Hostilities Rise in CD 19 Between Lizbeth Benacquisto, Curt Clawson

The race to replace former U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., is heating up in Southwest Florida as Republican primary candidates start to exchange fire. After Radel resigned at the end of January, three major Republican candidates started battling to replace him. Whoever wins the April 22 primary will have a clear advantage over Democrat April Freeman and Libertarian Rey Netherwood in the June 24 general election.

With polls showing a two-candidate race with former state Rep. Paige Kreegel in third, the team behind businessman Curtis Clawson launched anew television adattacking Florida Senate Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, for being a Democrat in her youth and voting for Medicaid expansion in Tallahassee.

John Yob, an adviser to Clawson, pointed to his candidates support of the Penny Plan which proposes to reduce the size of the federal government by 1 percent each year until the budget is balanced. Former U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, R-Fla., who held the seat before Radel, was the main author of the plan and is backing Clawson.

Curt Clawson has stayed focused on his economic growth plan and Penny Plan, Yob said. Benacquisto has attempted to hide her past as a registered Democrat and her support for the Obamacare Medicaid expansion by launching false attacks against Curt Clawson. We urge her to stop running a dirty campaign and start talking about the issues that matter.

The Clawson camp announced earlier this week they have decided to have their candidate not attend forums unless Benacquisto is present.

The Benacquisto campaign fired back with a statement released on Wednesday afternoon:

At the start of the campaign for Florida's 19th Congressional District, Curt Clawson claimed he would run a "clean" campaign. But the truth is, hes already spent a million dollars telling voters hes an outsider.

But now we know the truth.

Clawsons another insider whose high-priced Washington handlers are pushing lie after lie on television.

His latest? A patently false attack ad that compares health care votes in the state Legislature to Obamacare. The truth? The New York Times couldnt have been clearer than this March 11, 2013, headline:Medicaid Expansion Is Rejected in Florida.

ThisNew York Times articleclearly explains Lizbeth and the state Senates rejection of expanding Medicaid. In fact, the bill cited by Clawson is an absolute rejection of Obamacare and, in Congress, she will repeal Obamacare.

And Curt Clawsons lies are piling up in his inside-out campaign.

Clawson denies trying to buy this election and yet hes spending unprecedented amounts of cash. He claims he wants to hear from the people of Southwest Florida, yet as was reported yesterday, Clawson's high-priced Washington handlers have put him into hiding while he refuses to attend public events unless his list of demands is met. A digital journalist described this as Clawson "taking his ball and going home ..."

Voters deserve honest answers to the serious questions about his past business failures. Curt Clawson cant hide from the truth.