John,

One of the questions I get asked the most on the campaign trail is “Why are you running?” So today, I want to take a few minutes to tell you why.

I was 24 years old and working at a gas station when I found out I was pregnant. I was young, scared, and had no health insurance.

When I arrived at the hospital, I saw right away that I was being treated differently than those who had private health insurance. I was left alone for hours in pain. No one came to check on me — except for one nurse, who told me to be quiet so I wouldn’t scare the other patients in labor.

At the time, I didn’t know how my son and I would survive that experience. I thought if the labor didn’t kill me, the hundreds of thousands in medical bills would.

I know now that we survived because of community. Because of family, friends, and neighbors who pitched in when they could. Because we refused to give up, no matter how hard things got. And because of Medicaid.

20 years later, things were different. My son grew up. We welcomed my daughter into our family. I went back to school, took government training, and became a cybersecurity specialist for the Department of Homeland Security.

But when Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016, I felt a familiar pit in my stomach. I knew the communities and resources that helped our family survive would be under attack, and I knew I had to do something.

So, I did the only thing I could: I quit my job, cashed in my retirement savings, and ran for the Virginia House of Delegates. It wasn’t easy — my bank account balance was just $68 when we won that race! — but I can say with full confidence that it was worth it.

I was elected as part of a Blue Wave that wiped out the Republican supermajority in the State House. And once we took the majority, we got to work delivering on our promises. We passed legislation abolishing the death penalty, banning no-knock warrants, ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, legalizing marijuana and expunging nonviolent convictions, and more. And we have a lot more work left to do.

John, my story isn’t unique. My story is like so many of yours. I’ve struggled. I’ve worried. I’ve had to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table. There were days when I felt like I didn’t have any fight left in me.

It was only with the help of my kids and my community that I always found a way to fight another day. That’s why I’m running for Lt. Governor — because folks like us deserve a seat at the table, and if no one’s going to give that to us, then we’ll pull up our own damn chair.

Our movement is just beginning, and we have a long road ahead of us to win this race. Will you make an investment of any amount in our campaign for Lt. Governor today?

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I’m so grateful to have you with me on this historic campaign. Thank you for being here. I’ll be in touch soon with more updates from the campaign trail.

— Hala

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