Friend,
We wanted to take a second to thank everyone for the outpouring of support for John's message earlier today. This campaign is fighting an uphill battle against an outdated and backward establishment — and we're so glad to have supporters like you in our corner.
If you haven't already, we hope you take a moment to read John's note and, if you are able, pitch in whatever you can to help us fight back and ensure John has the resources to lead our state forward, not backward.
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From: John King <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 10:42 AM
Subject: They don’t think a Black candidate can win
To: <[email protected]>
Friend, I want to take a moment to write to you about the recent offensive statements made by a Maryland Democratic Party official. In an article released by Axios, it was revealed that an email was sent among establishment insiders claiming that Black candidates cannot win in Maryland.
As someone whose family went from being enslaved in a cabin in Gaithersburg to serving in the cabinet of the first Black president in just three generations, I am incredibly disappointed by this backward thinking from within my own party.
More than disappointed, I’m tired.
In 2022, there is no place for outdated, disproven, and outright racist ideas about the electability of leaders who look like me. Especially in a state where 44% of the voting population is people of color, this kind of backward thinking has no place in the future of the Democratic Party of Maryland – and it’s up to us to prove them wrong.
So I have to ask: will you take a moment to help our campaign show folks in the establishment that we won’t tolerate racist remarks and we have what it takes to win this election?
Our campaign has received nearly 5,000 individual donations, putting us in the top tier of this election with over $2.5 million raised — including contributions from every county in the state and Baltimore City. But despite our successes, we are still being put down and underestimated because of the way I look.
Race shouldn’t be seen as a limiting factor, but so many of us have been told to stay in our place time and time again just because of our skin color. And in 2022, it’s appalling that many people still believe that there are things we can’t do.
It’s going to take everything we’ve got to overcome the misguided notion that Maryland can’t elect a Black governor. Every single contribution you make — whether it’s $5 or $500 — makes a difference in our grassroots campaign to move our state forward, not backward.
Thank you,
John King
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