--- description: Jacob Rush is challenging the tea-party incumbent in Florida’s 3rd congressional district, but his past as a role-playing supernatural fantastist is shaking up the race. The 35-year-old attorney insists he’s a "straight shooter" and his critics are making a fuss over nothing title: Florida GOP Candidate Jacob Rush Takes Heat For Occult Fantasies image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2014 Election](/tag/2014-election/) ## 2014 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Role-Playing GOP Candidate Takes Heat Over His Occult Fantasies  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 1, 2014 9:31 PM CUT  by [Denver Nicks](/author/denver-nicks/)  ## Denver Nicks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 1, 2014 9:31 PM CUT Vampires, live-action occult role-playing games and forcible [sodomy](http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/04/even-by-fl-standards-jake-russ-campaign-is-100-percent-strange.html "undefined")/cocaine fantasies have become major issues in the GOP primary in Florida’s 3rd congressional district. Bet you didn’t think you’d read that when you woke up this morning. And no, this isn’t an April Fools hoax. Jacob Rush, a 35-year-old attorney and former sheriff’s deputy for Alachua County, Fla., announced last month he is challenging incumbent tea-party Republican Rep. Ted Yoho for Florida’s 3rd congressional seat. Days later, according to the Miami _Herald_, an anonymous emailer began sending messages tipping off a local political [blog](http://www.saintpetersblog.com/jake-russ-conservative-congressional-gop-hopefuls-bizarre-double-life "undefined") to Rush’s longtime participation in the occult fantasy scene, Mind’s Eye Society, where players engage in both virtual and live-action roles, playing in a sort of Dungeons & Dragons world of magic, vampires and other supernatural creatures. In the community, Rush, whose other hobbies include acting, took on various personas with different names. According to Saintpetersblog.com, Rush wrote on a message board in 2010, under the moniker Chazz Darling, the following graphic post \[WARNING: Not suitable for children\]: --- > “” --- Rush responded to the news with a statement that brushed off the revelation as overhyped and irrelevant, calling himself a “straight shooter.” “As a practicing Christian, I am deeply offended that the opposing campaign and their supporters would take a gaming and theatre hobby and mischaracterize it,” Rush said in a statement. “Bottom line— there is nothing wrong with being a gamer. It’s kinda nerdy, but North Central Florida deserves a legitimate debate on the issues instead of Ted Yoho’s usual sideshow distractions.” \[[Miami _Herald_\]](http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2014/04/even-by-fl-standards-jake-russ-campaign-is-100-percent-strange.html "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/46000/role-playing-gop-candidate-takes-heat-over-his-occult-fantasies/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/46000/role-playing-gop-candidate-takes-heat-over-his-occult-fantasies/"},"headline":"Role-Playing GOP Candidate Takes Heat Over His Occult Fantasies","datePublished":"2014-04-01T21:31:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:04:58.853Z","description":"Jacob Rush is challenging the tea-party incumbent in Florida’s 3rd congressional district, but his past as a role-playing supernatural fantastist is shaking up the race. 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