Ted Cruz says he'll use every tool he can, including controversial 'vote shaming' mailer

A campaign mailer which started hitting mailboxes on Friday has caused such a controversy that people are still arguing if sending it was ethical, let alone a smart move.

Jounalist Sarah Rumph broke the story in the Independent Journal, telling the story of an Iowa man named Tom Hinkeldey who received an official-looking “voting violation” form in a manilla envelope marked “Public Record” and “Further Action Needed.” Hinkeldey had tweeted a photo of the mailer but took it down when he realized it showed his address. Others have since posted photos with personal information redacted.

@RBPundit pic.twitter.com/FBjxaipH9p

— BraddockMassey (@Braddock_Massey) January 30, 2016

A return envelope says, “Paid for by Cruz for President,” and though the information on the form is available from public records, some found it unnerving to find their neighbors’ names and voting records on display. Hinkeldey tweeted to Cruz that the mailer helped him decide to throw his support behind Marco Rubio, but some insist that the whole thing is a fraud.

The story isn't true — not a real person. https://t.co/K39EXIjOYJ

— Steve Deace (@SteveDeaceShow) January 30, 2016

@SteveDeaceShow There are actually several people that received it and confirmed by the Cruz campaign. Why would you lie like that?

— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) January 30, 2016

@SteveDeaceShow @GlockLady @notkylefoley It was verified by the campaign this morning. True.

— Cynthia Ann Long (@solomon_ann) January 30, 2016

https://twitter.com/TomAhink/status/693491332459819008

https://twitter.com/justkarl/status/693283927692161025

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I bet John Kasich's dad could get to the bottom of this Cruz mailer mystery

— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) January 30, 2016

He was a mail man, you know.

https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/693316969202733056

https://twitter.com/2dasea/status/693598110061322242

Think the Cruz mailer was kinda dumb because it plays into a certain personality assumption about him, but doubt it has a big impact.

— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) January 30, 2016

Like all spam, the Cruz mailer motive is to get a positive response from a small percentage, and not care about the negative responses. 5/

— Area Man (@lheal) January 30, 2016

Rubio on Cruz mailer: "It's kind of an unusual way to end your campaign in the state."

— Sean Sullivan (@WaPoSean) January 30, 2016

Just reading about the Cruz mailer. Dumb, but Iowa voters really need to put away their fainting couches.

— Peter Cook (@_Peter_Cook) January 30, 2016

https://twitter.com/downsouthrepub/status/693597879055859712

Iowa Secretary of State blasts Cruz campaign mailer for fraudulently saying it's an "official" government document. https://t.co/0GwOtGLDph

— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) January 31, 2016

https://twitter.com/mikeparanzino/status/693607861503541248