Thanks to my supporters for the Greatest Campaign
I am saddened to say that our campaign to unseat Debbie Wasserman Schultz from Congress has fallen short — but I refuse to give up on our political revolution and the fights ahead to bring Progress for All to our nation.
We started this movement with no name recognition and no political infrastructure. I had to loan the campaign $15,000 from my life savings to get started. But the grassroots of this nation rose to our aid time and again — and it was record breaking.
$3.8 million raised from more than 200,000 individual contributions. More small donations than any House candidate in history. We had a higher percentage of small donations (76%) than any other campaign in the country, including Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
It was YOU who closed the money gap and made this a real contested election — where we came back from down more than 50 points just ninety days ago to striking distance. We came close to winning; we would have won with a shift of just 3,000 votes. And along the way, we raised the heat on Debbie Wasserman Schultz and we played a key role in forcing her resignation from the pinnacle of the Democratic national party.
Thanks to the historic challenge YOU made possible in this election — a challenge Wasserman Schultz had never faced before — our opponent was forced to flip and flop on such issues as clean water, fracking, payday lending, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Social Security expansion, medical marijuana, and even her ties to Big Sugar companies contributing to the poisoning of Florida’s waterways.
Our campaign changed the terms of debate in this election and Wasserman Schultz will be under more scrutiny in the future and will have only a more difficult time serving her corporate benefactors.
After her resignation in disgrace from the Democratic National Committee, our opponent was forced to turn to her billionaire friends to flood the district in negative ads. One Super PAC spent more than $700,000 and was bankrolled by a hedge fund manager from Maine — and a Big Sugar company also threw money into the final effort, with the Super PAC spending perhaps $1 million in a negative ad campaign. She also called in favors and leaned on the support of the President and Vice President and perhaps next President of the United States, along with a caravan of Washington political insiders.
Meanwhile, Wasserman Schultz also attacked all of YOU! Her ads denounced our campaign for taking so much money from outside the state. Of course, we have only taken money from real people, not corporate funded PACs and Super PACs. We built a historic campaign powered by the people, not corporate special interests. We have had more than 200,000 individual contributions from more than 80,000 donors, with an average donation of $17. I was always proud of our “outside” support. Those outsiders — — nurses, firefighters, teachers, students, seniors — have much the same concerns and problems as the vast majority of my neighbors here in South Florida.And we had far more individual donations from within Florida than did Wasserman Schultz. We were sustained by the grassroots everywhere!
I began this campaign some nine months ago. During that time, I have given it my all and so has everyone working on this campaign. This has been a constant trial of sacrifice and commitment for all of us. We built the largest field operation in the country, with dozens of field organizers and hundreds of volunteers. Many of those organizers who cut their teeth on this campaign will now bring their experience and passion to other campaigns around the country.
For me personally, my own interests have been put on hold during this campaign. My home is like a time warp from the beginning of the campaign. A broken closet door, a backyard canopy torn to shreds by the elements, a missing key on my keyboard, suits and shirts that are fraying from the campaign trail — all this and much more put on hold for the duration. I ran my life like the campaign, leaving nothing on the table.
But I have no complaints.
This was a labor of love, as well as an extreme physical and mental exertion. When I started this campaign, I was one man raging against a machine. I am forever grateful that I found strength and courage and inspiration in having so many supporters and volunteers step up to join me in this fight.
Thank you for coming to the aid of our campaign during difficult times. I am also particularly grateful for a number of endorsements, including three early supporters, the Communications Workers of America, the National Nurses United, and Blue America, and two valiant locals, the Transport Workers Union Local 568 and the Pipefitters Union Local 725. We are also grateful for Senator Bernie Sanders, Democracy for America, Progressive Democrats of America, Working Families Party, the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws, the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Florida, and the Climate Mobilization.
There are far too many other people and organizations for me to name individually. This is the nature of a grassroots movement like ours. We are of the people, by the people, and for the people.
Rest assured that I will continue our fight against corporate control and plutocracy. I will do all I can to help elect other progressive candidates to move us forward in our peaceful revolution for freedom and democracy.
In solidarity and forever yours,
Tim
