Less than two weeks ago, Randy Bryce — the Democratic challenger of House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Wisconsin district — made a powerful debut for not only his prospective constituents but the country at large. Bryce’s ad was an affecting one that showcased his status as a cancer survivor, an Army vet, and a union iron worker who has relatives in public service and a mother with MS. This certainly highlighted Ryan’s own role in the GOP healthcare mess, and people agreed with their wallets in a very substantial way.
Bryce’s campaign is now tossing out the numbers, which puts a somewhat tangible spin on his gut-punch of an ad. In the initial 12 days of his campaign, he’s raised over $430,000, and not only is that amount impressive, but the contributions average out to $25 each from over 16,000 individuals. The congressional hopeful has issued a brief statement:
“Just a few weeks into this race, we have seen what can happen when you have the power of working people on your side, and I am excited to work with everyone as we continue this fight through next November.”
Certainly, Bryce’s ad was not only successful for its message but because of Ryan’s perceived shortcomings on Capitol Hill. And Bryce even called out Ryan with a challenge to switch spots with him, which prompts the absurd mental image of Ryan working iron and showcases the vastly different backgrounds and realities of the two candidates. So, it’s raining dollars.
Of course, the amount of money raised doesn’t ultimately point toward success in an election. Jon Ossoff also raised similarly voluminous, small-dollar donations and still ended up losing the recent Georgia special election to his Republican foe, although Wisconsin is traditionally bluer than the district Ossoff was trying to tumble. Yet Hillary Clinton raised more money than Donald Trump, and we all know how that turned out, right?
(Via The Hill)