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“I’m running for congress. I’m actually on the way right now to meet with some union representatives to ask for their endorsement. The whole experience has been a whirlwind. I’ve been working as a special education teacher for the past eight years, so all of this is new to me. Fundraising is definitely more soul-sucking than I expected it to be. I don’t have many millionaires in my network, so it involves making thousands of cold calls. Sometimes I can spend four hours on the phone without making a single connection. I’m running against an entrenched incumbent. And he’s been in power for over thirty years, so he collects $2800 checks without even asking. My only real chance is to expand the electorate. Only ten percent of the people in my district even voted during the last election. So I’ve been spending most of my time in lower income communities, and communities of color—speaking directly to them. These people are often excluded from the conversation because it’s assumed they don’t vote. But I’ll talk to anyone. About the military industrial complex. About climate change. About the school-to-prison pipeline. I just stand out on train platforms during rush hour, and if somebody makes eye contact, I’m going for it."
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