I hope you are proud of what we accomplished together
John
As the counting comes to a close, it is evident that outstanding votes are unlikely to change the outcome of the race. I would like to thank each and everyone of you for the amazing amount of effort, discipline and love you have poured into this race.
While the result is not what we hoped for, it is a result of which we can all be extremely proud. Against the odds, this was a close election. We won more votes than any Democratic candidate ever has in PA-10 in a midterm election that favored the Republican party. Most importantly, we earned the support of a coalition of voters from all parties who believe in standing up for our Democracy and its institutions.
I couldn’t have gotten to where we are without the dedication of so many people, this was truly a team effort and I am grateful to everyone who supported this campaign. The County Party Chairs, committee members and volunteers who helped gather signatures, staff events, work the polls, provide childcare and helped raise funds, donors who bet their resources on democracy, those who engaged in the process for the first time and those who engaged one more time because they knew how high the stakes were. My primary opponent, Rick Coplen, who became a true partner in this effort. The other Democratic candidates who put themselves out there knowing the battles we faced would be tough, you were wonderful partners on the trail. My staff, Jared Eckert, Jillian Johnson and Pamela Parson who stepped up to do the work that would normally be completed by many more, and my general consulting firm, Indigo Strategies for being good stewards and partners in an unpredictable election cycle.
On March 7 of this year, after consulting with friends and family, I made the decision to run for Congress in PA’s 10th. I had not anticipated making that run so this campaign started without the resources that other candidates for congress spend months building prior to announcing their candidacies. In 8 months I was able to raise enough money to win a primary, run a solid campaign, hire a small, but talented and dedicated staff, and recruit volunteers who poured their time and resources into our campaign.
Many experts, including decision makers at the national level, saw this campaign as one that wasn’t worth investing in. They saw a tough district in a midterm election that was expected to favor the other party, and a candidate who was different than the types of candidates who had run in this district before - the primary caretaker of a minor child, someone who still needed to work to earn a living, and a woman of color running in what they incorrectly believed was an area where more traditional candidates had a strong advantage who had 8 short months to put together a campaign, where 18 to 24 months is considered the norm. They also saw an opponent who was a 10 year incumbent, the leader of the most extreme elements in his party, and connected to powerful interests with deep pockets.
Those experts were correct about our campaign having a lot of challenges to overcome in many ways. However, over the last 8 months, I have seen how so many of the considerations that made this race challenging, were either not challenges at all or assets. My team learned how to integrate childcare into their planning early on, and volunteers learned that childcare was necessary for this race to be successful, working kept me relevant to voters in the District and voters learned that our shared values and shared aspirations for the district were held across region, gender, race, ability or class.
We raised less than a quarter of the campaign funds raised by my opponent, but our contributions came from well over 4,000 donors who believed in our campaign, in me as a candidate, and in our shared mission. I am not just grateful, but proud of every one of those contributions. In the end, they allowed us to get our message out in a big way, and to keep this campaign going to achieve an amazing result.
In closing, I would like to say a huge thank you to the many, many people who made this campaign possible. I would also like to wish Congressman Perry
congratulations
as well as wisdom and integrity as he represents the people of the PA’s 10th Congressional District.
With continued gratitude for all you have done,
- Shamaine
