GOLD STAR MOM NIXES PLAN TO CHALLENGE MAST
Gold Star mom Karen Vaughn has decided not to challenge freshman U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Palm City, in a GOP primary but is advising Mast and other Republicans to be loyal to President Donald Trump.
Vaughn, a Stuart resident who spoke at the 2016 Republican National Convention about the death of her Navy SEAL son in Afghanistan, said she was “humbled by the outpouring of support” from people urging her to run in Palm Beach-Treasure Coast District 18 after Mast called for a ban on AR-15 rifles and other “assault” weapons.
But in a Facebook post late Tuesday night, Vaughn said: “At this time, my family and I have decided that it would not be in the best interest of our community to push forward with a political campaign with just a little over four months to go until the Republican Primary.”
Vaughn’s decision removes a potential complication for Republican efforts to retain the competitive District 18 seat. The party that does not control the White House traditionally makes gains in midterm elections, and two Democrats — attorney and Navy veteran Pam Keith and former Obama administration foreign policy adviser Lauren Baer — have opened campaigns for Mast’s seat.
In passing up a GOP primary challenge, Vaughn urged Mast and other Republicans to stick with Trump.
“(A)s an ardent supporter of our President and the America First agenda, my advice to our Congressman and any other Republican looking to hold their seat in November is to help deliver on the promises Trump campaigned on and won. Do not forsake the Constitution or the 2nd Amendment. Do not cave to political pressures of the media and political elite. Run with our President not from him,” Vaughn said.
Vaughn, author of “World Changer, A Mother’s Story,” has become a popular speaker since her son, Aaron Vaughn, was killed with 29 others in 2011 when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan.
Mast is a decorated Army combat veteran who lost both his legs and a finger after a bomb blast in Afghanistan. He campaigned as a Second Amendment supporter in 2016, but irked many backers of gun rights when he said in a Feb. 23 New York Times op-ed that Congress should define “what constitutes an assault or tactical firearm” and ban future sales of such weapons.
While Congress works on that legislation, Mast said he wants Trump to “implement an immediate pause” on the sale of AR-15-style weapons, which were used in the mass shootings in Parkland, Las Vegas last year and the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando in 2016.