Congressional hopeful Elijah Norton (right) and Rep. David Schweikert
ELIAS WEISS | Phoenix New Times
Before candidates fight for the Republican nomination in Arizona’s newly drawn First Congressional District, they’ll duke it out in court.
Political newcomer and entrepreneur Elijah Norton is vying to unseat longtime Congressman David Schweikert in this year’s Republican primary. Schweikert is leading in the polls while Norton leads in spending, and he’s not going down without a fight.
On Sunday, CarGuard, an insurance company Norton founded in Kansas in 2015, sued a super PAC in Maricopa County Superior Court for defamation over a website that mocks the insurance executive and calls him a “scam artist.”
“CarGuard is an industry leader in the automotive industry, has serviced over 200,000 customers, and paid millions of dollars in claims,” CarGuard CEO Trevor Smith told Phoenix New Times on Wednesday. “For this faceless organization to lie and call us a scam for political gain is despicable and will not be tolerated.”
The so-called “faceless organization,” Americans for Accountability in Leadership, is named as a defendant alongside its consultant, Liberty Strategic Partners LLC, and its advertising firm, Persuade Public Relations LLC, both based in California. Also named as defendants are 10 anonymous employees and contractors.
Jason Scalese, an agent for the public relations firm and the super PAC, did not respond to calls, emails, tweets, and LinkedIn messages from New Times.
The super PAC has more than $200,000 on hand, according to Federal Election Commission documents filed in May. A woman from Paradise Valley recently donated $75,000.
The new lawsuit centers around a website, RejectNorton.com, funded by the super PAC. Along with a photoshopped image of the insurance executive wearing a velvet crown, the site dubs Norton “King of the Robocall Rip-Off,” stemming from four other lawsuits against CarGuard and dozens of complaints with the Better Business Bureau.
