Hi John, 

When I was little, I remember one day watching TV with my mom on the couch. And, like any kid, when she got up to leave the room, I immediately changed the channel. That day, I came across C-SPAN, and I was immediately intrigued by the passionate conversations I saw, about how we could make the country better.

There was another thing that jumped out to me – even as a kid: I didn’t see a lot of people that looked liked me. I didn’t see a lot of people of color, and I certainly didn’t see a lot of women. I knew right away that I loved this thing (politics!), but I wasn’t sure if there was a place for me. 

Fast forward to high school, when candidates for office came to my classroom and answered questions from students. I asked about the importance of raising minimum wage and why he was against it, and I was told by one of the candidates that I didn’t know what I was talking about – it was clear he wasn’t too pleased to be challenged by a teenager.  

That experience inspired me to get involved with his opponent’s campaign. Even though I couldn’t vote, I tried to build power through volunteering – and it paid off.  

That campaign won by less than 500 votes, and from then on, I knew that by working with campaigns we could build real power.  

Everyone’s story of when they got involved in politics is a little bit different, and I’m hoping you’ll share yours with me today. Take a moment to let me know why you’re a part of this community working to elect Democratic women across the country by filling out this (super quick!) survey.

As someone who has been involved in and interested in politics since before I could vote, I couldn’t be more excited to be leading Emerge at this time, but I know we wouldn’t be here without our network of support – and that includes you.  

Right now, we’re seeing more women stepping up to run thanks to communities like ours – and I’m so grateful to you for helping to make that happen.  

We need our political leaders to reflect the diversity and talent of our country, and I know we can make that a reality together. 

Thank you, 

A'shanti