Colonel Darren McCauley

folks in power who are not currently displaying the values and setting an example that I personally would like to hand off to my children.

So watching what was happening at the VA and then seeing how the effects of that were rippling throughout my community.

In our district, we have 50,000 veterans.

So if you start to dismantle VA health care, you start to take away VA benefits, that affects many of my neighbors, people that I work with, people that live next door to me.

And I wanted to do something about it.

Also, having had the storms come to Tampa Bay last year, myself and every other international guardsman were out trying to help our community.

I personally lost my home.

We had over a foot of water in my home and spent eight months arguing with insurance companies about whether or not they were going to help us to repair the damage, whether or not the flood in my home was caused by floodwaters from the sea or caused by rainwater flooding in from a hole in the roof.

And they were basically able to wait us out so that many of my neighbors had to sell their houses just for the price of land.

The insurance companies were taking advantage of Central Floridians where we had a contract with them.

We paid our premiums and we expected that we would have some safety and security should disaster strike.

But when disaster actually struck, they turned their backs on us.

Now, as a physician, I was fortunate enough to be able to mount a financial response, go into my savings, work extra hours and rebuild my home.

But many of my neighbors on fixed incomes were not willing or not able to do that.

And insurance companies were not willing to help them.

So seeing that happen real time, seeing it happen to my family, seeing it happen to my neighbors and my community, and at the same time,

watching what was happening to the federal government at work, I decided that I wanted to try to throw my hat in the ring.

And instead of, after 25 years of military service, directing my efforts towards helping America achieve her interests abroad, really helping America achieve her interests here at home.

At DarrenForFlorida.com, D-A-R-R-E-N-F-O-R-Florida.com.