the republican challenger who won? >> i'm ileana garcia. >> reporter: founder of latinos for trump. but there was a third candidate in this race playing the role of spoiler. his name? alex rodriguez, sharing the same last name as the democrat in the race, promoted as a liberal. alex rodriguez got more than 6,000 votes. jose rodriguez says the straw candidate cost him his seat by pulling away democrat votes. >> have you ever met him, seen him, talked to him? has he been involved in any debates? >> i didn't know what he looked like until after the race, investigative reporters tracked him down. >> reporter: in state senate district 9, democrat patricia sigmund lost to a republican by just 2% of the vote. here once again, no one ever saw the supposedly liberal third candidate. >> she had no website, she never participated in any of the debates or forums, never showed up anywhere. she wasn't even registered to vote until she filed. >> reporter: in these races and