Growing up in rural communities like Taylorsville and Statesville, I experienced firsthand the opportunities a kid from a small town can access when his government believes in him.
My twin sister and I were able to access the speech therapy we needed. All my siblings and I attended great public schools. Our mom was a teacher and we knew that meant we had quality healthcare, and we knew that someday she’d be able to access a great retirement. I went from Taylorsville to UNC, where I was able to access a world-class education at state school prices and go on to get my PhD in economics.
All because I had a state that believed in me. I’ve been so humbled by that belief at every single turn of my life, and I’ve spent my adult career trying to give back to the state that gave me so much, however I could.
We may not have prevailed last night, but I’m still unbelievably proud of the race we ran.
Together, we raised nearly $1.5 million, representing more than six thousand contributions that genuinely stretched from Murphy to Manteo.
We knocked countless doors, made countless phone calls, and crisscrossed the state to attend more than three hundred events.
We connected with our neighbors, shared a message centered around opportunity, and hope, and uplifting our fellow human beings, and even though we didn’t win, we held our own against incredible odds, and I’ll always be proud of that.
I want to extend my congratulations to Brad Briner, our next Treasurer. We had different visions for the office, but in spite of everything, I believe he’s a good man and I hope he will serve our people well. We were extremely lucky in this race to be able to focus on two competing but earnest visions for our state’s future. His success will be our success, and I’ve made it clear to him and his team that he will have my help and support if he chooses to take it.
And to you and everyone else who supported me in this fight: thank you. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for believing in North Carolina, and thank you for everything you did for this campaign. A campaign is so much more than just the candidate—and we would not have gotten nearly as close as we did without you.
Today, we rest. Tomorrow, we pick ourselves up and keep finding ways to give back to the state we love. As Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This is just the beginning of building a movement to return opportunity to our state, and in the end, if we stand together, I know that we will come out the other side.
