Dear John:

I have spent the last twenty-one months and two days doing all I can to beat Ron Johnson. He is an embarrassing, unmitigated disaster for our beloved Badger State.

Today I am announcing my support for Mandela Barnes for our party's nomination for US Senate.

With two weeks to go, it is clear there is no path forward for us and we must face these facts. Indeed, a sad refrain we hear too many times in politics is true for this campaign: money matters way too much in politics. Running against two self-funding millionaires proved too much for this pastor's kid.

I am proud of the race we ran and the ideas we put forward like a national industrial strategy to build good paying jobs in our communities, Medicare for All to ensure everyone has access to health care, a one-of-a-kind food sovereignty plan to lift up our family farmers, bust up Big Ag and help consumers, and a Green New Deal so our children and their children have a planet to live on.

Unlike billionaire son-in-law Ron Johnson and our millionaire Democratic primary opponents, Mandela Barnes knows firsthand what it's like for families struggling with inflation, without health insurance or a lack of gainful work. He is a good man with a strong progressive record and will serve us well in Washington.

I want to be clear, we are not giving up. We are putting our campaign behind Mandela's to give him the resources for a strong first place finish in the primary and set us up for victory in November.

I am reminded of the Lutheran hymn we sing often at church: "Bind us together with chords that cannot be broken." This campaign has never been about me — it has been about you and finishing off Ron Johnson's career in the Senate, something that can only be done together. Mandela can now count on me to be on his side every step of the way. I hope he can count on your support, too.

Running for office is a difficult, and expensive endeavor, and so much of the work relies on our incredible, enthusiastic staff who have stepped up every step of the way. As we wind down our campaign, my duty to them is to ask you one final time: can you make a final contribution to our campaign to help pay our final bills as we shift to supporting Mandela and beating Ron Johnson once and for all?

Thank you for all your support throughout this campaign,

Tom Nelson