When you’re running in a Republican primary, there are few things more valuable than a photo with President Donald Trump.
Unless, of course, voters mistake the photo for an endorsement you don’t actually have.
Welcome to the latest chapter in the race for House District 113, where candidate Frank Lago‘s camp recently dropped a campaign mailer featuring the candidate alongside Trump in a way that has some political observers raising an eyebrow — and some opponents rolling their eyes.
The message is subtle in the same way a marching band is subtle: Trump. Trump. Trump.
Half of the “free Florida vision” points he mentions are GOP culture wars red meat like a promise to “keep radical ideologies out of the classroom” 
and “protect the integrity of our elections through voter ID.” Lago, who once was chief of staff to former Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño — who was later arrested on federal bribery charges and sentenced to 40 months — also promises to cut waste and property taxes.
The mailer, one side in English and the other in Spanish, was paid for by a brand new Tampa-based political action committee, Families For a Free Florida, which only has one $385,000 contribution from Floridians for Senior Care, another PAC, which got $1 million earlier this year from A Stronger Florida PAC, which is. mostly funded by HCA hospitals and auto mogul Norman Braman. A Stonger Florida also gave $200,000 to Friends of Byron Donalds.
Read related: Tony Diaz goes on offensive in HD 113 with “Fishy Frank” Lago narrative
The obvious takeaway for many HD113 voters flipping through their mail is that Lago is Trump’s guy.
There’s just one problem. He’s not. At least not officially. According to Ballotpedia, the POTUS has not endorsed anybody in any of the local Florida House races.
No endorsement has been announced. No Truth Social post. No campaign statement. No Trump seal of approval.
All we have is a photograph. An edited photograph that doesn’t even pretend to really have them together.
And in South Florida politics, a photograph can apparently do a lot of heavy lifting.
Lago did not return calls or texts from Ladra. But his opponents aren’t amused.
Former Miami-Dade Commissioner and State Representative Bruno Barreiro seems largely unbothered. His argument is simple: voters already know who he is, and they know he’s supported Trump in all three presidential campaigns.
Translation: Why rent the image when you’ve already got the résumé?
Meanwhile, fellow candidate Tony Diaz — a small business owner sin pelos en su lengua who coined the “Fishy Frank” nickname — has been less diplomatic, reportedly dismissing Lago as a “clown.”
That’s one way to handle it.
The larger question is whether anyone in the Lago camp has given a second thought to how this could backfire if Lago — who does have the endorsement of the appointed Miami-Dade commissioner, Vicki Lopez — actually wins the August 18 Republican primary. Because while Trump remains enormously 
influential among Republican primary voters, the political calculus can change dramatically in a general election.
Especially in a district that includes parts of Miami Beach, which is notoriously blue, and the city of Miami, where voters just elected a Democrat mayor.
Of course, that’s a problem for another day. First you have to survive the primary. And if there’s one thing South Florida candidates have learned over the years, it’s that borrowing someone else’s popularity is often easier than building your own.
Read related: Sending a “Trump Republican” to Tallahassee? In this Miami climate?
While it may seem a sign of desperation to stand out, the Lago mailer is hardly the first campaign piece designed to leave voters with an impression that isn’t technically stated outright. Political consultants practically teach a graduate course on it: Stand next to somebody famous. Use the right colors. Drop the right slogans. Let voters connect the dots. Then act surprised when they do.
Whether the strategy works remains to be seen.
But the mailer does reveal something important about the race: While Barreiro is running on name recognition and Diaz is running as an anti-establishment independent, Lago appears to be running on a photograph.
And that’s a risky bet.
Because eventually voters stop looking at who’s standing next to you and start asking who you are.
That’s usually when the real campaign begins.
This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.
‘Fishy Frank’ Lago goes fishing for Trump voters in HD 113 GOP primary added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →