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Hey there,
I keep thinking about the elderly woman who dug around in her purse for fifteen dollars. She keeps me up at night, like the Ghost of Christmas Past. Would I be responsible if she died?

I didn’t know it at the time, but it would be one of my last days of in-person campaigning before coronavirus shut Massachusetts down. A friend of mine had just flown back from a work trip overseas, and was wearing a cloth mask to protect others. It seemed unusual but soon wouldn’t be. I gave the fiery stump speech that I can quote in my sleep, and then I walked towards the door, preparing to give it another five times that day.

And then, the older woman walked up to me and sparked a conversation. “I want to see a woman serving in that seat while I’m still alive,” she told me. It’s true, a woman has never been elected to serve in the Massachusetts 8th Congressional District. For our entire history, it’s never been anything but white men.

“I can’t give much, but I want to give something. And I can’t wait to vote for you.” And then, she dug around in her purse and donated $15 in cash.

Before the coronavirus hit, my campaign was very well poised to compete. Slowly and steadily, we’ve built up an army of small dollar donors, and every quarter our filing was larger than the last. When we started, we would be thrilled to raise $100 in a day. Now, $1,500 days were the average. And with the Democratic presidential primary ending, we expected that number to more than double. We were well on track to raise over $750,000 before the election was over, and possibly a million. We were racking up endorsements. All of this without accepting a dime of corporate money.

Most of that money had been invested into a killer field operation. This had been my plan for two years: to quietly raise money, building up an army. And then, to flood the district from May to September. The Democratic presidential primary had given us amazing data. We knew not just which towns would vote for us, but which specific precincts. We would be very competitive. Engineers are not optimists by nature, but judging from the data, I felt confident in our chances.

And then coronavirus hit.

Suddenly, new questions began to keep me up at night. How would I feel if someone on my team caught COVID-19 executing our plan? How would I feel if someone on my team died? How would I feel if someone died going to vote for me?

This is not a theoretical question, we are at war with a pandemic, and life and death matters are at stake. We have enough signatures to easily get on the ballot, and I’m positive the elderly woman that donated $15 would show up to vote for me. But how would I feel if I lost, knowing I’d risked people’s lives who believed in me?

I’ve never been shy about picking fights that are hard to win. But, it’s one thing to risk myself. I cannot ethically risk others. You cannot turn your ethics off on Monday, and flick them back on Tuesday.

Of course, I’ve asked myself if it’s possible to win with an all-online strategy. This is where the dispassionate engineering part of my brain kicks in. And the answer I have come to is, “Not in my particular race.”

The biggest lesson I learned in 2018 is you cannot win a congressional election with digital alone. We tried this in 2018, doing amazingly well for a first time candidate and getting almost half the votes we needed to win. But, a lot of people are simply not reachable through ads, as Mike Bloomberg can attest to. When you hold digital events, the people that show up tend to already support you. The other half of my win number would have to come from canvassing and local events. That is not possible to pursue in an ethical way.

The other factor is what voting will look like in September. I dearly hope our legislature will do the right thing and move to an all mail-in ballot system, mailing one to every registered voter’s home. But the truth is, the best thing for our democracy would seriously disadvantage my campaign. An all-absentee ballot race would favor the incumbent with higher in-district name recognition.

It’s a difficult call. But, like most difficult calls, it is the right one. And that is why I am announcing that I am not continuing my candidacy for Congress in MA-08.

What makes this so difficult is letting this dream I’ve worked so hard for over three years pass. I’ve made over 50,000 calls to people. There have been weeks of sitting in my office fundraising until my brain turned to tapioca. There are days I get done with campaign events, and my face hurts from smiling. And after hours a day of pouring all my energy into strangers, far too often I’ve had nothing left over for my husband, my dogs and my friendships.

It’s also hard because COVID-19 has shown that the issues we care about matter. Millions of people in Massachusetts have seen firsthand that having your healthcare tied to your employer in a pandemic is not ideal. Universal Basic Income would be tremendously helpful, and focusing on the broken middle and working class is the only way we can move forward.

And then, there’s you.

When you run for office your biggest fear is, “What if no one believes in me?” You believed in me from the beginning. You donated money. You donated time. You cheerlead me on, and you never left me wanting for help. I can’t help but feel I’m letting all of you down. And yet, this is just not the kind of problem you can cowgirl your way through.

I’m not sure what’s next for me. I’ll be taking time to mourn and find my balance. I’ll let all of you know when I figure it out.

The worst thing that can happened to me isn’t losing an election. It’s losing who I am as a person. And for that part of me to survive, my campaign cannot. Thank you for standing beside me.

Your friend,
Brianna Wu

P.S. We don’t have much campaign debt to retire, but we do have some. We’ll be shutting the fundraising system off soon, but if you wanted to chip in, we would not say no. SupportBrianna.com [[link removed]]
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Paid for by Brianna Wu for Congress
Brianna Wu for Congress
PO Box 850
Dedham, MA 02026
United States
Brianna Wu is a computer programmer, cyber security expert, and small business owner with a proven track record of fighting for progressive values. She's running for Congress in MA-08 to bring a new perspective to Washington. Please consider making a contribution to our campaign today. [[link removed]] To contribute via check, please address to Brianna Wu for Congress, PO Box 850 Dedham, MA 02026.
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