Democrats,

We have not seen the outcome we wanted. The presidential race has been called for Donald J. Trump, and yes, it’s an extremely difficult blow. I am right there with you. But I want you to know that, regardless of what’s happened, this is not the end of our story. Far from it.

My friends, it’s my job to keep you fired up, but in the coming days, I’m also here to help guide us through the disappointment. So take a deep breath, grab on to whatever you’re holding onto tonight—and know that this isn’t where our fight for a better America for all Americans ends. In fact, this is exactly when it matters the most.

Let me be your reminder that our values, our beliefs, and our determination don’t hinge on a single night or a single election. We know that Donald Trump will use the next four years to further his radical agenda for personal gain; but we also know that we are sending Martin Heinrich back to the Senate. I can look my daughter in the eyes and tell her that Melanie Stansbury is her Congresswoman, Mimi Stewart is her State Senate President Pro Tempore and that we live in a state that re-elected Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez. I can tell her that her Governor is Michelle Lujan Grisham, her Secretary of State is Maggie Toulouse Oliver, her Land Commissioner is Stephanie Garcia Richard, and her Treasurer is Laura Montoya. I can tell all of my children that we kept the NM House in the hands of Democrats like Speaker Javier Martínez who will push our state forward, against a tide, but still forward.

Let last night be a reminder of why we don’t back down. Because our work is about more than any one election—it’s about a movement that started long before tonight and will keep going long after. When the women's suffrage movement faced defeats in New York, Nebraska, and Massachusetts, the women from Seneca Falls didn’t give up; they pushed forward and won in Wyoming and Colorado. From Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, to the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr, the Civil Rights movement persevered. When the National Guard was called in against our union brothers and sisters of days past at Ludlow, Colorado and at the Bay View Massacre in Milwaukee, workers continued to organize.

We do not stop with defeat. We will continue to march. We will continue to knock doors. We will continue to run for office. We will not stop.

The numbers aren’t what we want, but there are still so many of us out there. Countless communities in counties and cities across this country said that they want their water to be clean, their children to be educated, and their futures to be bright, free from the burdens of poverty, pollution, and prejudice. We want to work not only for our own prosperity, but for a nation where everyone has a chance to fulfill their promise and potential.

We will not stop until we reach that promise. We are not going back. We are determined to keep moving forward, no matter how steep the road may get.

So take today to process, to gather your strength, and to remember why you’re here. And then let’s get back to work, because the promise of a better future is worth every effort.

Let’s keep pushing forward, New Mexico.

In solidarity,
Jessica Velasquez