Team —

I know you get a lot of emails from me. But I want to take a few minutes to tell you about my decision to run for governor, and why your support is so critical to our success.

I was raised to believe that we have an obligation to our community and our country. This country gave my family so much, and it’s always been obvious to me that I wanted to dedicate my life to public service.

It’s why I took my first oath to the Constitution as a teenager when I entered the Naval Academy.

It’s why I spent nearly a decade in the Navy as a helicopter pilot and Russian policy officer.

It’s why I went to law school, and became an Outreach and Reentry Coordinator and a federal prosecutor.

Team, it’s why I first decided to run for office.

In 2017, I watched Donald Trump attack every value that I had spent my life fighting for. And as I thought about it, I realized I couldn’t ask someone to do my fighting for me – that if I wanted to defend the country I love then I had to run toward the crisis.

It was a long shot to run as a nobody in a district that had been held by an entrenched Republican for more than two decades.

But I knew what was at stake and I knew what I had to do.

I’m proud of the work I’ve done in Congress — work that earned me the distinction of being named the most effective member of the New Jersey House delegation in just my second term.

But I know I can do more as a governor. And that’s why I decided to run.

By winning this seat, we can build more homes to reduce mortgage and rental costs, crack down on shady middlemen making prescription medications more expensive, and bring down utility costs by bringing more clean, cheap power like solar onto the grid.

But the truth is that this is already the most expensive New Jersey gubernatorial race on record. And our opponent is benefiting from millions of dollars in spending from outside entities. So I am asking:

Will you consider splitting $10 or whatever you can between my campaign and Democracy Defense Action as we head into the general election?

Thank you,

Mikie

Use of photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.