On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we honor the life and legacy of a leader who challenged this country to live up to its promise of democracy. A leader who marched, organized, and sacrificed so that the right to vote would not depend on the color of your skin or the zip code you live in.

Dr. King fought not just for civil rights, but for the fundamental promise of democracy: That every voice matters, and every vote counts.

And yet, today, we are reminded that those rights are not guaranteed. That progress must be protected, defended, and renewed by each generation.

It’s not lost on me the significance of my serving as Illinois’ first Black Lieutenant Governor. That responsibility is deeply personal to me — because the right to participate fully in our democracy was something Dr. King and my family had to fight for. My father marched from Selma to Montgomery so that Black Americans could claim the most basic promise of this country: The right to vote.

More than 60 years after the Voting Rights Act was signed into law, I never imagined we would still be fighting to protect that promise.

Across the country, Republicans are working every day to roll back the progress generations before us sacrificed to achieve. Some states have enacted strict Voter ID laws. Others have eliminated same-day voter registration to disenfranchise voters.

And Trump? He’s waged an all-out war against voters of color. He partnered with red states to racially gerrymander districts to silence Black, Latino, and working-class voters — all extreme efforts designed to strip power away from communities of color and rig elections for political gain.

And just last week, he told The New York Times that he regrets not ordering the National Guard to seize ballot boxes during the 2020 election.

These attacks are not abstract. They are deliberate efforts to decide who gets a voice in our democracy — and who does not.

This fight is deeply personal to me. My father’s legacy lives in me. And I refuse to stand by while politicians try to dismantle our democracy and silence the very people Dr. King fought to uplift.

That means the fight for voting rights must continue — not just in the streets, but in the halls of power.

That’s why I’m running for the United States Senate. To protect that right. And I will use my power in Congress and vote to defend our voting rights, and to make sure no person loses their right to be heard based on the color of their skin.

Together, we can carry this fight forward and ensure our democracy works for everyone — not just the powerful few.

With gratitude and resolve,

Juliana Stratton

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Juliana Stratton has devoted her life to fighting for working families, and now she’s running for U.S. Senate to take that fight to Washington.

Juliana’s primary election is in less than 60 days, and she’s facing a MAGA donor-backed Democratic opponent who is spending millions to drown out our people-powered movement. She urgently needs your help to fight back and win this race.

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