Ozzie DeFaria, US House camdidate and Republican “Young Gun”, announced he has raised nearly $400,000 in his bid to challenge Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Out of Touch). Back in February, the National Republican Congressional Committee named DeFaria as a “Young Gun” meaning his campaign was worthy of national support.

Here is the DeFaria press release:

“Weston, FL – Florida Congressional Candidate (CD23) Ozzie deFaria today announced that his campaign has reported nearly $400,000 in total receipts, an amount greater than any challenger to Debbie Wasserman Schultz has ever reported. Yesterday, Ozzie declared over $181,000 in 1st Quarter receipts and over $200,000 cash-on-hand.

Ozzie has secured support from over 1,700 individual donors across 48 states. The campaign has nearly six times as many individual donors as it did at the end of the 4th Quarter, the first reporting period for the campaign. Ozzie has more in total receipts than Wasserman Schultz’s general election opponents in 2008 and 2010 combined.

The vast majority of Ozzie’s supporters are small dollar donors. Since very few of these people have contributed the maximum amount, the campaign can seek additional donations from these supporters multiple times before the November General Election.

‘I am proud and thankful that my campaign is rallying support from conservatives across America who understand the national implications of this race and the necessity to have a credible, well-funded candidate to take on DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Debbie is vulnerable in this economy-focused election. I will contrast my record as a jobs creator to her blind support of Barack Obama’s numerous jobs killing policies and defeat her this November,’ said Ozzie deFaria.

In February, Ozzie was named an ‘On the Radar’ candidate as part of the National Republican Congressional Committee’s prestigious Young Guns program. He is a first generation citizen who has lived the American dream without one government handout. He worked his way through college and then climbed the ranks at AT&T to become an executive managing a $1.5 billion portfolio. He left AT&T to serve as the CEO and COO of other firms. Throughout his career, Ozzie helped create over 2,000 private sector jobs and added $800 million to the economy.”