Did you know that U.S. Senate candidate Jim Deakin's house is in foreclosure? Well, it isn't. But that didn't stop one of his primary opponents' campaign from spreading the false rumor.
Over the weekend, news of the alleged foreclosure found its way to various news outlets, few of which bothered to ask Deakin if it was true.
We spoke to Deakin this morning, and he tells us that the first time he heard anything about the, um foreclosure was from J.D. Hayworth campaign operatives, who he says leaked the exaggeration to the media.
"We got a couple months behind like many Americans have in this economy," Deakin tells New Times. "We're not in foreclosure, though. We're working with the bank to fix it."
Hayworth issued a statement on Deakin's non-existent foreclosure saying, "This is obviously a difficult time for Jim and his family as they face foreclosure on their home. While our campaign has been asked to comment on this matter, we believe it is inappropriate to turn this very personal matter into a political football and, therefore, we will have no additional comment and will respect the privacy of Jim and his family."
You might think someone who doesn't want to turn someone's misfortune into a "political football" wouldn't issue a press release in which it's highlighted. But Deakin says the whole thing is just typical Hayworth.
"This is the same thing [Hayworth's] been doing since he entered the race," Deakin says. "His campaign is filled with nasty, evil, untrustworthy people. Just last week they were saying John McCain was funding my campaign."
Despite the Hayworth campaign's insistence that it would provide no further comment on the matter, we contacted Hayworth's campaign spokesman Mark Sanders last night to ask if he was responsible for the rumor. Sanders never got back to us.
