MIAMI – A Miami-Dade County judge is being asked to remove a candidate off the 2024 ballot.
A candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, Democrat Joe Saunders, alleges his aunt, no-party-affiliation candidate Moe Saunders, filed to appear on the ballot only to tank his campaign.
The family drama exploded during a court hearing on Thursday.
The essential questions about Maureen “Moe” Saunders Scott, the Moe Saunders who filed to run against her nephew Joe Saunders for state representative, are “Why is she running for office?” and “What is her legitimate name?”
“This not a real attempt to win an election, but it is actually an attempt to deceive voters and inflict harm on me,” said Joe Saunders.
His Aunt Moe insists her intentions are for public service.
“I think the court is wise enough to see that I’m standing up and doing something with the life that tried to be smudged out,” she said.
The judge coached Moe Saunders on how to represent herself in the courtroom, then heard about the family drama unspooled on her X feed, the social media website formerly known as Twitter.
She alleges that she was sexually abused as a teen, making allegations that Joe Saunders and others in the family covered it up, broke ties and financially abandoned her.
“Had my family acknowledged what had been done, I would have gone away quietly,” she said.
The judge focused on the timeline of the name she uses, Maureen Saunders Scott, which is on her candidate statement and filing check, and on her going by Moe in family texts and emails.
He ultimately ruled that she could remain on the ballot, but must spell her name Mo, not Moe.