John,

Running for Congress demands of the candidate a singular focus on fundraising. It comes with the territory, unfortunately, and until we elect a Democratic majority with the courage to reform our broken campaign finance system, we have to raise millions of dollars to compete and win.

But I’m not running for office to raise money for a campaign, or to pay political consultants. I am in this because the people in my district, folks I grew up with, need hope and someone who will work for them and speak up for their interests against a system that has all but left them behind.

And I am in this because in districts like mine, the people in charge are failing our children and failing the people they are charged to represent, and I can no longer stand it.

The rate of child poverty in Ohio is upwards of 17.7%. That’s around 1 in 5 kids who don’t have the same opportunities to thrive and learn as every other kid. Kids who are hungry, and don’t have regular access to healthy meals. Kids without a place to call home, or a roof over their heads.

When I was young, my family relied on food stamps to survive. We used WIC (Women, Infants, and Children program) when my mom fostered children in need. Without these crucial supports, I never would have been able to enlist in the Navy and serve our country, much less run for Congress today.

In 2021, when President Biden and the Democratic Congress passed the child tax credit, the result was immediately tangible: child poverty was cut in half within months. We need more of this common-sense legislation to help American families, not less.

Families in my district and in communities across the country, both rural and urban, struggle to get by with an economy that prioritizes corporate profits, the stock market, and technical knowledge above all else. And with public education hollowed out, stripped for parts, and sold to private interests, it is nearly impossible for poor children to gain the skills they need to compete for the jobs of the future.

We, all of us, desperately need more folks running for office who will talk about these issues and keep them squarely in focus. Those kids deserve nothing less from us.

And I will tirelessly do my part so that we can win and fight for real change in Washington. I know that a long email about child poverty isn’t usually the best way to raise money, but if you feel like I do and know that we need to work to make change and turn things around for our kids, then I hope that I can count on your support for this campaign:

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Thank you for your support and for standing up for kids everywhere.

-Jerrad Christian