Republican Florida Senate candidate sues GOP committee over ‘defamatory’ political mailer

ORLANDO, Fla. – A Republican candidate for a Florida Senate district is suing the committee that gets Republicans elected to the chamber over a damaging political mailer that questions whether he and his donors have ties to China.

Bowen Kou, a businessman who has lived in Florida since 2020, is suing the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee for libel over the mailer that he says has harmed both him and his donors. Kou is an American citizen who emigrated from China.

Kou is running for Florida Senate District 13, which includes parts of West Orange County and Lake County. He faces an Aug. 20 primary against Keith Truenow, an outgoing Florida House representative, and “C J” Blancett.

The mailer asks the question “Why are Chinese donors (from all over the country) flooding Bowen Kou (Lake County State Senate Race) with cash?”

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The ad then includes a list of Kou’s donors, taken from the Florida Division of Elections website, including where they’re from and how much money they’ve donated. Many have Asian names.

The ad also showcases a June headline from a Politico story, “The ‘Absolute Explosion’ of Foreign Interference in U.S. Politics,” and at the bottom claims that 80% of Kou’s donations are from outside Florida, with arrows pointing to the states the donations came from, as well as a map of China that is overlaid with the Chinese Communist flag.

You can see a copy of the mailer in the lawsuit complaint below.

At the bottom, the mailer says it is a “paid political advertisement” by the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee and urges voters to support Keith Truenow. The ad also says Truenow approved it.

Reached by phone Friday, Truenow would not comment on the lawsuit, but he did tell News 6, “If someone were to look into some of those (donors) they might find out where the money came from. Look, I’m just trying to put out there that people need to look into their candidate.”

The FRSCC is chaired by Florida Sen. President-designate Ben Albritton. Voicemails and emails left to Albritton on Friday were not returned.

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News 6 political analyst Dr. Jim Clark says it is odd for Republicans to go after a primary candidate in this manner.

“This is the state senate president raising money. They usually raise lots of money, then they direct it to campaigns where they think it’s necessary,” Clark said. “Usually those campaigns are against Democrats, not fellow Republicans. And so this is kind of unusual that they are getting involved in primaries. This is something fairly new for Republicans.”

Kou spoke with News 6 in a one-on-one interview Tuesday, before a news conference where he announced a 24-hour hunger strike.

“I’ve publicly denounced the (Chinese Communist Party) numerous times, and I’m sharing my story,” Kou said. “My family was facing persecution in China due to our Christian beliefs. And I came to America for the freedom, and the most harmful moments in my life now, the persecution I’ve faced, is the moment people call me ‘not American.’”

Kou said the mailer has damaged his reputation and his personal businesses, as voters tell him they believe the mailers to be true. He is also worried about his donors.

“People calling me after this mailer released, some of those people own businesses in the state,” Kou said. “And they were questioned by their customers, who they are and what was the relationship between them and the (Chinese Communist Party) and what is the relationship between them and Bowen. So it’s really put us in danger in a different way, in the business and personal family, too.”

Kou told News 6 he came to the United States in 2009 to attend Michigan State University. When he was 19, he returned home to China for the summer of 2012 and brought his grandmother an American Bible. The Chinese government subsequently arrested Kou and his grandmother. When he bailed out of jail, his family told him to return to the U.S. and not come back. He became an American citizen in 2019, after a nearly-five-year application process.

Kou said he moved to Florida for one reason: his wife, Hong, who he met in 2020. They married last year.

“So we met on the internet. At that moment, I was in Chicago, she worked for a corporation. So it’s easier for me to relocate. So I moved in with her. That’s how I moved to Florida,” Kou said.

Kou started a textbook business while in school, then sold that business and opened his first Asian grocery store in East Lansing in 2012. His Fresh International Market now has stores in seven states, with two more coming to Pennsylvania and Texas. He says he never graduated from MSU.

Kou also runs a Paris Baguette franchise in Winter Garden and plans to open a Paris Baguette franchise inside H Mart, an Asian supermarket opening in Ocoee later this year or early next year.

According to Kou’s financial disclosure form, he says he’s worth $16 million. While the form discloses a $160,000 salary, he also lists the umbrella company for his businesses, Turbo Capital, as a secondary source of income. Kou says his businesses have generated $40 million in revenue. He also lists three properties, plus $75,000 in personal assets and more than $800,000 in cash.

Campaign financial records available on the Florida Division of Elections website show Kou had raised $1,449,462.98 as of June 14. Of that, $1,200,202.93 came from Kou personally, an amount that represents about 83% of his campaign fund. There are also several thousand dollars in donations from his businesses.

The remaining money comes from donors around the country, including $37,162.60 from 134 donors in Florida; $44,125 from 64 donors in Illinois; $28,675 from 46 donors in California; and $18,500 from 23 donors in New York.

Kou’s lawsuit says many of the donors are Republicans of Chinese descent.

Meanwhile, the FRSCC doubled down with a new website attacking Kou and a new video ad that accuses him of taking “government bailouts.”

The website lists Paycheck Protection Program and COVID loans in 2020 and 2021, EIDL grants in 2020, and an SBA loan in 2018. News 6 looked into the claims. Many of the businesses are listed on government databases for taking PPP loans, which were forgiven.

One of the businesses listed is not under the right name (Chapelure). That business dissolved in 2016. Another business with a similar name, BT Chapelure Corporation in East Lansing, Michigan, did take an EIDL grant in 2020. A “Bowen Kou” is listed as a registered agent in 2014 and 2016, but is not listed on annual reports filed in Michigan after that.

The lawsuit seeks $1 million in damages.

Attorney Anthony Sabatini, a former Florida representative and current chairman of the Lake County Republican Party, is representing Kou. He is also running for Lake County Commission.

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