Opponent files lawsuit against Rebekah Jones challenging eligibility

Congressional candidate Rebekah Jones is facing a lawsuit from her opponent for the Democratic Party nomination challenging her eligibility for office.

Peggy Schiller filed a lawsuit late Friday alleging that Jones has not been a registered Democrat for a full year before qualifying for the ballot as required under Florida law.

Schiller and Jones are facing each other for the Democratic Party nomination for Florida's 1st Congressional District currently held by Republican Matt Gaetz.

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Schiller was joined in the lawsuit by an Escambia County voter and registered Democrat Walter Arrington.

When Jones registered to vote last year while living in Maryland, her party status was listed as "unaffiliated" for a two-month period from June to August. Jones told the News Journal that she had been a registered Democrat since 2016 and the record in Maryland included in the lawsuit is wrong and possibly fabricated.

"I don't have the first clue what they were thinking when they filed this," Jones said.

Jones drew nationwide attention during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic alleging, as a Florida Health Department Worker who was later fired, that Florida was manipulating its COVID-19 data.

After she was fired, Jones moved back to Florida last year to challenge Gaetz in the general election.

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Schiller told the News Journal the lawsuit speaks for itself, and she was focused on her campaign to help Panhandle residents in Congress.

"The law applies to everybody," Schiller said. "It applies to any candidate in either party, and we need to follow the law."

The lawsuit also lists all of the local supervisors of elections in the 1st Congressional District, as well as Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and calls on Jones to be disqualified in the race.

The suit was filed in Leon County Circuit Court as congressional candidates must qualify for office in Tallahassee.

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The primary is six weeks away and ballots have already been mailed out to overseas and military voters.

Jones said she believes Schiller filed the lawsuit out of desperation.

"I guess at this point she realizes she can't win and would rather try to hurt the party and voters for rejecting her," Jones said.

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Peggy Schiller files lawsuit against Rebekah Jones over eligibility