A.G. Gancarski
A creative fundraising appeal may help bolster Democrat Billee Bussard‘s campaign against well-funded incumbent Republican Aaron Bean in northeast Florida’s Senate District 4.
Bussard, a 73-year-old veteran journalist, had $5,000 on hand at the end of August.
But she offered an unusual story on her Facebook page, one that would only make sense in the world of random games of “Words With Friends,” the Scrabble-like game that took off as smartphones did almost a decade ago.
Bussard has a regular opponent that she has difficulty defeating: 22 wins in over 300 games.
Finally, over conversation during one of these games, she divulged that she was running for Senate … and he divulged that he was a Jacksonville resident, and “practically neighbors.”
All of this set up a fundraising pitch.
“Hey, all you #WordsWithFriends soul mates, how about kicking in a small donation (or a big one) to my campaign so I don’t have to work so hard raising money in this final stretch to turn the Florida Senate blue.”
Bean, who survived a primary, is well-fortified with cash: Over $200,000 on hand at the end of August.
It remains to be seen whether #WordsWithFriends is a fundraising draw. Just like on the board itself, there is an element of luck of the tiles.
