ABERDEEN, S.D.(Press Release) – On Monday, October 17th, the campaigns for Democratic nominees for U.S. Senate Brian Bengs (South Dakota), Tom McDermott (Indiana), and Mark Holland (Kansas) joined together to create the Heartland Senate Fund, a fundraising venture with the intention of helping the Democratic nominees compete in the heartland again.
There is a belief that the Democratic party has forgotten about voters in the heartland. As recently as 2018, Indiana had a Democratic Senator. In 2004, South Dakota had Democrats in every seat in the Congressional delegation, including the Senate Democratic Leader. In Kansas, Democrats have won 3 of the last 5 Gubernatorial elections, nearly four. During the primary, Kansas saw a historic turnout rivaling presidential levels that voted overwhelmingly to defend a woman’s right to choose, 59.16% to 40.84%.While some in the party think we should forget about these states, the people in the heartland are begging for support, because if we run quality campaigns here and have the financial resources needed, we can win. Our message to Washington: America’s heartland is ready to win.
“I am thrilled that our campaigns are uniting to help rural America. I entered this race to give regular folks in the heartland a voice in our government who have been ignored for far too long,” said retired Lt. Colonel Brian Bengs. “I am not taking any corporate PAC money in my campaign because special interests have a stranglehold on our government.”
“Not every race gets the national spotlight, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have enthusiastic, engaged, and mobilized supporters ready to propel us to victory in November. Sometimes Democrats in the heartland of our country get the cold shoulder from DC types, but that just means we fight that much harder,” said Tom McDermott. “With the help of individual donors—not special interests—myself and my fellow Heartland Democrats will continue to stand up and fight hard to bring more common-sense candidates to the U.S. Senate.”
I am honored for my campaign to join this effort to put the heartland in play,” said Reverend Mark Holland. “I entered this race to give Kansans a choice in this election. Kansas voters made their voice heard loud and clear in August: Their interests are not being represented in Washington.”
Brian Bengs is a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Navy, where he was a JAG officer and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He is a former college professor who taught courses at the Air Force Academy, the NATO School and Northern State University. Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Indiana, Tom McDermott is the 5-term Mayor of Hammond, IN. McDermott is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, a husband, and father to four. Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Kansas, Mark Holland is a 4th generation Kansan and 3rd generation United Methodist Pastor. He has served as Mayor of Kansas City, Kansas and spent many years fighting for the rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals in the Methodist church.
The Heartland Senate Fund is a fundraising venture where 100 percent of the proceeds raised will be split evenly between the three U.S. Senate campaigns.