I just had to deliver Congressman Mast some bad news and he asked me to share a message with you in response, but first I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself. My name is Rocco LeDonni, and I have the honor to serve as campaign manager for Republican Congressman Brian Mast in Florida’s 18th Congressional District. More importantly, I’m proud to call him one of my best friends for more than 20 years.
So, I wasn’t surprised when Brian called me in March and told me to stop sending fundraising requests. He knew it was simply the right thing to do, and that’s who he has always been—service before self. He also knew that while we would certainly take a hit to our budget, it would be nothing compared to the pain and sacrifices that Americans all across the country were experiencing due to coronavirus.
Unfortunately, despite all that was happening, Brian’s opponents didn’t feel the same way. They kept fundraising throughout the crisis and even politicized what was happening to attack Republicans and President Trump.
As a result of this, I had to tell Congressman Mast some bad news today: we are substantially behind our fundraising benchmarks and will need to make budget cuts. With our end of month deadlines coming up in just about a week, we’re in crunch time, and it’s not looking good.
Even after 20 years, what he told me in response still impressed me. He said he wasn’t worried about it because at a time like this helping people in our community was more important than elections. Then, he told me to share with you these exact words:
“It’s not a problem if people can’t afford to contribute to our campaign right now. I completely understand, and we’ll make it work with what we have because that’s what Americans have always done in response to adversity. We always rise up stronger than before, and this pandemic will be no different!”
With that in mind, I just want to say thank you for your continued support, and if you are in a position to help us make up our budget deficit, it would be greatly appreciated. If not, no worries, and we look forward to connecting with you again soon!
