In 2019, a school shooting occurred at STEM School Highlands Ranch, the school my son attended at the time. I looked around for answers and for leadership to respond with action. I reached out to political leaders and tried to tell my story and seek solutions. No solutions were to be found.
This experience motivated me to run for Congress. I didn’t plan on becoming a candidate for office. I didn’t—and don’t—want to be a politician. But these moments require someone to step up and lead, like I was trained to do as a Marine for over 20 years.
Thoughts and prayers won’t keep our kids safe. They need us to act. Serving in the Marine Corps for over 20 years, I learned and put into action the following maxim: You don’t run away from a crisis; you run towards it.
Elected officials like Ken Buck and Lauren Boebert have blamed everyone and everything but themselves for the crises we are in. And instead of pursuing consensus and agreement for common sense solutions we can all get behind, like universal background checks and red flag laws, they fight harder for the extreme NRA agenda.
I’m fed up with this. We don’t have to agree on everything, even about the issue of gun violence, but we do need leaders who will work together to find common ground.
Thank you for your support—together, we will defeat right wing extremists like Ken Buck so that Congress can continue to make strides on gun violence prevention.
Semper Fi,
Ike McCorkle
Ike McCorkle is a Purple Heart recipient, Marine Force Recon Veteran, and the Democratic nominee in Colorado's 4th Congressional District. Ike will fight for working class families and to restore the people's trust in American Government and leadership.
