Ooops. Senate 39 candidate boasts backing she ain’t got

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell had four endorsements to announce last week in her challenge to the popular and veteran Sen. Anitere Flores.

Problem is, she didn’t really. She only had two. Or, at best, three.

A social media graphic was posted Thursday boasting the endorsements of Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, who got a lot of love from the Democratic Party in her non-partisan 2014 race and is paying it back; Monroe County Commissioner Heather Carruthers, Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace and Goulds activist J.L. Demps.

But Demps said he didn’t endorse her. In fact, he endorsed Flores.

“I met her and I did have a conversation with her,” Demps told Ladra about Mucarsell. “She’s a very nice person also.”

But why would she get the idea that he had endorsed her? “I don’t know,” he said.

Mucarsel-Powell, who describes herself as a professional fund raiser for non profits and organizations, told Ladra that Demps inclusion was due to “confusion, a mix up.” They had met at an school event in Goulds and when they spoke afterwards she assumed she had his support. But her campaign manager, Kate Coyne-McCoy, admitted that they did not have a signed endorsement form from Dumps.

Flores does.

“This didn’t surprise me, because there are so many false allegations coming from her campaign,” the senator told Ladra, referring to mailers that have gone out against the incumbent. “How can she be trusted if all she’s doing is lying to confuse voters?”

Read related story: Democratic Party throws GOP right bloc at Anitere Flores

When it comes to Wallace, Mucarsel-Powell says there is no confusion. “I had his support from the very first day I met him,” she told Ladra. Coyne-McCoy didn’t know if she had a signed endorsement form from him Saturday but said she would check.

It’s not like Flores needs him. She’s got a hefty list of endorsements, including the PBA, AFSCME, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the United Faculty of Miami-Dade, Monroe Sheriff Rick Ramsay, the Florida Professional Firefighters Associations and all seven elected officials in Homestead, which is in the district — even though most are Democrats (only Commissioner Jon Burgess is a Republican).

Meanwhile, maybe Mucarsel-Powell should stick with the very predictable endorsements she really has: Emily’s List, SAVE Dade and the Democratic Veterans of Florida.

And make sure they sign the endorsement forms.