A message from my heart.
Dearest friends, family, fans, and voters,
Thank you so very much for your vote of confidence in me! I am humbled and honored by your support of voting for me as your "almost Lt. Governor." I like you am disappointed by my percentage of votes, but let me remind you of this election's facts that may ease that feeling. First, there was no debate in this election! None. As you know, that's where I excel; public speaking is my specialty. It's a sad reflection on our media for not holding even one public debate for the second highest office in Louisiana. I am outraged that this was the case quite honestly.
Second, I was not allowed to speak at any Republican Forums; none! That's the way the La. Republican Party plays politics; their forums are private events that only registered republicans can speak at. I being an Independent candidate was not invited and refused admission to all these events. This greatly limited my exposure to more voters and also limited the voters ability to see and hear my unique firebrand message. Seeing and hearing me speak publicly creates voters as you know! You and I both know that I dominated every forum where I spoke; to their credit the La. Democratic Party let me speak at their forums. Thanks.
Third, I got into this race on the last day of qualifying; I was literally the last man to qualify. I looked at the field and felt I was strong enough to defeat the career politician Incumbent; I still believe that if I had been able to speak at more forums and to debate him only once, I would've! Tying my hands by limiting my access to public speaking hurt my campaign dramatically and I'm sure he had a hand in that limitation. That's why I'm going to report to you all the media outlets that refused to interview me during this election; you should know the facts voters.
I requested an interview with WRKF's Jim Engster multiple times; he interviewed several of the other candidates on his 'Talk Louisiana' show and the Incumbent on multiple occasions; he didn't contact me or even reply to my multiple requests. Keep that in your mind listeners
Newell Normand said he planned on having all the candidates on his show, but had only his friend, the Incumbent; in fact, he had that guy on enough times to interview each of his opponents once! That's a fact. I reminded him of his declared 'intention' to interview all candidates and his reply was "not yet"; that was the day before early voting. I also took exception to the fact that he never addressed the Incumbent's three scathing audits earlier this year by our Legislative Auditor; I texted Newell to inquire when he would; his response "not yet." I'm waiting...
Moon Griffon also didn't respond to my request for an interview. Travers Mackel tried to have a 'Hot-Seat' for a Lt. Governor's debate, but the Incumbent cancelled. The event was never rescheduled by WDSU and thus we had no debates for Lt. Governor; something would've been better than nothing. But honestly, to give six candidates 22 minutes of air-time would've been ridiculous; that's three minutes each to talk with Travers doing at intro for each. We needed a real one hour debate!
I know you dislike and don't trust the Liberal Media as much as me; after my bad personal experience in this election, I submit that we should also not trust the conservative media! I feel they were working with the Republican Incumbent to limit my exposure in this election. Knowing I was armed with three audit reports on him, he avoided me.
I also want to mention three media outlets that are non-biased and opened their arms to my Independent Candidacy. Jeff Crouere is as conservative as it gets; he's a 100% red-blooded American. He's also a good guy, he's funny, and most importantly he's fair. I was welcomed on his show & he was as good a host as you could want. Thanks Jeff.
The same can be said of Kristian Garic; we had a great chat and he too invited me on in-spite of my being an Independent Candidate. That's how the media's supposed to be; I know this because my Father was a reporter for AP when I was a boy. He covered Civil Rights in the 1960's. I inherited my creative writing skills from my dad. Semper Fi Kristian.
Lastly, I was on The Jerry Show on KPPM radio in Lake Charles; he was the picture of professionalism. Friendly, guest centered, and simply the best as a host! Talking with him is like chatting with your old basketball teammate; it's comforting and casual. All the best to Jerry & KPPM.
The fifth reality is that the only way you can combat the two party system of blocking-out Independent Candidates and overcome the media bias is by purchasing airtime and advertising. This takes huge sums of money and I didn't want to beg, borrow, or steal from my supporters to pay for commercials. You work hard for your money and the government takes almost half in taxes; begging for your support was not something I wanted to do. But even that has limits: the very wealthy Independent Hunter Lundy discovered this running for our Governor. He poured in millions of his own money to run and got a slightly higher percentage of voters than I did. I ran an efficient race which is the way I would've run the Lieutenant Governor's Office.
Yes, I lost the Lt. Governor's race in 2023, but I gained some great new friends, reconnected with some old ones, and had just about as much fun as you can running for public office. It was a very interesting experience and I'm glad I ran; had I not, I surely would've asked myself "what if" on my deathbed; I don't want to question one life decision at that point. I'm proud of what we accomplished voters; I am sincerely humbled by such a large turn-out of support for a first time candidate and at that running for Lt. Governor! Had I been able to speak at more forums, a debate or two, and more events, who knows what might've happened? I certainly think that would've made a huge difference!
The two party system is broken and we need to fix that; we also need campaign finance reform; PAC's and Super PAC's are buying our elections in America. Now I know this first hand; I also believe even more-so that term limits are the only way to combat career politicians. Re-elect no one! I'll be promoting that soon...stay tuned. I love you all and thanks again for your confidence and support. Celebrate life in Louisiana friends; we truly have the most unique state in the USA. Bruce
Election Day is today; please Vote!
Hello Louisiana! Today is the day to vote for change in our state.
Here's a quick list of why I'm the right choice for Lt. Governor:
1- I have the business and sales experience to do this job well. I'm a successful businessman, corporate trainer, and public speaker. I have the face, voice, passion, and personality to be our State Spokesman.
2- My 'Adopt-a-Park' plan will fast track the $42M repair backlog that currently exists on our State Parks thru corporate sponsorships.
3- My 'Million Pound Challenge' to Louisiana will get our entire state motivated to get in shape and lose some weight combating our statewide obesity crisis. I want a healthier Louisiana for all of us to enjoy together.
4- I want to stop the out-migration of our citizens who have left our great state; these people are our family, friends, and neighbors! They are our culture and community; we cannot afford to lose anymore of them! We lost over 36,000 in the last couple of years; those people are irreplaceable. You cannot simply replace a Cajun with a New York transplant; that's an apples for oranges exchange. I don't want to lose anymore Cajuns.
5- The Louisiana Legislative Auditor published three scathing reports on the Incumbent's mismanagement of the CR&T Department in 2023. Those reports are available to read online at LLA.Gov (search words CRT & OLG). They do not paint a pretty picture of my opponents track record.
6- It's time for new leadership across the board in Louisiana; scratch the 7 year itch and divorce the Incumbent; he's the ONLY possible carry-over from the current state executive offices! It's time for all new officials.
7- I'm going to term limit the Lt. Governor's Office so we don't have the problem of a tenured Lt. Governor as the Incumbent's seeking. Two terms is plenty enough; don't you agree? That's why I'm only running for one term myself; I'm going to lead by example! Change is good for Louisiana and term limits are the only way to stop career politicians.
Thank You Louisiana.
Vote 'Blackjack' Bruce Payton #21
MY STRENGHTS
Ambitious
I'm passionate about my job and my State; you'll hear that in my voice and you'll see that in my expression! I'm the real deal Louisiana.
Precise
I believe in doing things once and getting it right the first time. A good leader seeks the wisdom of a multitude of counsels and I will do that.
Assertive
I'm not afraid to ask difficult questions nor have some uncomfortable conversations, that's how progress is made.
Bruce Payton
My platform is simply to term limit the Lt Governor. Term limits are good for Louisiana; they prevent tenure in Politics. Career Politicians have been a nightmare for our State; just look at the Insurance Commission! After 16 years under one regime that office is in shambles. Let's not repeat that mistake with the Lt. Governor. Scratch the 7 year itch folks!
Term Limits work; they protect our state from tenured career politicians like the Incumbent and promote change too! My plan was a three headed monster but I've made progress; I've already convinced several Legislators to term limit the Lt. Governor's Office and I've spoken to several of the candidates for Governor who agree with me that the position should be term limited. In the meantime, I'm busy campaigning for Lt. Governor and crushing it at forums. My message is music to the voters ears and they love my passion for our state.
My dedication to term limits doesn't end there, I'm only running for one term. I'm term limiting myself, which forces my successor to serve two different Governors! This promotes cooperation, collaboration, and checks & balances at the highest levels of Louisiana State Government. Only a selfless, pro-active, dedicated candidate would promise this to voters. It'll change Louisiana for the better forever & how cool is that?
2023 is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Louisiana to make big changes by electing an entirely new slate of Executive's. Re-elect no one! Your job is just to vote; I'm doing the hard part fighting a David versus Goliath battle. You Louisiana are my rock--we're in this together!
I'm not a politician, I'm a businessman, and I'm running as an Independent because I represent everyone! Political party means nothing to me. I feel being in a party is a negative! Both parties in Louisiana are dysfunctional and in-fight daily. The Lt. Governor is a sales position; I'm as good a salesman as it gets; I'm classically trained by the greatest minds in business. l have the face, the voice and most importantly the personality to be your next Lt. Governor. You wouldn't hire a Politician to sell your home, so don't hire a Politician to sell your state! Elect the "Salesman turned Statesman!" Bruce Payton #21
A powerful voice for change in our state.
It's time for a change Louisiana; 8 years is long-enough for anyone; it's too long for some! The definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over again repeatedly and hoping for a different outcome!" It'll never happen; you have to change. The time for change is now; we're electing a new Governor and all other state offices. Let's elect a new Lt. Governor too.
I stand with Israel
The latest cowardly attack by Hamas was planned and orchestrated by terrorists; it was the exact equivalent of America's 9-11 attack and Israel is correct in declaring war on Hamas. Sadly, 22 Americans are confirmed dead and 17+ more are unaccounted-for and probably kidnapped. This will be a violent and long war as it is hard to find all the pockets of terror hiding in the mountains. Israel is America's ally more so than the Ukraine and deserves our support. I have several friends who are Jewish and my god, Jesus, is one too. Pray for peace, but only after the terror ceases!