Ted Bundy took 'perverse pleasure' in going undercover for Republicans and spying on their Democrat opponents
A few years before he embarked on a killing spree that claimed the lives of as many as 30 women across multiple U.S. states, Ted Bundy had hit the headlines for a whole different reason: He was accused of spying against Democratic candidates for the Republican party amid the Watergate scandal that eventually saw President Richard Nixon resign from the White House.
It happened after a time Bundy had gone through a period of personal turmoil that included a break-up with his girlfriend -- a moment many suspected was the pivotal point in his development into an uncaring, misogynistic psychopath -- and had thrown himself into a variety of activities.
His first known association with the Republican party came when he attended the 1968 Republican National Convention as a delegate for future vice president Nelson Rockefeller, and though he took a break from politics after enrolling in psychology at the University of Washington, he was back in the poltical midst by 1972.
By this point, Bundy had developed a reputation amongst his peers as a focused and goal-oriented individual, and he took advantage of this newfound status by joining the re-election campaign of Washington governor Daniel J. Evans.
Part of his duty was to shadow Evans's opponent, former governor Albert Rosellini, and record his stump speeches so they could be analyzed by Evans' team and used against him. His role, despite its normalcy these days, was a controversial one then, especially because of the political landscape at the time which was dominated by the Watergate scandal that had seen five men break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the directive of Nixon and his administration.
After the press got wind of his actions, he even made the news and was the subject of a small article. He was questioned by a reporter about it as well, and characteristically, he confidently brushed off any concerns about ethicality and suggested the media had made a big deal out of nothing.
"It's hard for me to believe that what I did is newsworthy," he told a reporter, chuckling. "My part in the campaign was so insignificant I'm embarrassed to be getting this publicity from it. Really embarrassed."
To hear his friends tell it, behind the scenes, Bundy took a perverse pleasure in his job. He is said to have bragged about the fun he had going undercover, wearing different wigs and fake mustaches, and taking on different personalities, and how he relished that nobody had ever managed to put two and two together. It had raised concerns but was ultimately ignored.
Bundy's affiliation with the Republican party, as well as his life before he became a sadistic sociopath, will be explored in Amazon Studios' 'Ted Bundy: Falling For a Killer.' The docuseries will consist of five episodes that will reframe the infamous serial killer's crimes from a female perspective and promises to uncover the "disturbing and profound way his psychological hatred of women coincided with the feminist movement and culture wars of the 1970s.'
'Ted Bundy: Falling for a Killer' premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, January 31, 2020.