Here’s What This Campaign is All About

Today is one of the most important fundraising deadlines of this whole campaign. There’s only one more deadline after this, right before the general election on November 3. This is the penultimate opportunity to demonstrate the strength of this Independent campaign to the nation.

The latest polling just came out. We’re up to 47%, and when we started this journey, we were at 28%. In past polls, a lot of undecideds were left on the table. This time, those undecideds were pushed, and it shakes out to 50-50. The path to victory has been clear, and now the door is creaking open. Now, we’re going to push all the way through.

If you’re one of the readers who chipped in to help us meet our goal before the midnight deadline tonight. Thank you. We literally couldn’t have made it this far without you, and you have directly propelled our trajectory in these last five weeks before the election.

I’ll break from my usual Substack style to be upfront and direct with my request: If you haven’t already, will you chip in whatever you can to give us as much momentum as possible as we enter the home stretch? We need to raise $3,000 from folks reading this article. If you can chip in $30, $40, or $50 today, it will be instrumental to this campaign and our efforts to deliver South Dakotans a real voice.

Chip in to help us reach our goal!

Let me tell you what your contribution will achieve:

Last Saturday, I went door-knocking in Rapid City to hear about the issues people care about, tell them how I plan to address them, and to ask for their vote. The experience was extremely surprising and encouraging, because sometimes I didn’t have to do any of the above.

On more than one occasion, I would knock on the door, introduce myself, and before I could say anything else, the voter would say “I know you, I’ve seen you on TV! I’m voting for you.” A couple of times, it was “I’ve already voted for you!”

That’s the power of this campaign. That’s the power of this grassroots movement that we are building together.

The founding principle of our nation was people coming together to build something greater than any one of them alone. Dozens, then hundreds, then thousands of people coming together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. However, that can’t be done without the people.

I’ll leave you today with something one of those voters I met door-knocking said to me:

“Some people believe a single person can’t make a difference, but I believe that’s exactly what will.”

Have you ever seen or participated in a standing ovation? All it takes is one person standing up, and then another, and then another. I won’t claim to be the first to stand up here, but I am absolutely blazing a trail for others to stand up with me. I’m one person, working to make a difference, asking you today to join me in that work.

Help us reach our goal before midnight!

Thank you for your help. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your belief.

We’re in the final stretch. It’s been a long journey, a thrilling rollercoaster ride, and an unforgettable odyssey all rolled into one. There’s hope in the air, and optimism on the ground. With your help today, we will win this.

Thank you for reading.

Brian L. Bengs, Lt Col (Ret)

Independent Candidate for U.S. Senate