Dearest friends,
This is a long message but one I have written directly from my heart and it would mean so much to me if you would take a moment to give yourself to these words.
I have had many aspects of my life — from my faith to my patriotism — shaped by a dedication to core values and principles. Our campaign has been no different. From the beginning of this race, I was upfront with you about the set of beliefs and values that would always guide our action. Exactly one year ago, I shared with you a framework for what our collective mission statement would always be:
My campaign for Congress is about more than winning an election.
It is about building a community where everyone belongs.
It is guided by honesty, integrity, wisdom, and truth.
It is driven by service and served by purpose.
It is infused with courage, compassion, and resolute strength.
It is dedicated to the principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity.
It is people-powered.
We are bold, fearless, and dignified.
We walk with honor and humility.
We put our values into deliberate action.
We choose love over fear; connection over division.
We believe in the goodness of the human spirit and the magnitude of the human heart.
We rise above partisanship to forge consensus, to make progress, and to deliver results for the common good.
#WeAreOne
I am so proud that we lived into this way of being for the entirety of our campaign.
Our Mizeur Volunteer Corps partnered with charities and non-profit organizations to participate in meaningful community service projects throughout the First District.
Our “Heather in the Hot Seat” house parties with Republicans and independents invited dialogue that helped us transcend partisanship to find the heart of humanity again.
Our EconomyFirst and Agri-Climate plans were forged through consensus from stakeholder engagement and written with your ideas, dreams, desires, and vision at the table.
Our grassroots army of donors and volunteers lifted the mission of our work to the front doors, living rooms, computers screens, and mailboxes of voters in every corner of our district.
We raised great money, had amazing ads, wrote the best policy plans, won both debates, and had some of the most excited and energized volunteers I have ever known in politics.
And still, we came up short. But not by as much as the current vote tally indicates — about a quarter of votes cast in our race (most of them mail-in ballots and many expected to be Democratic) have not yet been counted. But though our percentage of overall votes won are expected to improve, it will not be by enough to win this election.
It’s never easy to lose after putting so much of yourself on the line. But I was never driven only by the outcome. I always held on to the purpose of the journey. Traitors to our country must be held accountable. Lazy representation must be challenged. Extreme, radical, and dangerous ideology must be met with the clarity of truth and the strength of integrity. Division and fear must be countered by love and connection.
Some might say that in losing, we achieved none of these goals.
I see a different ending to our story.
Winning an election was only one of our goals. Living into this mission statement — and thereby changing the culture of how we interact with each other— was an equally important calling.
And our work there has only begun.
I have shared with you a small number of stories that have exemplified the seeds we planted over this campaign. A few are worth repeating:
I met Shawn at a blues festival on Betterton Beach. Shawn’s a proud veteran and former intelligence analyst who had pretty much given up on the system he once fought to defend. He hadn’t voted in more than 15 years, because he was so discouraged by politicians who don’t listen and a system that seems not to care. I shared with Shawn my vision of a better way of doing politics, and this inspired him. He told me that my authentic and genuine desire to serve him and his family was restoring his faith. He told me: “You know what? I think it’s time to get engaged again.”
And then there was Brenda, a Trump supporter who stopped me to talk in a feed store parking lot. Brenda had a lot on her mind, and we didn’t agree on too much when it came to politics. But after we’d spoken for ten minutes, she started crying – and then asked me for a hug, saying, “I don’t think anyone’s ever listened to me like this.”
One of the most impactful stories of this campaign was meeting Robert, who lives outside Salisbury in Hebron. He’s a former military man who didn’t like a mailer we sent him, criticizing Andy Harris for voting against health care for veterans. Robert reached out to me on Facebook, boiling mad and calling me a liar. In fact, he was so angry at politicians and the system in general, he could imagine “burning down D.C.” I responded to Robert with an open heart and a willingness to listen – and let me tell you, that’s not what he was expecting. And then something happened that surprised us both. Before long we were chatting away like old pals, about everything from gardening and cooking tips to the need for more providers at VA medical facilities. Robert ended up with a “Republicans for Mizeur” sign on his lawn, and I’m proud to call him a new friend.
I want you to hear what Robert wrote about why he decided to back my campaign, after being a loyal conservative supporter of Andy Harris for many years. He said this: “I don’t see a Democrat but a fellow American who wants to make it work together. I hope we can really start a chain reaction and make things better than when we found it.” I find more wisdom in that than most of what comes out of Congress these days. In fact, in just 35 words, Robert somehow captured everything I’ve been talking about for the past 21 months. “I don’t see a Democrat” recognizes our insistence on getting past the partisanship that’s poisoning us. “Make it work together” reflects the spirit of collaboration and bridge-building at the center of our campaign’s unity coalition. And Robert’s closing words, “make things better than when we found it,” just about says it all. It’s the main reason to get up in the morning. It’s why we keep going even when the work is hard, the hours are long, and we are not guaranteed the outcome we desire.
But as a farmer, I know a thing or two about sewing seeds. It takes a while for them to be ready for the harvest. We must tend them, offer the right soil conditions, water them, and get enough light for them to grow.
Democracy, like everything, will die without the right conditions. If too many stray from engaging in a contest of ideas and putting themselves into the process, then our entire experiment dedicated to “of the people, by the people, for the people” will perish. It’s foolhardy to tell yourself a story that any one candidate is the reason for democracy to thrive or that any one election will determine its fate. Democracy isn’t what happens inside the Congress. Democracy is what happens inside our conversations, with each other. We must own it. We cannot give our power and engagement away. We must be inspired to put ourselves into the messy and beautiful task of staying connected to each other. Democracy is a practice of waking up every day and being willing to talk to your neighbors with curiosity, compassion, and non-judgmental love to keep this country and all we love about it connected to the goodness of who we all are deep inside the wisdom of our hearts.
If I opened that for you in any way along this path, then the tears I have cried this morning are only about what we have created and what is to come rather than what could have been.
Our seeds were planted on this journey. I hope you will shine your light on them to make sure they grow. I will be there with you for the harvest.
With all of my love and gratitude.
#WeAreOne
Heather |
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