HAMPTON, Va. (WVEC) — For the first time, we are hearing from the congressional candidate at the heart of the petition signature controversy making headlines all week. 13News Now uncovered forged signatures on petitions to get independent Shaun Brown on the ballot in the Second Congressional District race.
When she first found out about the questionable signatures, she said she was so shocked, she thought it was a joke. Headline after headline, signature after signature this week, raised concerns about the Second Congressional District race.
“I had no idea,” Brown told us. “I knew nothing about what was happening.”
Brown's shock grew when news broke that those particular petitions were collected by staffers of her Republican opponent, incumbent Rep. Scott Taylor. Brown maintains she did not work with Taylor or anyone associated with his campaign on this petition issue.
We've uncovered some of the petitions collected by Taylor's team include a dead man's signature, a woman who hasn't lived or voted in Virginia for years, and even a state delegate whose name was misspelled.
“I'm not so sure anymore if it was an effort to help or an effort to hurt,” Brown wondered Friday. “So, you know, I'm leaving everything in the hands of the special prosecutor. I'm hoping that they can get to the bottom of this.”
We asked Brown if she thinks anything underhanded happened.
“I don't know,” she exclaimed. “I don't know!”
Besides the legal implications, we've learned of political fallout. Virginia Democrats have asked the State Board of Elections and Virginia’s Attorney General to take Brown’s name off the ballot.
“I think that there should be more effort not for fighting against me, but fighting for the people,” Brown reacted.
While she waits to hear the next surprising headline, Brown has a message for voters, who may be losing faith in the system.
“We stood out in the hot sun, got signatures,” she added. “We did everything properly and anything else is just politics.”
Brown also said there is some good to come out of this situation. She feels the Democratic party has traditionally left out the Second Congressional District; now it's getting a lot of attention.