoples’ records.

“Sen. Bracy has voted with the GOP on many different things … And Grayson has just so much baggage,” Frost said. “We need a new type of leader, we need a new type of politician, who stands distinguished from people with compromised values and folks who are corrupt.”

The flyer opens to an image of a postcard reading, “Welcome to the Cayman Islands” and $100 dollar bill magnets holding up a New York Times article from 2016 headlined “Alan Grayson’s double life: Congressman and hedge fund manager.”

The Times article was about Grayson’s role as the manager of a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund, which led to an investigation of Grayson by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics.

A 2016 report from the Office of Congressional Ethics found that there was “a substantial reason to believe” that Grayson broke federal law and House ethics rules in connection with his hedge fund and other actions in office.

The report was forwarded to the ethics committee in April 2016. In its final report from Jan. 2, 2017, the committee stated that while it had been “continuing to review the allegations” as of April 2016, ultimately “Representative Grayson did not run for reelection to the House for the 115th Congress, and the Committee will not have jurisdiction over him after January 3, 2017.”

In an email, Grayson responded, “The things that Frost is saying about both Sen. Bracy and me are patently false, I would confirm that under oath, and they are not established by his so-called sources.”

The other half of the flyer features a photo of Bracy above a post-it note reading “Thanks again Bracy, [heart] Big Sugar,” and postcards of red tide algae-infected waters with the phrase “Wish You Were Here.”

The flyer claimed Bracy was “beholden to the Big Sugar business” because of his contributions from sugar companies and his vote for a 2021 bill that added “fumes and particle emissions” to the list of defensible practices, which critics said would allow sugar companies to burn fields and create ash.

The ad also attacks Bracy for his vote for 2021 bills preventing local governments from banning fossil fuels or other energy sources and from banning cruise ships, and a 2018 bill that loosened regulations on payday lenders.

“It’s easy to pick out one or two bills over a 10-year legislative career to point to, when he has no voting record,” Bracy said.

Grayson called Frost “Maxwell Fraud,” claiming that Frost “lies about being the survivor of gun violence … [and] about being tear-gassed by the police.”

Bracy also questioned Frost’s description of himself, saying, “he claims he was a victim of gun violence when he wasn’t.”

Frost said he was in downtown Orlando with friends in 2016 when someone next to him pulled out a gun and started shooting.

“Literally hundreds of us that were downtown ran away from that gunfire fearing for our lives,” he said. “Every single one of those people are survivors of gun violence along with myself.”

Frost was at at least two post-George Floyd protests in Orlando in the spring of 2020 at which tear gas was used by law enforcement. A video by an Orlando Sentinel reporter shows Frost in a crowd seconds before gas was deployed. Gas was not used at the July 2020 protest at which Frost was arrested.

NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly described Maxwell Frost’s position on guns. He supports gun reforms.

Complete primary election coverage can be found at OrlandoSentinel.com/election .