Tallahassee residents are getting advertisements in the mail claiming Florida Senate Candidate Loranne Ausley took money from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
The federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) gives money to small businesses struggling to stay afloat amid lockdowns sparked by the coronavirus. Now, the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign is saying Ausley pocketed some of those funds for her campaign.
"I think it's very important that the people of North Florida know that my campaign has not accepted a dime of PPP money and that the Republicans know that," Ausley says.
The Florida Democratic Party applied for and received more than $700,000 in PPP money.
"Many of us condemned that application at the time," Ausley says.
After taking heat from Democratic and Republican lawmakers, the party said it would return the money. Ausley says that has nothing to do with her campaign.
"This is why people hate politics—these types of false attacks. We're in the middle of a health crisis, a financial crisis, a social justice crisis, and we ought to be focusing on coming together to address these issues instead of tearing each other apart with ridiculous lies," Ausley says.
