Before Scott Taylor Launches Another Losing Campaign, He Needs to Explain His Long Association With Indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter

The following is from the Democratic Party of Virginia, about our old pal, former Rep. Scott “Petitiongate” Taylor (R).

Before Scott Taylor Launches Another Losing Campaign, He Needs to Explain His Long Association With Indicted Rep. Duncan Hunter

Taylor donated to and accepted campaign cash from Hunter months after he was indicted

RICHMOND, VA — After losing his congressional race last year, former Congressman and perennial candidate Scott Taylor is preparing to launch yet another campaign. But before he does, he’ll have to explain his long association with indicted Congressman Duncan Hunter — including Hunter’s weekend getaway to Virginia Beach to fundraise for Taylor (potentially with the lobbyist with whom Hunter was having an affair).

“Scott Taylor better have borrowed a suitcase from one of Congressman Duncan Hunter’s freewheeling trips, because he’s entering a new race with plenty of Hunter’s baggage,” said Democratic Party of Virginia Communications Director Jake Rubenstein. “Virginians deserve to know why he took toxic campaign cash from indicted Congressman Hunter, and why he continued to prop Hunter up months after Hunter had been indicted.” 

Taylor’s relationship with Hunter, who is under federal indictment for using campaign funds to bankroll his “freewheeling lifestyle” and multiple extramarital affairs, dates back to at least 2010. That’s when Hunter visited Virginia Beach, possibly to fundraise for then-candidate Taylor, and stayed the night with an “unnamed lobbyist” on a “‘double-date’ trip” that he then expensed to his campaign. Hunter and Taylor have continued to donate to one another’s campaigns and leadership PACs for years — even after Hunter was indicted.

Here are the facts about Scott Taylor’s relationship with indicted Congressman Duncan Hunter:

• January 2010: Congressman Duncan Hunter endorsed Scott Taylor for Congress.
• March 2010: Hunter hosted a fundraiser for Scott Taylor in Virginia Beach.
• April 2010: Hunter claimed a campaign reimbursement for his trip to Virginia Beach. The Department of Justice later revealed that Hunter used more than $900 of campaign funds to cover a hotel room for Hunter and the lobbyist with whom he was having an affair, as well as more than $250 for mileage for the trip — even though Hunter wasn’t the one behind the wheel.
• April 2012: Taylor Donated To Hunter’s Congressional Campaign.
• September 2016: Scott Taylor Received $2,700 In Campaign Contributions From Duncan Hunter’s PAC.
• October 2018: Scott Taylor’s PAC donated $2,500 To Duncan Hunter’s re-election — after Hunter was indicted.
• December 2018: Taylor accepted a $5,000 donation from Hunter’s PAC — after Hunter had been indicted. Taylor was one of only a handful of candidates to accept a donation from Hunter’s Peace Through Strength PAC in the 2018 cycle, as Hunter was being actively investigated by the FBI.