This is a longer message from me, but an important one. It’s about the future of the Democratic Party and how our success depends on a choice we make right now:

Are we going to carefully craft our policies to ensure that the rich keep right on getting richer, or can we build a party that ferociously and unapologetically serves the needs of working people?

The first step in rebuilding trust with the American people is to admit that we have to choose.

Because this is a dangerous moment for America and for the world.

A global contest is escalating between democratic institutions governed by the rule of law and lawless dictators who seek to enrich themselves and their cronies.

Here at home, President Trump’s tariffs are driving up costs for families. Millions of Americans have lost their health insurance so that Republicans could fund tax breaks for rich people. And Donald Trump’s view of the First Amendment is that he gets to say whatever he wants, AND he gets to use the power of government to silence, extort, bankrupt, or even prosecute anyone who criticizes him.

None of this would be happening if Democrats hadn’t been wiped out in 2024.

According to some self-described experts, we lost because we were “too progressive.”

But for a lot of powerful people — wealthy people from Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Washington — “too progressive” is code used to undermine any economic agenda that favors working people. We’re being told that in order to respond to the 2024 losses, the Democrats need to water down our economic agenda, claiming that a less progressive Democratic Party will win more elections.

They are wrong.

Revising our economic agenda to tiptoe around that conclusion might appeal to the wealthy, but it definitely will not help Democrats win elections.

A Democratic Party that worries more about offending big donors than delivering for working people is a party that’s doomed to fail.

Let’s just look at the basic math. By definition, the top 0.1% of the economic ladder doesn’t have a lot of votes. So when the question is raised whether Democrats should build our tent by sucking up to the rich, it’s sure not about attracting their votes. It’s about attracting their money.

Most of these people are not interested in changing an economic game that is already rigged in their favor. In exchange for their financial support, they insist that the Democratic Party turn its economic agenda in a direction that mostly benefits the wealthy and further undermines the economic stability of tens of millions of families across this country.

They can fund super PACs to prop up political campaigns for their chosen candidates. They can fund their own lobbying efforts. They can build or simply buy whole media empires in order to bend the news to their liking. And, as we’re seeing right now with AI and crypto, they can try to crush anyone who gets in the way of their business interests.

Over the past generation, the wealthy have avoided accountability again and again. Regular Americans must play by every rule or face real consequences. You don’t need to read every news article about Jeffrey Epstein and his good buddies like Larry Summers and Donald Trump to understand how consistently rich and powerful insiders protect each other, regardless of politics and regardless of how obscene the situation has become.

So how does this affect winning elections?

After the 2024 election, pundits sliced and diced demographic groups — across race, age, religion, and geography — to show how Democrats need to grow our coalition to win again. Yes, we need support from rural voters, men, and voters without a college degree. And yes, in 2025 we won back some of those folks back, partly because Democratic candidates from every wing of the party ran against Trump’s betrayal of working people on affordability issues.

But in the long run, to build a strong Democratic party with a sturdy big tent, it’s not enough to simply attack Trump. Democrats need to earn trust — long-term, durable trust — across the electorate.
Trust that we actually understand what’s broken, and trust that we have the courage to take on our rigged system and fix it — even when that means taking on the wealthy and well-connected.
Democrats weren’t always just the default option when the other guys were worse.

We were once trusted by working people to fight for their interests. And we delivered — even against tough Republican opposition. Social Security, strong unions, the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, Medicare, Medicaid, homeownership for veterans and first-time homebuyers, the Affordable Care Act. Over and over, we showed that we could fight and we could deliver.

There is a temptation — in this moment of national crisis — to sand down our edges to avoid offending anyone, especially the rich and powerful who might finance our candidates.

Yes, because of our broken campaign finance laws, Democrats need to raise a lot of money. But money is not the only ingredient for a successful election. When Democrats water down their economic platform to appeal to wealthy donors, whether the transaction is explicit or subtle, we squander trust with working people and the money just isn’t worth it.

Democrats need a big tent. But there are two visions for what a big tent means. One vision says that we should shape our agenda and temper our rhetoric to flatter any fabulously rich person looking for a political party that will entrench their own economic interests. The other vision says we must acknowledge the economic failures of the current rigged system, aggressively challenge the status quo, and chart a clear path for big, structural change.

If we are going to pick up the broken pieces from the 2024 election and build a durable Big Tent, we must acknowledge a hard truth: The Democratic Party cannot pursue both visions at the same time. Either we politely nibble around the edges of change, or we throw ourselves into the fight.

If Democrats want to win elections, they need to read the room — or I should say, they need to read literally any room anywhere in America that isn’t filled with big donors.

What does it mean to focus our agenda on an aggressive economic vision? At its core, the goal is simple and easy to measure.

It means boosting pay and making life more affordable for working people.

Building more affordable homes and cracking down on corporate landlords.

Increasing the size of Social Security checks.

Providing universal child care.

Passing price gouging laws with real teeth.

Guaranteeing the right to repair your own cars, machines, and business equipment.

Strengthening unions.

Building universal health care.

Taxing the wealthy and giant corporations.

I could go on and on — we are not short on good ideas.

Zohran Mamdani came from out of nowhere and took down a political dynasty. How? He ran a campaign tightly focused on the cost of living with an easy to understand platform – free buses, freeze the rent, and deliver no-cost childcare. Mikie Sherrill also focused on cost of living with an easy-to-understand platform, including affordable childcare and a bold promise to freeze utility rates on day one. And she won by 14 points.

Ideas are great, but voters also need to believe that we have the guts to enact an affordability agenda, even over the objections of other Democrats.

We win when we show we’re willing to actually fight. That means that even when we fail, we leave everything on the field.

We win when we run on the big changes it will take to build an economy for everyone.

We win when we call out corruption and bad actors.

We win when we stand against the avalanche of corporate money trying to bury our democracy.

We win when we stop members of Congress from buying and selling individual stocks and cryptocurrencies while they are writing laws that affect those assets.

It doesn’t take a political genius to conclude that in a democracy, when the choice is between “make the rich richer” and “help everybody else,” winning elections is about choosing “everybody else.”

Ideas are not better because they come from a rich person offering to open his wallet and advance his own financial interests — and our leaders should stop acting like they are.

I am deeply worried about the survival of our democracy. Democrats need to win elections across this country, and I will do everything I can to help. That’s why my campaign just donated over $400,000 to 23 state parties that will be fighting for some of the most competitive Senate, House, and Governor seats in November.

We must, must, must win up-and-down the ballot in these critical midterm elections, and I’ll keep doing my part. And every chance I get, I will also stand up and say that Democrats cannot build a durable, governing majority that actually makes life better for people and rebuilds trust in the Democratic Party by watering down our economic vision.

If you agree with this vision, and if you’re able to, please pitch in to support our campaign today. With your support, we’re fighting for Democrats to win big in 2026, 2028, and beyond by campaigning on big ideas that help working people.

Thanks for being a part of this,

Elizabeth