John,
Recently, I joined the Fast Politics podcast with Molly Jong-Fast to talk about the reality of running for office as a Black woman. You can listen here, but first, I wanted to share my truth about winning with progressive values in the face of being outspent.
It's plain and simple, John. Progressives get outspent in elections, and Black woman candidates are the least funded and most likely to be attacked. I know it personally.
When I first ran for the Pennsylvania State House, we had one woman in our delegation, and Pennsylvania was ranked 49th out of 50 states for women in elected office. No one expected me.
But my approach was simple: talk to every voter. I spoke with voters of color, women voters, young voters, and just about any voter who had been discarded and ignored from the process. We tapped into people that establishment candidates said were not worth connecting with. And in doing so, I became the first Black woman from Western Pennsylvania ever elected to the state legislature.
Four years later, I was elected Pennsylvania's first Black Congresswoman after I overcame millions of dollars that were used to air racist and sexist lies about me on TV thanks to the power of the people. Super PACs will continue to do this to me and candidates like me, so I'm asking:
Whether it was 2018, 2020, or 2022, we won by energy. We won by momentum. We won by talking the language of the voters who need us most and listening to what they had to say. And best of all, we won honestly.
In my time as an elected official, I’ve never folded. I’ve never taken any corporate contributions or sold my votes to the highest bidder. I hear the working class because it’s where I come from.
I'm proud to fight every day for the people that need me most: Pennsylvania’s 12th Congressional district. But our work isn't done yet. If we're going to transform politics, we need to reinvent the current system that prioritizes profits and keeps Black and brown folks from office.
In solidarity and gratitude,
Summer
