Orlando’s city council elections are officially nonpartisan. But an ad mailed to some District 1 voters in Orlando calls on them to re-elect Jim Gray, “the last Republican standing” on the city council, claiming he’s “surrounded by liberals” and backed by a “Trump-endorsed” congressman.

Gray, who has served on the council since 2012 and is in fact its only registered Republican member, has been endorsed by Mayor Buddy Dyer, a Democrat, and Tony Ortiz, a longtime Republican who earlier this year switched parties to the Democrats.

But the ad, listed as sent by the Republican Party of Florida and “approved by Jim Gray,” drew a rebuke from Orange County Democrats, with state Rep. Anna Eskamani and state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, both mentioned in the ad, decrying it as “homophobic.”

The back of the GOP mailer claims his chief challenger, Democrat Tom Keen, is a “liberal extremist” endorsed by LGBTQ-friendly political groups and politicians. Notably, it mentions “radical socialist” Eskamani, “LGBTQIA+ Democratic party advocate” the Rainbow Democrats, and “left-wing PAC” Equality Florida.

It compares them with Gray’s endorsements from the unions representing the city’s rank-and-file police and firefighters, as well as Orange County GOP chair Erin Huntley and Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Webster, whom the ad states was backed by President Donald Trump.

A third candidate, Democrat Sunshine Grund, also is in the race, but wasn’t mentioned in the ad.

District 1 spans the southeast wing of Orlando, encompassing Lake Nona and Lee Vista. Election records show it has more Democrats than Republicans, though non-party affiliated voters hold the largest share of the electorate.

“This is nonsense,” Keen said of the ad’s targeting right-leaning voters. “This district went for Vice President [Kamala] Harris, it went for me when I was a state Rep. This is a very moderate to left-leaning district.”

Smith wrote on Facebook that “the targeting of Rainbow Dems, Equality Florida, Rep. Eskamani in a cute rainbow dress, and me— your elected State Senator who just happens to be LGBTQ— is no coincidence. This desperate and clearly bigoted dog whistle is not okay.”

Gray contended the ad wasn’t “anti-gay” but instead a “factual” list of Keen’s endorsers.

“The mailer simply took endorsements from Tom Keen’s webpage and printed them.  The photographs are actual and not AI-generated,” Gray said. “I have always treated people with respect and will continue to do so. My actions and voting record on LGBTQ+ issues speaks for itself.”

He argued Keen and Democrats were making the race partisan, saying they had “brought it front and center” by “portraying me as a far-right MAGA Republican and supportive of the January 6th insurrection.”

Keen said material he passes out to voters at their doorsteps doesn’t identify his party affiliation, but said keen observers of local politics could venture a guess based on his slate of prominent Democratic endorsers. Often times, voters ask him, he said.

“When you knock on their door, one of the first questions you get is ‘what party are you?’” he said.

The Orange County Democrats blasted the ad on Facebook and contended that Gray has been pretending to be a moderate to get elected.

“For thirteen years, Republican Jim Gray has masqueraded as a “moderate” to continue getting re-elected in a Democratic district,” the party wrote. “Meanwhile, he has endorsed and donated to far-right politicians who have supported the January 6 insurrectionists and helped cause a massive traffic crisis on narcoossee road by being a rubber stamp for developers,” the party wrote.