An Arkansas political action committee sent a mailing claiming Jake Bequette (former player in the National Football League and US Army officer) had lied to them about his military service.
RedState determined that claims in the mailer were strongly misleading and distort truth.
The mailer sent out by the Heartland Resurgence PAC said that Bequette both lied about being an Army Ranger and falsely claimed that he “joined the Army 2 years before he actually did.” It also refers to the candidate as “Fake Jake Bequette.”
On the flip side of the mailer, it promotes Boozman, touts his endorsement by former President Donald Trump, and says that he is the “son of an Air Force Master Sergeant,” “Helping Veterans find good paying jobs in their post military career,” and a “member of the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee.”
RedState was sent documents by his campaign, including the official award of his Ranger tab.
Photo of him graduating from Ranger school in 2018.
The tab was actually paid by him.
Still, it’s heavily debated in military circles if finishing training actually makes someone a Ranger, or if only serving in the 75th Ranger Regiment does, but Alex Hollings explained for Sandboxx in 2021 that it’s not truly significant:
Rangers truly do lead the way, and on this one, I’m inclined to follow in the footsteps of a number of prominent Rangers, Murphy included, in saying that it ultimately really doesn’t matter. While some may see “Tabbed” Rangers as imposters or “Scrolled” Rangers as the only rightful heir to the Ranger namesake, the debate itself really sort of loses sight of what each of these (admittedly separate) accomplishments really mean.
Both graduating from Ranger School, and being a part of the 75th Ranger Regiment is an incredible achievement. AnyA servicemember should be proud. Both the work involved in earning a Tab and a Scroll is worthy of our respect, as civilians or other service members. The debate is certain to rage on, and many on both sides of it will raise valid points that speak to their own experiences and pride… but from the outside looking in, it may be best to just step aside and let the guys and gals wearing tabs and scrolls duke it out with one another, if they’re so inclined.
So, unless someone is a hardline believer in what actually makes somebody a Ranger, the mailer is distorting the facts in an attempt to discredit Bequette’s military background.
“It’s a disgusting smear of my military service and I think it shows how desperate Senator Boozman is trying to deflect from his own record right before election day,” Bequette said.
“It’s an absolute disgrace to see a Republican U.S. senator and his surrogates use the same tactics that the radical left has used in the past to attack conservative veterans,” he later added.
Jesse Ranney was the representative of the campaign and claimed Bequette had lied about the years that he served. The typo was found on the campaign’s website, which was then corrected several days later. Ranney says that Ranney’s previous digital agency mixed Bequette’s year of joining the Army with his Super Bowl win.
Heartland Resurgence does not have any visible contact information online, but RedState reached out to a top donor’s team about the mailer. The donor refused to comment.
Boozman’s campaign was also contacted via phone and email, but they did not respond in time for publication for comment.
Arkansas’ primary election for Republican is Tuesday, May 24, at 2:45 pm. If no primary candidate reaches 50 percent, there will be an election runoff to decide who the nominee will be.
A Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College poll from earlier this month showed Boozman at 45 percent in the primary polls, with Bequette at 19 percent, KUAR reported. 18 percent of voters are still undecided, and there are other candidates in the race, but if the senator can’t make 50 percent, he’ll likely be facing off with Bequette.
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