It's Monday, and Republicans are still refusing to negotiate with Democrats.

Since Trump and the Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress would rather let "your" health premiums skyrocket than work with Democrats to get the government back open, we're now on day six of the shutdown. 

While the Republican House of Representatives is at home, hundreds of thousands of federal employees and service members still aren't getting paid. 

Republican inaction won't stop 24 million Americans from getting a letter in the mail about how their premiums are set to double in January. Working with Democrats to chart a path forward will, so I'm holding the line until we get this done.

I'm running for governor to uphold my commitment to doing everything in my power to protect Coloradans' access to health care from Trump's attacks and Republicans' broken political games. 

But more than that, I'm running because we can protect access to contraceptives and reproductive health care. 

We can become a national model for providing quality health and mental health care while also cutting costs and reducing premium rate increases.

We can expand access to care across the state by growing the health and mental health care workforce and ensuring the sustainability of rural hospitals.

But since I'm not taking a cent from big for-profit health insurers, I can't make any of those lifesaving measures happen without your support to win this race.

So if you're able, will you pitch in $5, $25 or anything you can spare toward my campaign? With your help, I know that we can build a brighter, healthier future for every Coloradan – not just the wealthy few.

Thanks for everything, friend. I hope you have a great day.

Michael