I'll never forget the early days of the pandemic.

As a middle school teacher in Bakersfield, it was the hardest two years of my career. Between the remote learning and keeping my kiddos engaged, every day was a challenge -- even my days off.

I'll also never forget when Kevin McCarthy posted a stupid cartoon on social media depicting teachers as “vacationing” while schools where closed due to the pandemic.

It was disgusting, lacking in empathy, and it showed me that he really had no idea what was going on in our schools.

You may not know this, but Kevin McCarthy lives just a few streets from me -- his kids actually went to high school with mine.

Folks around the country buy into his big-shot persona. Folks here see a guy who punches down in order to lift himself up the political ladder. McCarthy has been in office for 15 years, and after 15 years nothing has changed for struggling families.

Teachers in our community deserve better, and so do working families, students, and their parents. That's why I'm running, and it's why I need your help:

Today marks our mid-month fundraising deadline, but we're coming up $6,551 short of our weekly goal to fully fund this campaign. That means we need to see A TON of supporters chip in for a grassroots donation. Can you kick in $3 today to help us DEFEAT Kevin McCarthy?

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Thanks for everything,

Marisa Wood
PROUD Public School Teacher for Congress