Democrat Rep. Under Investigation For Campaign Violations

A Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives has drawn the interest of campaign finance watchdogs now investigating fraud complaints related to her first successful election.

The Federal Election Commission has launched an investigation into Florida Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) after tipsters reported about her past work with Mark Goodrich, a Republican political consultant, in 2021 while running in a special election for her current seat. An ethics complaint filed by the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation alleges Cherfilus-McCormick failed to report significant in-kind contributions that helped propel her to victory that year.

Those contributions came from Goodrich as well as the lawmaker’s family, according to an investigation by the House Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE).

“You don’t accidentally magically happen to have [multiple entities] ready to go at a moment’s notice. They’re not that quick to set up,” Dan Backer, the attorney filing the complaints against Cherfilus-McCormick for the Coolidge-Reagan Foundation, told the Daily Caller. “All of this was already in place. These people I think are blatantly corrupt.”

An under-the-table arrangement saw Corlie McCormick Jr. and Chantrell McCormick, the Democrat’s husband and sister-in-law, work on behalf of a limited liability company known as Progressive People Inc. (PPI). According to investigators, PPI funneled $725,000 to Truth and Justice Inc. (TFI), a tax-exempt organization.

It was Goodrich who allegedly had access to TFI and used the proceeds to pay vendors doing work on behalf of Chefilus-McCormick’s campaign.

Former staffers who worked with Goodrich told investigators that he managed both the congresswoman’s 2021-22 special election and 2022 general election campaigns, and that a titular campaign manager had no power to stop him from siphoning the funds.

“The Committee on Ethics has not yet concluded its review of the allegations, and no decision has been made at this time,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a statement to the DCNF. “As outlined in the Committee’s public statement, the referral for further review does not imply that any violation has occurred. I fully respect the process and remain committed to cooperating with the Committee as it works to bring this inquiry to a close.”

Financial records obtained by investigators show that TFI made three wire transfers in the summer of 2022, totaling $150,000, to Image Plus Graphics, a printing and mail graphics firm working on behalf of Cherfilus-McCormick’s campaign. Emails and text messages obtained by OCE show that the congresswoman was aware of at least one instance where she instructed Goodrich to print and distribute a mailer for her campaign.

Compounding the congresswoman’s troubles is a plan by the Republican-controlled Florida legislature to overhaul the state’s congressional districts. A draft of the proposed new map would effectively draw Cherfilus-McCormick out of her base of support ahead of the 2026 elections.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, who supports redistricting, has cited the claw-shaped 20th Congressional District as an example of unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

“[Florida’s 20th district] would be the one that is the most irregularly shaped, that if the U.S. Supreme Court said that you can’t do that, you would be forced to draw that one,” the governor stated at an Aug. 22 press conference. “One hundred percent.”