"Wes, you are not going anywhere until you give this place a try… too many people have sacrificed in order for you to be there."

Those were the words my mother spoke to me over the phone after I'd been busted trying to run away from military school. She'd heavily debated sending me. But at 13-years-old, I'd been cutting too many classes, been handcuffed in the back of a police car, and she knew this might be my last chance to escape being lost forever.

So, after some advice from family friends, she finally decided to send me to Valley Forge Military Academy.

I'm lucky. Thanks to my mother's and grandparents' love, the community that stepped up to support us, and mentors I met at Valley Forge and after, I changed course. I stayed at Valley Forge, joined up, and eventually became an Army captain and deployed to Afghanistan.

I ran for governor because I know the difference that last chance made for me. After having the military motto of "leave no one behind" drilled into me, I couldn't stand on the sidelines when I realized people were being left behind in my own country.

It became my slogan for my campaign for governor. And it's the promise I made to every Maryland resident when I took my oath of office. And it's one I have spent every day since working to fulfill as your governor.

But just like my mom couldn't do it alone, just like no service member gets the mission done alone, neither can I.

So I'm asking you, if you believe in a Maryland where no one is left behind, will you pitch in to keep our work going? I know from personal experience the difference it makes when everyone gives what they can.

Thanks for believing in me, in Maryland, in us.

Elevate,

Wes