In similar fashion to the insanity taking place in Saint Johns County, divisive rhetoric is now being spewed 1 county north against a candidate for Republican State Committee Woman.

Meleana Gay, whose husband Mike Gay serves on the Jacksonville city council, is running for State Committee Woman. Also running for State Committee Man is Republican Nathan Tocco. It would appear that the Gay and Tocco familes have a friendship and nothing more. However yesterday, one of the most liberal Republican members of the Florida House decided to send a very aggressive email attacking gay and demanding that she call on Tocco to withdraw from the race.

Randy Fine started his email with the phrase “Are You A Nazi”?

It is important to keep in mind when reading Fine’s email that recently sponsored the largest piece of anti free speech legislation in Florida history.

Fine also sponsored another piece of free speech legislation which would ban those 16 and under from having social media accounts. It would appear that Randy Fine is a fan of big government.

Mrs. Gay graciously responed to Representative Fine’s email and set the record straight stating that she is not running as part of a ticket with Tocco.

Mrs. Gay then graciously responded to Representative Fine’s email at 1:20 PM answering all of Fine’s questions as well as questioning why she was not invited to the same event as Fine.

Representative Fine, 

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to your email.   

I would like to make it very clear that Nathan Tocco is not my running mate.  This race is not a ticket.  

I notarized his filing papers, as well as numerous precinct committeemen and committeewoman papers.  Over a very short period of time to campaign, Mr. Tocco participated in the same candidate forums that each State Committeewoman and Committeeman candidate was invited to participate in.  We were ultimately endorsed by the same organizations, and I realized we aligned on many issues related to the seats.  It became apparent that Dean Black and Ginger Sound were aligned, and I saw no harm in sharing those issues on the same piece of literature due to cost savings.  

I do not have the financial backing of the Serious Conservatives PC, like my opponent and Dean Black.  My resources are limited to what has been contributed to my campaign from supporters, and what I was able to reasonably invest into a position that does not pay anything.  

I have my own campaign website, campaign email and business cards.  The shared literature clearly shows there are two different campaigns.  Numerous people have assumed we were running against each other.  

Instead of asking you to resubmit your questions, I will redact the portion that asserts I have a running mate. 

Do you believe that Israel is responsible for 9/11?

NO.

Do you believe that the Holocaust is not real?

The Holocaust is real.  My father’s great grandfather, Aaron Steiner, was a prisoner in a concentration camp.  My great grandfather’s name was Harry Steiner, my grandmother’s name was Francis. They lived in Columbus, Ohio.  Both are deceased now. I can provide further information if you would like to verify this. 

Do you believe that 100,000 Jewish-Americans who live in Florida should be stripped of their citizenship and deported?

No.

Do you believe that Jewish American business owners are painting swastikas on their own businesses to get attention? 

No. 

Did you know about Mr. Tocco’s social media posts before you and he filed to run?

No.  I believe the social media posts came from his X account, and I’m not very active on X.  It’s sporadic, at best. I’ve never seen anything related to any of the questions you have asked me on his FB account, which I view frequently.   

Most importantly, are you going to withdraw your participation in the Nazi ticket with Mr. Tocco?

We are not a ticket.  I will continue to run my race.  And for the record, I do not support Dean Black for good reason.  My husband is Councilman Mike Gay.  During his election in 2023 by his opponent and his campaign consultant, Alexander Pantinakis.  They sent mailers out depicting my husband as a MAGA Extremist and photoshopped him to make it appear he aligned with Nazis, displaying the Black Eagle Shield.  

This was done in a unitary election with only two filed republican candidates who were both active members of the Duval REC.  To portray my husband in this light was not only extremely insulting to him, it was very hurtful to endure as his wife.  This is also the rhetoric of the left being regurgitated by the GOP Strategist, Alexander Pantinakis, who was also the political consultant for my husband’s opponent.  Despite the uproar this caused within the REC, Dean Black did nothing to denounce this smear on Trump supporters and my husband, citing he would be “A party boss” if he intervened.  These attacks on my husband, along with so many grassroots candidates they have attacked with false and malicious statements is a large part of the reason I decided to run. 

I would greatly appreciate you holding these Duval GOP officials accountable for the hate they projected onto us.  My husband voted to stand with Israel in his official capacity.  Two days before Christmas, we had to have JSO police officers parked in our driveway because there was a threat of Pro-Hamas protestors caravanning to the homes of council members that supported the resolution.  Our children had to leave our home because I was concerned for their safety.  

I was admittedly caught off guard by all of this.  I was unaware of yesterday’s speaking event until after it happened. As the former Elections Committee Chair for the Republican Women’s Club of Duval Federated, a filed Republican candidate and active REC member, I was somehow excluded.  I won’t assume it was deliberate, I may have overlooked an advertisement, but I want you to know, I would have attended. 

Sincerely,

Maleana Gay

It would appear on the surface that this is another attack being waged by the Florida swamp against MAGA. Meleana’s husband faced the same type of attacks during his campaign for Jacksonville City Council.

Much like the rhetoric in St. Johns County, Gay’s opposition accused him of “being in their pocket”

Fine responded to Gay’s email with the following response:

It is worth noting that the event Gay appears to have been excluded from was organized by current Secretary of State Cord Byrd’s wife Esther. Byrd was exposed by Laura Loomer as a serial adulterer as well as a Trump hater.

The Gay campaign has released an official statement in Regards to Randy Fine’s ask.

It would appear that the Gay family is once again the target of NE Florida’s rabid case of Trump derangement syndrome