As fourth-quarter fundraising totals become available for federal races, U.S. Congressional primary challenger John Flora (NJ-10) is not focused on “how much” is being raised. Instead, he and his team are looking at “how” he and his opponent Donald Payne Jr. are fundraising.

With a Master’s degree in political management, Flora understands well the conventional wisdom tied to funding congressional races. His campaign manager, Jill Pitman, explained that “Our decision to join a people-centered movement was no mistake”. She added that “politicians like Bernie Sanders and AOC have transformed the way that modern campaigns are funded. Sprinkle in the ability to inexpensively leverage social media for expanded reach, and suddenly the game has completely changed. Grassroots candidates now have a path to victory that their predecessors could only dream of.”

She and the candidate she represents have their eyes set on a seat that a father and son have occupied for thirty years. Despite being outspent over 100:1 in the third quarter of 2019, they are satisfied with the steady stream of small individual contributions (defined by the FEC as any amount between $1 and $200 dollars). This is drastically different than the PAC contributions and large individual contributions that have been filling the war chest of Donald Payne Jr. since he inherited his seat from his father in 2012.

A Teamster representative who worked on the back of a garbage truck, Pitman went on to explain that “John is not running because he comes from a family of career politicians. His blue-collar parents have worked hard their entire lives. John himself worked his way through college and is completing his sixteenth year as a Jersey City school teacher.”

Seeing Flora is up against a well-funded, machine-backed career politician, some may ask why he should even try?

“The reasons why I am running to represent my home district are simple. My opponent is not acknowledging the looming climate crisis with the urgency that it deserves. We also reside in the poorest Congressional District in the state. I often wonder if our congressman is really listening to his neighbors, many who feel helpless and ignored for decades. I’m glad he understands our healthcare system should serve everyone and also that our district needs more affordable housing, but people also need jobs. A Green New Deal will create many good-paying jobs, especially in cities like Newark and Jersey City, yet he continues to ignore it.”

But campaign finance reform remains at the top of the agenda for Flora. His stump speech includes the following: “My mother always says ‘people can get their mouths to say anything’. And that is why our campaign focuses on how candidates raise money, not what they promise. Are they bought by PACs and outside special interests, or are they responsive to the people? That is why I ask everyone, and I mean everyone, for just one dollar, because every vote matters the same.”

To further distance themselves from New Jersey “Politics as Usual”, Team Flora is concentrating on going straight to voters. His campaign manager explains one approach that has yielded success: “Meeting commuters on a train platform has way more appeal than bragging about our fundraising platform. It’s called ‘trainvassing’. What better way to meet thousands of people quickly and introduce the campaign.”

Flora plans to look past the common political distraction of fundraising and shake at least 50,000 hands by the June 2^nd primary election. Upcoming canvasses can be found under the “Meet John” tab at FloraForCongress.com.

“Everyone I hope to represent in NJ-10 will be represented equally and equitably”, concluded Flora. “I am not buying into the idea of million-dollar fundraising as the only means to win a race. This just shows how truly broken our government is. Access to me has no price tag, nor does my duty to fairly represent. By soliciting small donations, we hope voters will believe us when we promise not to serve private interests over their public good.”