Today is National Coming Out Day, so I’d like to take a moment and share my own personal story with you.

When I came out in college, I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in public service. But I feared that I would have to face a serious choice between pursuing the field of my dreams or living my authentic life openly.

Seeing others in the LGBTQ+ community demonstrate acts of courage by coming out, celebrating who they are, and being proud about who they love helped me realize that I could do both. I could both run for office and be honest about who I am.

Thanks to the support of this remarkable, odds-defying team, I was elected as the first openly gay Senator in our nation’s history. But I didn’t run for office for the sake of making history — I ran to make a difference.

I knew that I needed to use this extraordinary opportunity to make a difference in people's lives. Folks like you supported me because you wanted to make a difference, too. And together, we’ve made incredible progress — but our work isn’t over yet.

Republican-led state legislatures across the country continue to pass harmful anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, especially targeting the transgender community and LGBTQ+ youth. Eric Hovde, my right-wing opponent, and extreme Republicans threaten to advance a dangerous agenda that has made anti-LGBTQ+ policies the hallmark of their platform if they succeed in taking back control of the Senate.

Together, I know we can fight back against these harmful policies and can continue our work to make a difference. But it’s going to take all of us as I face my toughest reelection fight yet.

Will you donate any amount you can to help me keep Wisconsin blue and defend our Senate majority from Republicans and their extreme, anti-LGBTQ+ agenda?

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Together, we can prove that kindness and inclusion, not hatred and division, are true American values. Thank you for standing with me.

— Tammy