John, 

It was only a matter of time before Republicans used the same playbook they used against me on someone else — after all, it worked the first time. 

A few weeks ago, intimate details of Susanna Gibson’s private life were shared in The Washington Post without her consent, and without good reason. 

What women (or anyone) do with their bodies in their private time is not a matter of public interest. By circulating images taken without my consent, or finding and publicizing videos that were meant to disappear, as in Susanna’s case, Republican operatives and the publications that enable them are trying to shame and humiliate women into never running for office. 

But we will not be intimated. We must demand better of our journalists, and we must demand action from our federal government to protect our sexual privacy, through the SHIELD Act and other means. 

This fight is far from over. Unfortunately, Susanna likely won’t be the last target of the sexist smear campaign Republicans are running. But women will still run, and HER Time and I will be standing with them when they do. 

Thanks, 

Katie