Rep. Braun ignores open letter from Donnelly campaign to halt campaign activity and participate in service project on 9/11; will continue to air ads and spend day raising money in Texas instead
INDIANAPOLIS – Rep. Braun will be spending tomorrow at a fundraiser in Dallas and continuing to air ads instead of commemorating the September 11 attacks after spurning an invitation from the Donnelly campaign to mutually pause all campaign activity in remembrance of the day, reports show.
Tomorrow is the 17th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, but instead of commemorating the victims, Rep. Braun will be in Dallas instead to raise money from wealthy donors with Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), National Journal reported today. Tickets for the event are going for as much as $50,000 per couple. The Braun campaign has also bought time to continue airing political ads on television as well.
On Friday, the Braun campaign told WBND-TV that “Mike will never use September 11 for public relations matters.” Political ads and fundraisers, however, are apparently a different matter.
The campaign’s comments came after Donnelly for Indiana Campaign Manager Peter Hanscom invited Rep. Braun and the Braun campaign to join Joe Donnelly and his campaign in halting all campaign ads and activities in honor of 9/11 and to join them for a service project in Indianapolis. Rep. Braun has not responded to the letter.
“A candidate’s actions speak a lot about their priorities, and Rep. Braun’s decision to travel to Texas to raise money from wealthy Republican donors instead of commemorating 9/11 speaks volumes,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Tomorrow should be a day free of partisan bickering and campaigning as we mourn the victims who lost their lives and honor the heroes who risked their lives to save them. Hoosiers can’t count on Rep. Braun to put our nation first, and they can’t trust him to do anything besides what will help himself.”
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