A gay Democratic congressional candidate has been targeted in a smear campaign that falsely alerted people by text message that he can’t give blood because he is HIV positive.

Shevrin Jones is currently in the running to replace Rep. Frederica Wilson, who is retiring, as representative for Florida’s 24th congressional district. Jones was Florida’s first out LGBTQ+ Black senator and, if he wins the seat, will become the state’s first out gay member of Congress.

On 11 August, many voters received a text message ahead of the Democratic primary, claiming: “Shevrin Jones was denied to donate blood to Covid Survivor due to testing positive for HIV/AIDS because of his homosexuality. This is not right stand with our Gay community.” [sic]

The message also declared that it was “paid for by Equality Florida”, which it was not, and included a link to video footage from a 2020 TV news story.

The story showed Jones being turned away from donating convalescent plasmaunder previous FDA guidance that restricted donations from sexually active queer men. However, that ban has since been overturned in favour of individual screenings for potential donors.

That same news coverage was also used against Jones when he first ran for Florida Senate back in 2020, a race which he went on to win.

Speaking to the Miami Herald on 11 August, Jones said: “What makes it so disgusting is that somebody decided to use my sexuality and HIV as weapons in a political campaign.”

He continued: “There are people across South Florida who are actually living with HIV every single day, raising families, going to work, serving their communities, and living full lives. I think their health status should never be used to shame them.”

Brandon Wolf, the spokesperson for Equality Florida, also defended Jones in a statement.

“This is a disgusting attack against a public servant who has poured his heart and soul into his community,” he said.

“We can all see it for what it is: a desperate attempt by a shady, dark money group supporting one of Shev’s opponents that traffics in ugly tropes, misrepresents a trusted statewide organization, and weaponizes a Black man’s identity.”

Wolf added that Equality Florida is pursuing legal action against the culprits, and said that Jones’ opponents’ “willingness or unwillingness to denounce this smear tactic today will tell us all we need to know about who you are.”