Christopher Ruddy’s Aug. 26 Newsmax column was a letter to his readers:
I want to drop a note to you all about the recent Florida election.
I was honored to join Bill McCollum on election night in Orlando. Bill did not win, but in my book, he did not lose, either.
When you fight a good fight against a candidate with an overwhelming bank account, and you don’t have the establishment media in your corner, it is an uphill battle.
As Theodore Roosevelt once remarked, the credit always goes to the “man in the arena” fighting for what he believes in against the odds.
Bill was that man in the arena.
As you know, Newsmax rarely endorses candidates in primary elections. However, I found Bill to be a man of remarkable integrity who has a tremendous record of service to his country.
I am glad Newsmax supported him and befriended him during this campaign.
I also am glad I befriended Bill’s supporters and his campaign team, who were excellent, extremely responsive, and hard working.
But Newsmax didn’t merely “support” McCollum — it slanted its news coverage of the election in McCollum’s favor and against his opponent, Rick Scott. That’s not exactly ethical journalistic behavior.
And joining McCollum on election night is not all Ruddy did for him. More on that soon.