According to Florida Politics, former Democratic State Representative James Bush III is escalating his political rivalry with Rep. Ashley Gantt, filing a defamation lawsuit that seeks over $1 million in damages and a jury trial against her and several Democratic campaign organizations.
Filed in Miami-Dade County, the seven-page complaint claims the defendants—including Rep. Gantt and influential Democratic groups like the Florida House Democratic Campaign Committee (FHDCC)—ran campaign ads that led to “relentless public attacks” against Bush in his own community.
The negative ads at the core of the dispute focused on Bush’s voting record. Notably, Bush was the only Democrat to vote for Florida’s 2022 15-week abortion ban and cast the lone Democratic vote for the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
The suit comes after Bush lost back-to-back primaries to Gantt in 2022 and 2023 for House District 109. Bush, who had held the seat multiple times, argues the groups were “shamelessly and relentlessly” spreading lies that damaged his standing as a community leader and activist.
But Gantt and her legal team, led by fellow Democratic Rep. Michele Rayner, aren’t taking the bait. They immediately clapped back, calling the entire lawsuit “baseless” and a desperate political stunt.
Rayner stressed that the ultimate defense against defamation is that the claims were true. She asserted: “there’s nothing my client said that was not truthful, nothing that was defamatory,” going on to label the complaint an act of “political retribution” by a “sore loser.”
Rayner suggested Bush’s focus was seriously misplaced and that he has an explicit “ire for Black women.” She pointed out that Bush sued Gantt, a Black woman, but conveniently skipped over a male Senator who had publicly dragged him—a dynamic that, she noted, suggests he “only has this ire for Black women.”
Furthermore, both Gantt and Rayner flagged the timing as extra suspicious, noting the suit dropped right after they and other Black lawmakers sued Governor Ron DeSantis over the “Alligator Alcatraz” facility. Campaign consultant Christian Ulvert, whose firm is also named, backed the defense, calling the whole thing a “sham” that will be “swiftly dismissed.”
Hy-Lo News will continue to keep you updated and report on the outcome of the lawsuit.
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