Hi John — Tammy Baldwin here with some big news: I’m officially running for reelection to the US Senate. If you have a minute or two today, I wanted to take a moment to tell you a little more about myself, why I’m running, and why our campaign in Wisconsin is so important.

When I was a child, I was diagnosed with a serious illness and spent three months in the hospital. When I got better, my grandparents who raised me began to look for an insurance policy that would cover me in the future.

However, because of my previous illness, they couldn’t find such a policy. Not from any insurer. Not at any price. They had to pay for my health care out of pocket — and they had to make enormous sacrifices to do so — all because I was a child who had been labeled with those words: “pre-existing condition.”

John, I got into public service because I saw my grandparents stay up late at night, worried sick that I would fall ill again and they wouldn't be able to afford my care. No one should ever have to go through that.

Like 133 million Americans, I know what it's like to have the label "pre-existing condition" attached to my care — and before the Affordable Care Act was passed, many of us could be denied coverage.

Today, insurance companies can no longer discriminate against someone based on their pre-existing condition. I championed that health reform and fought to allow young people to stay on their parent’s insurance plans up to age 26. These policy changes have led to millions more Americans getting the health insurance they need.

So, you can imagine my frustration whenever Republicans launch a new attack on our health care or threaten protections for folks with pre-existing conditions. And if Mitch McConnell and his Republican mega-donors flip my seat in Wisconsin and take hold of the Senate majority next election, countless Americans could find themselves in a place where insurance companies, once again, write all the rules.

I’ll never back down, John, but we’ve got a tough fight ahead of us to protect this seat, so I’ll need your support every step of the way.

Will you split a donation today between my reelection campaign in Wisconsin and Senator Durbin's campaign? I’ll never stop fighting to ensure every American has access to quality, affordable health care — regardless of whether or not they have a pre-existing condition — and it’d mean a lot to me to have your support in that fight.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will be automatically split between Tammy Baldwin and Dick Durbin:

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I am not going to let anyone make me forget where I came from or why I got into public service in the first place. My own personal experience has always inspired my work to do everything I can to make sure that every American has quality, affordable health care coverage, and stand up against those who want to take it away.

Thank you for reading, and thanks for your support today.

— Tammy

 

 

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