PRESS RELEASE: Boots on the Ground concludes in Rolla
February 19, 2010Sowers campaigncelebrates the completion of 28-day project
February 19, 2010 (Rolla, MO) - For 28 days, US House ofRepresentatives candidate Tommy Sowers spent one day and one night living,working, and listening in each of the 28 counties of the 8thCongressional District. Tommy,along with his dog Chuck, traveled over 3100 miles in his pickup truck, morethan the distance from New York to Los Angeles. He returned home to PhelpsCounty on Tuesday for the final day of his “Boots on the Ground” project.
In every county, Tommy spent the day discussing issues andlearning peoples’ concerns in the coffee shops, courthouses, workplaces andhomes of southeastern Missouri. Sowers also worked side-by-side with residentson many days of Boots on the Ground. His jobs varied from teaching high schoolin Perry County, to working on a road crew in Iron County, to milking cows inTexas County. Tommy also sat down and discussed his candidacy with reportersall throughout the district, appearing on numerous radio shows and in manylocal papers.
“We received a very warm welcome,” said Sowers. “People aretired of typical politicians that show up for a photo op once a year and thenleave. This is the ‘show me’ partof the ‘Show Me State’. Boots onthe Ground gave the voters a chance to kick the tires. Some kicked harder than others.”
Tommy Sowers is challenging Representative Jo Ann Emersonfor her seat in the United States Congress.
“I found a strong anti-incumbent sentiment during Boots onthe Ground. This is a large,diverse district but the concerns about jobs and their kids moving away wereconstant. People simply don’t trust Washington anymore, and that goes for bothparties. They clearly want a trueambassador for this district who will work hard for people and will not taketheir votes for granted,” continued Sowers, “It was an honor to look people intheir eyes and ask them for their vote.”
Boots on the Ground also featured an innovative webplatform, where anyone could follow Tommy’s journey throughout the district,with videos, pictures and updates from the road. Tommy also makes frequent use of Twitter and Facebook,giving followers a real-time perspective on what it is like to run for Congressfrom the candidate himself.
Campaign manager Jonathan Feifs concluded, “Boots on theGround was a mixture of new technology and old school politics. We used the internetto give supporters a way to follow him hour-by-hour, to clearly show all ittakes to take on a DC native and insider.”
