( [link removed] )


Dear John,

What a week! Like you, I spent the first few
days fixated on vote counts, breaking news, and trying to get my
head around what happened and what it means for us going forward.
Some of it won’t be clear until early January, when two Georgia
runoff elections determine whether Democrats will win control of
the U.S. Senate. But the biggest takeaway did become clear
Saturday with the wonderful news that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
had officially won, even as Donald Trump continued to dispute the
results.

Now that the ground has mostly stopped moving,
and before I return to Washington next week to begin what could
be a tumultuous “lame duck” session of Congress, I wanted to take
a moment to share some thoughts about what we’ve just gone
through together.

First, thank you! I’m deeply honored that you
re-elected me to a fifth term in Congress and humbled by the fact
that we had the largest margin of victory and the most votes I’ve
ever received! Having your trust and confidence means everything
to me. I’ll never take it for granted, and will always do my
best to be worthy of it. I’m excited to get back to work!

Second, I cannot overstate how important it was
that we ended the Trump presidency and elected Joe Biden and
Kamala Harris to lead this country forward. After four years of
authoritarian chaos and toxic division that threatened the
continued existence of our democratic republic, our awakened
nation voted in record numbers to reaffirm democracy, the rule of
law, and basic decency. The waiting game for results made this
unusual election seem far closer than it was: in the end, the
Biden/Harris ticket will win the popular vote by a resounding 6
million vote margin, and secure at least 306 electoral college
votes. History will record Trump as an impeached and repudiated
one-term President who lost the popular vote in both of his
elections.

This election also saw voters choose to add
Democrats to the Senate and retain a Democratic majority in the
House, albeit with a narrower margin. That’s cold comfort to
those of us who worked hard to expand our House majority and had
hoped for a more sweeping outcome. The lesson, I believe, is
that even in big historic moments, change often comes
incrementally. The American people were definitely ready to end
the Trump presidency, and want Congress to work with him to
effect real change, but voters remain deeply divided. Clearly,
we have a lot more work to do, and that work begins now.

Finally, I believe President-elect Biden’s
focus on healing and uniting this country is critically
important. It doesn’t mean we should compromise our values or
political priorities. But it does mean all of us should try to
reset the tone. With Trump and some of his most aggressive
allies, it’s difficult and maybe futile to be magnanimous
because, whether in victory or defeat, they choose to be so
ungracious and uninterested in conciliation. But for reasons we
may not understand, after everything Trump has said and done, 70
million people still voted for him last week. They are not our
enemies. Many of them are our friends, neighbors, family
members, work colleagues, and all of them are fellow Americans.

Now that we’ve saved the republic, we need to
keep it. Doing that requires more than just the institutional
and political changes we’ll be pushing in the months ahead; it
requires tempering the division, conflict and hyper-partisanship
that Trump stoked and exploited.

I’m as passionate and competitive as anyone,
and I’ve been in the trenches of our national food fight these
past four years. I’m certainly not backing down in the fight to
confront climate change, protect our environment, defend equality
and civil rights, or anything else I care about. And I won’t ask
politely for racists to stop suppressing votes, or for fossil
fuel companies to stop wrecking the planet. But… because our
country desperately needs to heal and unify, I know I need to
make an extra effort to set a civil tone, to build goodwill and
broaden strategic alliances, to give respect and conciliation
where it is due, and to resist the constant temptations to take
the low road. It won’t be easy, but I’m going to try and I
invite you to hold me to this standard.

Thank you for your support and friendship.
Let’s get to work.

Warm regards,

Jared Huffman

CONTRIBUTE
( [link removed] )


Congressman Jared Huffman represents California's 2nd District,
which spans from the Golden Gate Bridge north to the Oregon
border. As a Democratic leader, Jared is committed to protecting
our environment, fighting for access to affordable healthcare and
equality for all Americans. In accordance with public health
guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, Jared has
suspended all in-person campaign events and is relying on support
from his grassroots contributors to power his campaign. Click
here
( [link removed] )
to support Jared's campaign with a contribution today, or sign
on to become a sustaining supporter by making a monthly
contribution
( [link removed] )
through Election Day.


----------------------------------------------------------
| Paid for by Huffman for Congress, FEC# C00536680 |
----------------------------------------------------------

Huffman for Congress
P.O. Box 664
Petaluma CA 94953-0664 United States

If you believe you received this message in error or wish to
no longer receive email from us, please [link removed].