As Whitney Fox tries to differentiate herself from foe Anna Paulina Luna, she just made a hurricane-sized mistake

LUNA FOX CD 13
It's never a good look to ask for money when people are evacuating for a hurricane.

On Wednesday morning around 10:30 a.m., Whitney Fox’s campaign for Florida’s 13th Congressional District sent out a fundraising email to supporters asking “everyone reading this” to chip in $5 or $10 to help the campaign “reach Whitney’s final public fundraising deadline of the election.”

The email noted the campaign is “slightly behind” on its goal, and issued a warning that “undecided voters are looking for confirmation that we have the momentum” to defeat incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna.

There’s nothing unusual about the email — it’s pretty standard for campaigns to have a final fundraising push ahead of quarterly fundraising deadlines (the third quarter of 2024 is wrapping up).

But there is something lacking in tact.

Shortly before the email went out, Pinellas County issued mandatory evacuations for people in Zone A, for those are low-lying areas prone to flooding and for those in mobile homes. There are a lot of people in the district Fox seeks to represent who live in Zone A. Those people are most likely worried more right now about grabbing sandbags to mitigate what could be a huge flooding event as a result of Hurricane Helene, or making plans to get out of dodge. What they’re probably not thinking about is cutting a check to anyone’s campaign.

The move shows Fox’s blind spot. She’s a first-time candidate and perhaps doesn’t know the Golden Rule of politicking as natural disaster lurks: You ask people how you can help them, not for them to help you.

Those “undecided voters” Fox’s fundraising email mentioned might not take kindly to someone reaching their hand out while residents evaluate how much food they’re possibly about to lose in the freezer if the power goes out, or whether their home is going to be underwater in a day or two.

And they might find themselves closer to decided after, a few hours later, they got a text message from Luna’s congressional staff.

A constituent shared a screenshot of a text sent at 1:40 p.m. from Luna’s Office ensuring people she was there to help.

“My office is standing by to assist you.  Please be safe,” the text read. “Staying informed is key — check local updates frequently, as conditions could change quickly.”

The text included a helpful link to Pinellas County’s “know your zone” website, which allows residents to search their address to see which evacuation zone they’re in — critical information when a mandatory evacuation for Zone A is underway. Another link sends constituents to a list of items that people should have on hand ahead of a storm. It also included a number (43362) to text the word “SHELTER” to in order to receive information on a Federal Emergency Management Agency shelters available in certain areas.

The text also included a short video from Luna sharing similar information, and urging individuals to make a plan for themselves and their families, including pets.

Know what it didn’t include? A pitch for money. Granted, it would be a violation of campaign finance laws to do so since the message was sent in Luna’s official capacity as an elected official, and Fox doesn’t have an office from which to send useful tips, links and reminders.

But a candidate doesn’t need an official elected office to pitch in. Fox could have skipped the fundraising email and instead headed out to help people fill sandbags. She could have walked low-lying neighborhoods in the district to see if anyone needed a hand packing up. She could have texted supporters links to resources. Or she could have just not begged for campaign cash as people face potential property loss or, in hopefully an unlikely scenario, injury or loss of life.

These sorts of things matter in campaigns.

I would never dare suggest that Charlie Crist may have won the 2022 gubernatorial election had Gov. Ron DeSantis not gotten an image boost from his response to Hurricane Ian. But I would venture to guess the margin of victory for DeSantis might not have been quite so large had it not been for the positive perceptions of his emergency response, which included praise from one of his top political enemies, Democratic President Joe Biden.

In times of crisis, most voters forget about partisanship, and they are just looking for someone who is looking out for them. Luna’s text sent that message. Fox’s definitely didn’t.

Peter Schorsch

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises Media and is the publisher of FloridaPolitics.com, INFLUENCE Magazine, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. Previous to his publishing efforts, Peter was a political consultant to dozens of congressional and state campaigns, as well as several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella. Follow Peter on Twitter @PeterSchorschFL.


9 comments

  • Michael

    September 25, 2024 at 3:08 pm

    As I was reading the above, my phone chimed with a text from WinRed.com/Steve Scalise/NRCC to make a donation……talk about those Republicans living in a “blind spot”…..boy, I am not sending them any money nor voting for them!

  • Cat 5 Helene

    September 25, 2024 at 3:31 pm

    Maybe Trump can pull off another hurricane insurance fraud scam Google Trump Hurricane Mar a Lago Insurance Scam

    • Billy Rotberg

      September 25, 2024 at 4:32 pm

      The article is not about Trump. You seem like the kind that brings him up on articles about the moons of Jupiter. You know that’s not normal.

  • Jojo

    September 26, 2024 at 9:07 am

    Is the reporter serious? How much attention does he think people pay to their email when they’re preparing for a hurricane.
    The criticism would have been more honest if she’d been asking for donations as she’s touring the devastated areas

  • Joe

    September 27, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    How much did Looney Anna pay you for this blog post, Peter?

    Just another inane take from the site’s “pay-to-play” conservative contributor.

  • Joe

    September 27, 2024 at 2:00 pm

    How much did Luna Lovegood pay you for this blog post, Peter?
    Just another inane take from the site’s “pay-to-play” conservative contributor.

  • Joe

    September 27, 2024 at 2:01 pm

    Lol, “pay to play” triggering the auto-moderation on Schorsch’s posts.

  • Cheesy Floridian

    September 27, 2024 at 2:17 pm

    Foz was out helping she posted videos on her social media and was filling sandbags and she was helping clean up today.

  • lol

    October 2, 2024 at 6:01 pm

    didnt luna worked at a gentlemans club?

Comments are closed.


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