Mario Fratto, who was unsuccessful in his bid to become the Republican nominee for election in the 24th Congressional District, spoke out on Thursday for the first time since Tuesday’s primary.
“I want to start by saying thank you to God, my family, everybody who volunteered, donated, and just gave us support along the way,” Fratto said of the experience. “I wanted to give the people a chance to elect someone that wasn’t part of the DC swamp or just another career politician.”
He said he was honored by the support he received in Wayne, Ontario, Genesee, and Seneca counties.
“We were told by the polls that we were going to lose 52% to 6% and that we were being outspent 40-1. They spent millions of dollars against us on personal attacks, TV ads, radio, and even had to phone in President Trump the night before the election,” Fratto recounted. “Before we even made the ballot they tried to have us kicked off. They did all of this to stop a guy who has never run for anything, and who is just a ‘forklift driver’, according to one party boss.”
Fratto said the establishment did it because they feared the message of traditional values, common sense, and America first policies.
“In just 90 days we put together a grassroots campaign made up of carpenters, homeschool moms, small business owners, cooks, and so many blue-collar people who just wanted something better for themselves and their families,” he continued. “I don’t think that a candidate who has never run for any political office, and got outspent the way we did against an incumbent, has ever had such a strong showing.”
Speaking to Tenney’s move to Ontario County, which apparently happened in recent months after deciding to seek election in the newly formed 24th District, Fratto said winning was set to be an even bigger challenge.
“If Claudia Tenney lives in Ontario County now, then we also beat an incumbent in their home county,” Fratto, an attorney and lifelong Geneva resident added. “This is a testament to how hard our campaign worked. We ran an entire campaign with nothing but yard signs, mail, and people knocking on doors. If less than 7% of the votes shifted our way, we would have won.”
As for the prospect of changing what he did along the campaign? Fratto says he was grateful for the effort everyone put into his campaign.
“I am forever grateful to everybody we have met along the way who have offered their support and gave up their time by putting their lives and families on hold, because they believed in something,” he said. “I did it with you and I wouldn’t change a thing. We started a movement that we should be proud of.”
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