Activists Say Tea Party Imposters Infiltrating Elections

In New Jersey, a "Tea Party" candidate surfaces but local activists haven't heard of him. In Michigan, a Democratic operative appears closely tied to a slate of candidates running under the Tea Party banner. In Florida, conservative activists are locked in court over the right to use the Tea Party name.

The list of peculiar Tea Party happenings goes on and on.

As the midterm election nears, allegations are surfacing across the country that Democrats are exploiting conservatives' faith in the Tea Party name by putting up bogus candidates in November -- the claim is that those "Tea Party" candidates will split the GOP vote and clear the way for Democratic victories.

The theories may prove to be more than just conspiracy talk. Some of the allegations are coming directly from local Tea Party activists who are trying to flag the media and election officials as soon as they smell something fishy on the ballot. And they say they've got proof.

"It's obvious it's a Democratic play," said Jason Gillman, a Tea Party activist from Traverse City, Mich.

Gillman, who also authors the blog "Michigan Taxes Too Much" and is running for county commissioner, caused a stir in Michigan politics in late July after he released documents he obtained from state elections officials about the so-called Michigan Tea Party. The documents, he said, showed that of the 23 candidates under the Tea Party name, at least nine of them had affidavits notarized by a local operative for the Oakland County Democratic Party. He said that was the "smoking gun" to prove Democratic involvement -- on top of concerns he and other Tea Partiers had that the candidates on the ticket did not have Tea Party backgrounds.

"Nobody had any idea who these people were," Gillman told FoxNews.com. "We could at least say, without question, it is the Democratic Party putting it on."

More from FoxNews