April 22, 2026 10:06 AM UTC

How To End Your Political Career In Five Minutes

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• by: Colorado Pols

As reported by everyone from the Colorado Sun to TMZ, a Colorado Republican state senate candidate running in a competitive suburban Denver race had his life turned upside down in a few short regrettable minutes of alleged neglect for his young children while vacationing in Key West, Florida:

A Republican candidate for state Senate was arrested Monday evening in Florida on suspicion of felony child neglect after police say his 4-year-old daughter nearly drowned in a pool when he left her unattended while he went to purchase an alcoholic drink…

A witness told police in Key West that [Frederick] Alfred’s daughter was unconscious in the pool and foaming at the mouth when he retrieved her from the water, according to arrest records. The witness performed CPR on the young girl and revived her.

First responders say Alfred told them that he left his daughter and 6-year-old son alone for about five minutes while he went to get a drink at the bar. Arrest records show he initially refused to let his kids be taken to a hospital, but eventually relented.

The first and most important thing to report, as it was after Rep. Lauren Boebert’s grandchild allegedly wandered off repeatedly under her son’s supervision, is that the children are okay. But Frederick Alfred Jr., who was making his second run at the SD-21 seat after narrowly losing to now-former Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet in 2024, is now in some of the worst trouble you can find yourself in as a public figure. The situation is made much worse to any extent that Alfred may have put the political ramifications of his mistake over the well-being of his kids by refusing to allow them to be transported for medical care. That’s where any sympathy that might be afforded Alfred over this terrible situation that nearly turned into tragedy must end.

Politicians exiting public life in scandal often make the excuse that they need to “spend more time with family.” All we can say is that in this case, that is more literally true than most.