Issue #194: Disgusting Anti-Asian Racism in the Florida Senate 13 GOP Primary

When you dare to challenge the leadership

August 20th is primary day in Florida and voters are going to the polls for a litany of very expensive and contentious primaries across the state. This year, several primaries for the State Senate are far more intense than the Congressional contests.

Such contentious races often come when an outsider runs against the preferred candidate of party leaders. This is especially common on the Republican side, which has far more money and hence legislative and party leaders can afford to really force their will. This year, several primaries are seeing outsider v insider dynamics in both the State House and State Senate. However, in Senate district 13, that dynamic has exploded into outright racism from the Florida Republican Party.

And I’m going to talk about it.

Senate District 13

The Republican Primary in question is for State Senate District 13; a seat that is made up of all of Lake County and a portion of Orange. The district is dominated by Lake and is solidly Republican.

The district’s configuration following the 2022 redistricting process reflected the massive population growth in the area over the last decade, with Lake nearly big enough to support a district of its own. The Orange County portions added to the district are much more Democratic aligned; covering the growing Democratic and increasingly diverse suburbs around Disney world.

The district’s politics are controlled by Lake County. Right now, 73% of registered voters are in Lake; with 78% of Republicans coming from the county. The district is therefore very much a Lake County Seat. The current incumbent Senator, Dennis Baxley, is being termed out. Baxley originally won a notably different version of the district back in 2016.

In that race, Baxley, who was a state Representative for Marion County at the time, won with rural support while his opponents split the vote out of the Village’s Retirement Community. Baxley has been one of the most hardened right-wing conservatives in the legislature; notable for questioning the need for a memorial to slavery!

In the 2022 redistricting process, Baxley found himself in the same district as incumbent Keith Perry. To avoid an incumbent-on-incumbent primary, Baxley moved south to the new 13th district; winning unopposed. While Baxley had old family ties in Lake County, he notably had to actually buy a residence in the district to run that year.

With Baxley now leaving the legislature, multiple Republicans looked to the seat.

Who the Republicans Want

The race for Senate 13 began early into 2023. In April, Baxley announced he was endorsing State Representative Keith Truenow; who originally was elected to the state house in 2020.

Truenow has been a longtime farmer from youth and started Lake Jems Farms back in 1998 in Mount Doral; a town in Lake County. In a region with a large Agriculture presence, Truenow’s role as a farmer and as someone who’d been a fixture in Tallahassee lobbying on farming issues made him an ideal candidate when HD31 incumbent Jennifer Sullivan opted not to run for re-election. Truenow was the Republican frontrunner for the seat, raising over $150,000 compared to Agribusiness consultant Stevan Novakovic, who raised under $20,000. In the Republican primary, tantamount to election in the very red district, Truenow won every precinct easily.

Truenow’s entry into the race for State Senate in April of 2023 made him an instant frontrunner for the seat. The other Republican House member for Lake County, Taylor Yarkosky, endorsed Truenow the same day, shutting down any rumores of both members fighting it out for the seat. Dennis Baxley, as previously mentioned, quickly endorsed Truenow was well.

Truenow was not the only Republican running however. His opponents through 2023 were

• Ebo Entsuah - A Clermont City councilman

• CJ Blancett - A retired investigator

• Bowen Kou - A grocery store mogul.

Blancett has truly never been a factor in this race. She is still running but has raised less than $10,000. This is literally the last time I will be mentioning her. Ebo Entsuah, a younger conservative who’s parents hail from Ghana, West Africa; played for FSU during the 2013 championship season and was a former aid to then-Congressman Ron DeSantis. His campaign managed to raise $58,000, but by the spring of 2024 he trailed Truenow’s over $200,000 raised.

Then in April of 2024, Senate President-designate Ben Albritton, who controls the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, announced the endorsement of Truenow. This was not just another Senator endorsing, it meant Truenow could count on financial support in the Republican primary. With this news, two days late Entsuah bowed out of the contest and endorsed Truenow.

While Entsuah was out and Blancett is not a real factor, this did not mean Truenow had the primary locked up yet. That was because Bowen Kou was self-funding a primary bid of over $1.3 MILLION in his quest to win the State Senate Seat.

The Story of Bowen Kou

For most of us political observers, Bowen Kou is a name that came out of nowhere. He filed for the State Senate seat in March of 2023 and instantly gave his campaign $1,000,000. Kou has made his money from a very successful career in the grocery business. He was born in China but came to American to study at Michigan State in 2009. However, he was arrested in China when visiting for having possession of an American Bible. After being released on bail, Kou fled back to America and became a citizen in 2019. By this biography, Kou should be very appealing to Christian conservatives.

Kou started in business while in college; selling textbooks at first. He is the founder and CEO of Fresh International Market, a grocery chain that focuses on Asian dining. An old profile of Kou’s growing business can be read here. Kou, who owns several businesses across the country, moved to Winter Garden several years ago with his wife and kids. He has a net worth of $16,000,000. In Florida, he owns some places and his a franchise with others; like Paris Baguette, a South Korean style bakery. Kou says that through all his businesses, he oversees 500 or so employees.

Kou is running as an avowed conservative; using his story of oppression in China as an example of the dangers of “left wing socialism.” (I take offense to China’s fascist regime being characterized as socialist, but that is another story). In many ways, Kou’s story is similar to that of Cuban migrants who fled Castro back in the late 20th century. I don’t agree with hardly any of his politics; after all he e said he stands with Trump after the former President was convicted in New York. However, regardless of that, he has a very inspirational life story.

As he says it, one of his reasons for running was him seeing the cost of living effect on his employees. He especially took the abundance of toll roads in the area to task; saying it is too expensive for workers to live under. Kou has otherwise taken issue positions entirely in line with the Republican Party; supporting abortion restrictions, opposing gun control, railing against socialism, and fighting against illegal immigration. Even on the issue of Chinese nationals buying land, Kou supports efforts to ban such practices.

“For our farmland, or commercial properties, I agree with Gov. (Ron) DeSantis that sometimes we have to worry (about) causes of Chinese individuals or Chinese corporations buying our land,” he said. “That could be a national security issue. For us, we are Chinese American. We don’t get affected. A lot of my friends are supporters of it too, because they realize how socialism and how the CCP can be very sneaky.”

You can read more about Kou from this news article.

In addition to his self-funding efforts, Kou has raised over $200,000 from businesses and individuals. Many of these are folks in the grocery or hospitality industry. Kou also seems to have a very notable anti-establishment block of voters and organizations behind him. He’s been endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida. While this is in no way scientific, he also won a straw poll nearly 3-1 at a Republican get-together. Based on other results from that poll, the voters clearly leaned anti-establishment.

Now, it is clear the Republican Party of Florida wanted Truenow as their nominee. It was fully expected that they would spend money to prop up Truenow, and likely take on Kou. In another State Senate Primary; SD7, that very type of dynamic is playing out. Party leaders having favorites is not new. I also imagine the anti-toll road talk is scary to many powerful people who make alot of money off those roads.

What I did not expect, however, was just how disgustingly and openly racist the barrage against Kou would be.

The Racist Onslaught Against Kou

In late June, as absentee ballots were being prepared to go to voters across Florida, the attacks on Kou began in earnest. As best I can tell, the first major hit was a mailer funded by the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (FRSCC) that aimed to directly link Kou to the Chinese Communist Party. The ad published the list of Asian donors to Kou.

The add weaponized the fact that Kou has received many donations from Chinese-Americans, something that shouldn’t shock anyone considering his background in Asian-centric dining. The ad’s imagery directly implies said donations are “actually from China.”

Not only could Kou’s connections in business aid his fundraising, but its not uncommon for major candidates of a national minority to see donations come in from similar nationality citizens. This may be hard for some to understand, but if you are in a minority group, political power offers security. We see this all the time in Florida. Its not a guarantee, but plenty of instances of candidates; whether Cuban, Haitian, LGBT, and so many others - get tapped into fundraising networks. This is perfectly legitimate and something the Florida Republican Party has engaged in plenty. However, in this case, because Kou is running against their guy, its a CCP plot.

Kou struck back hard.

“These allegations sicken me, and I am disheartened that Truenow and the Florida Senate Caucus would attack me, a fellow Republican based on my heritage,” Kou said. “I am an American of Asian descent.”

“I have never received any political donations from China or members of the CCP. I had to flee communist China because they persecuted me for my Christian beliefs,”

Kou has actually SUED the FRSCC over ads like this - arguing they are malicious and verifiably false. Kou has also filed suit against Florida Voice - a right-wing rag run by far-right lunatic Brendon Leslie. In an interview with Leslie, pre-suit, the blogger attacked Kou over his grocery stores, saying its “foreign product that you’re selling.” I can only assume Leslie wants all Chinese restaurants shut down.

The lawsuits have actually been filed by none other than Anthony Sabatini; which if you know who that is may come off as shocking. Sabatini is a far-right former State House member that is currently running for Lake County Commission. He is also the Lake County Republican Party Chairman. Sabatini hates, and is hated by, Republican leaders in Florida. Him taking the case seems like a prime example of wanting to help dig against the leadership he’s long feuded with. The fact Kou would work with him also reinforces that Kou is a very conservative candidates. It also further links anti-establishment forces.

Television ads have also hit Kou claiming he took bailouts for his businesses and relies on exclusively foreign workers.

Fact checking by the local press has shown the ads have used his interview with Brendon Leslie out of context; using an answer from a different question to imply he agreed he only employees foreign workers. In addition, the ads claim Kou has relied on bailouts for his businesses by using the fact he applied for and was granted small business loans. Both Kou and Truenow took PPP loans during COVID, which Kou is also attacked for.

Kou hit back on Truenow; who probably shouldn’t want to get into discussions about business management considering his farm was fined over safety failures that led to worker deaths. Kou also pointed out the risk such ads put on his donors; putting a spotlight on them in times of increasing racist attacks and rising political violence.

“Around 80% of Truenow’s campaign is funded by lobbyists and special interests. I worry about the safety of the donors who support me who have Chinese last names. I believe that this puts them and their families in danger by being associated with me.”

Kou isn’t being dramatic. The attacks on him directly list his donors. Yes this is public record, but I think its also easy to see the massive problem with what basically comes down to intimidation. An attack site on Kou has a running ticker scrolling through his donor lists.

On July 2nd, Kou and his supporters staged a protest outside the Lake County courthouse. Kou performed a hunger strike, staying at the steps for 24 hours without food or water. At the event, many volunteers and elected officials spoke. Coverage can be seen here.

"It takes someone like me to send a powerful message that America is not about where you come from, what you look like, or even your birth place. It's about the idea and what we believe!"

At the event, the Lake County Republican Committeeman Ralph Smith said he was disgusted with the racist attacks and said they were leading to him getting calls and texts from voters saying they wanted “a white man in that position.”

“Now I'm not ascribing this to Keith, but Keith, you got some supporters that are way out of line,” Smith said. “I've seen the dirty side of Lake County racism that I thought had disappeared.”

In the coverage of this race, Kou confirmed a story that Truenow approached him at a fair and said “didn't belong in this country." Truenow, of course, denies this. Meanwhile, as the attacks have ramped up, Kou has found his yard signs being vandalized with racist attacks.

The GOP attacks have whipped up an anti-Chinese, and really just a broadly Anti-Asian sentiment in the race. This comes already has hate crimes against Asian people exploded during COVID. Data from Pew Research shows that 1/3 of all Asian-Americans have been attacked or threatened over COVID. While hate crimes have begun to trickle down as the pandemic moves into the backdrop, the events in the 13th district show that it is a discrimination primed to be stirred up again with little effort. To borrow a metaphor from Professor Scott Galloway, the Republican Party of Florida walked into a room knee-deep in gasoline and started passing out lighters to arsonists.

Btw, Kou’s lawsuit is still making its way through the court system. At the end of July, a judge ruled the suit could move forward. This is big because campaigns often have a great deal of latitude in their speech. However, the very specific accusations in the attacks make the Republicans leaders much more vulnerable to defamation and libel.

Final Thoughts

Just a few days are left in the primary campaign; which has continued with massive spending all around. Kou has spent over $1,000,000. Truenow’s campaign committee has raised over $400,000 and Growing Florida's Leadership, a committee he chairs, has taken in over $800,000. On top of this, the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has been spending lord-knows how much. This is a multi-million dollar race.

I haven’t seen any polling on this race. The fact the FRSCC got so nasty and spent so much tells me Kou was a threat. Whether he still is, I don’t know. Its sadly realistic to see this having taken its intended toll. The Republican Primary will likely be over 80% white. Kou needs these voters to not equate being Chinese-American with being a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

And look, I’m no fan of the CCP. Last winter, I wrote a three-part series on the Beijing destruction of Hong Kong Democracy. This isn’t about the actual Chinese dictatorship. This is just racist attacks on someone who dared to challenge the “heir apparent” for the district.

I honestly thought Florida Republicans could not get this low, especially against someone running under their own banner. I guess my mistake was imagining these operatives had any integrity or humanity at all. That’s my bad, I should have known better to give these vicious politicos and elected officials any benefit of the doubt.