Mara Massie, who is challenging Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) in Florida’s 5th Congressional District, said during a television appearance that it’s crucial for Americans to participate in their local primaries. Breitbart News Saturday ahead of her election campaign.
Massie, who became more involved in politics after fighting against mandatory vaccination for the military with her husband, who is in the Navy, explained why it’s so important for residents to get involved in local politics.
“It’s important to recognize that our political system, and particularly our system in Florida, is a network of people who choose who we vote for,” she said.
“John Rutherford was sheriff of Jacksonville for quite some time before he was elevated to the House of Representatives. We’ve been happy with the status quo and we’re not really involved in choosing who we send to Congress,” Massie said, explaining that voters are essentially allowing “political consultants and political elites to choose who they want to tell us who candidates to send to Congress.”
“People don’t vote in primaries. Primaries are where the election is won or lost. When November comes, they vote by letter. And because they vote by letter, a lot of times people don’t know who I am because the local media doesn’t cover me,” she said, concluding that much of the media is in the “flashlight of the establishment.”
“I ask them, ‘So how do you know who’s on your ballot?’ And they say, ‘Oh yeah, I saw Fox News.’ So I say, ‘Does Fox News cover John Rutherford?’ And they say, ‘No.'” Massie agreed that he wasn’t being covered, prompting the next question: “Do you think they’ll cover his opponent?” And at that moment it clicked,” Massie explained.
“But I think it’s important for people to understand that the school board, the candidates, matter. We need to know who the candidates are well before the primary. We need to understand who we should support to get elected, because we need to be involved,” she said, warning against complacency.
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“We can’t be complacent. We’ve been doing this for decades and that’s exactly what got us to where we are today. If we don’t change things, we shouldn’t expect a different outcome, because that would be completely crazy,” Massie said ahead of a campaign event at Jekyll Brewery in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
“We’re going to talk about exactly what we’re talking about here, and we’re going to engage until people let us know what they want to hear more about,” she said, noting there will be other speakers. Breitbart News Saturday Moderators and Washington bureau chiefs Matthew Boyle, Ann Vandersteel and Mark Kaye.
“We’re going to figure out how to replace John Rutherford and we’re all going to work together on that because that’s the only way we’re going to get Republicans like John out of Congress and replace them with patriots who put America first,” she added.
Breitbart News Saturday airs from 10am-1pm ET on SiriusXM Patriot 125.
