John xxxxxx,

I’m going to tell you something most candidates would never admit: I hate "call time."

HATE is an understatement. It’s brutal, and a horrible use of time.

There is nothing quite as soul-crushing as sitting in a room for 30 hours a week, dialing numbers, and asking people for money. When I stepped up to run for Senate the first time in 2022, I knew literally nothing about campaigning. I was just a retired military officer who had spent 26 years protecting democracy, and I was appalled by what I saw on January 6th, 2021.

I watched now U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune do absolutely nothing while the foundations of our republic were attacked. I told myself I would volunteer for whoever had the guts to run against him. But no one stepped up. So, I did it myself.

Early on, those phone calls were demoralizing. I’d get someone on the line, tell them I was running to restore integrity, and they’d laugh. They’d say, "You’re running against John Thune? You’re going to get your ass kicked."

I did not win. But they were wrong about one thing.

We ended up raising a record amount of money. Not because of the large-dollar elites or the wealthy contributors in the D.C. Country Club, but because of you.

It was the small-dollar donors—the people chipping in $5, $10, or $25—who proved that a grassroots movement is more powerful than a billionaire’s checkbook.

This cycle, we’re seeing that same magic happen again. Our campaign currently has one of the highest percentages of unitemized contributions in the entire country. (That is a fancy way of saying we are powered by regular folks who are playing by the rules, not corporate PACs.)

I’m not a career politician, and I’ll never be a professional fundraiser. I’m a retired Lt. Colonel and former Park Ranger who believes in the Cowboy Code: tell the truth and take care of your neighbor. If you’re ready to help me shock the establishment and show the pundits that this grassroots movement is the real deal, will you chip in today?

Every dollar adds up. Thank you for proving the "experts" wrong.

Brian Bengs

Lt Col, USAF JAG Corps (Ret.)Independent Candidate for U.S. Senate

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