Republicans in Pennsylvania placed robocalls that appeared to be from 'Johnson & Johnson'

• A robocall from the Bucks County Republican Committee showed up on caller ID as coming from Johnson & Johnson.
• The party blamed the incident on a third-party vendor and an "unintended technological error."
• The party did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.

By all appearances, the call was coming from Johnson & Johnson, sparking hope among those who answered that they were perhaps being selected to receive the company's new vaccine.

Instead, they heard a recording from a Republican from the Philadelphia suburbs urging them to come out and sign a petition, as reported by local news outlet LevittownNow.com.

"This is Bucks County GOP Chair Pat Poprik calling because we need your help putting good Republican candidates on the ballot," said the caller (a recording has been posted online).

In a statement provided to the Bucks County Courier Times, Poprik apologized, blaming an "unintended technological error" and attributing the mistake to a third-party vendor that was using a number previously associated with the pharmaceutical giant.

The Bucks County GOP did not immediately respond to Insider's request for the name of that vendor.

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