I know the headline reads like a terrible choose your adventure book, but it also appears to accurately describe a little kerfuffle in Indiana.
Republican Doug Bernacchi is a candidate for county circuit court judge, and we know he went to the county fair and then he left the fair, but what happened in between is cause of some controversy. According to what the candidate told the South Bend Tribune, he only left after he vomited — he claims the fudge and cotton candy at the fair made him sick. Leaning on the old throw up move, classic. And to hear Bernacchi tell it, he left of his own accord.
However, fair officials and the local Republican party chairperson tell a different story. They say he was asked to leave after causing a disturbance because he was upset his name wasn’t featured in materials at the Republican party booth. As the Tribune reports:
Opus 2 Steps Up Its AI Game With Acquisition Of A Legal Tech Startup
With the addition of Uncover’s technology, the litigation software is delivering rapid innovation.
Eyewitness Mark Williams, who was working a booth for AIM Water Treatment near the GOP booth in the Commercial Building, said Bernacchi was yelling at a Republican Party booth volunteer because the party’s banner did not contain his name.
“He threw a temper tantrum,” Williams said.
At one point, Williams said Bernacchi went out to his car and returned with his own campaign bumper stickers and began placing them on chairs at the booth.
“I was embarrassed,” said Williams, who said he tends to vote Republican. “I wasn’t sure if we were going to have to have the police in here or what. He was acting like a total child.”
After that, Bernacchi allegedly continued his temper tantrum on social media, telling people on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to stay away from from the fair. I guess an overdose of cotton candy can make anyone go on a social media tear.
Bernacchi has since deleted the posts, but when reached for comment, had competing explanations for his behavior. He was either trying to protect kids from carnies or playing a weird reverse psychology game with his followers trying to drum up interest in the fair.
When asked Tuesday to elaborate on his social media posts, Bernacchi said, “there are a lot of carnival folks there. There’s an element at the fair that everyone considers seedy. You play games to win a toy where someone is giving the finger. The food is not great. It’s not healthy. I ate it and I got sick.”
Bernacchi said he posted similar criticisms of the fair Sunday morning on Facebook but later deleted them and invited people to attend the fair.
“I did it to create some interest about the fair,” he said. “The discussion I generated will yield improvement.”
Legal Is Changing. And NeoSummit Is Where The Future Is Being Built.
Legal and operational leaders are gathering May 6–7 in Fort Lauderdale to confront the questions the industry hasn't answered—with a keynote from Amanda Knox setting the tone.
So there you have it, an internal GOP scuffle or rancid fudge, either way the big winner would seem to be Bernacchi’s Democratic opponent, John Broden.
Judge candidate kicked out of St. Joseph County 4-H Fairgrounds [South Bend Tribune]