Hi John,

I remember when I first started thinking about running for office.

Donald Trump had gotten elected and I thought, “If a lying, cheating, pathological grifter can get elected president, maybe I can get elected for something.” Yeah, it helps to be a billionaire...but surely I could run for something?

Then I went to a candidate training. Hosted by an organization that supports LGBTQ candidates who run for office, this three-day training taught us so much about running a campaign.

I left it with two big takeaways:

Start small.
Be rich.

We were told: “If you can’t raise hundreds of thousands from your family and friends, don’t even bother trying. You need to wait till you’ve built up your network.”

I looked at my paltry Rolodex and felt…despair. “It’s going to be 20 years before I’ll ever get to run for something.”

Then AOC won.

She showed that you CAN run as a working-class candidate without rich friends and that you CAN start big by running for Congress as a first-time candidate.

Can you help me with a $27 donation right now, so I can fight for the working class in Congress?

In this moment — with fascism on the rise, the environment in peril, people suffering for lack of healthcare, regular people drowning in greater and greater debt, and an addiction epidemic ravaging our country — we don’t have time to start small.

We need a Congress with the courage to take REAL action on climate change, healthcare, inequality, money in politics, and the addiction epidemic.

I’ve spent my entire life fighting for progressive values, as a human rights observer in Zapatista communities in Mexico, as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for kids in foster care, and as a commissioner on the Tacoma Commission on Disabilities.

When we have a progressive president in the White House, we’re going to need a progressive Congress to pass their agenda.

Can you help me build that progressive Congress with a quick donation right here?

2020 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to restructure our political system for the benefit of the many, not just the wealthiest few.

But the DCCC and the state Democrats are doing everything they can to stop me from fighting for you. Single-payer healthcare is in the state Democratic Party platform, but they back my opponent Derek Kilmer, who opposes it. The hypocrisy is staggering.

Luckily for us, though, we don’t need their permission to get progressives elected to Congress.

We’re taking back our democracy for the people. You, me, AOC, and the entire progressive movement across the country.

They told me not to run. And I refused to listen.

Let’s show the DCCC and the establishment that the old way is gone, and the new, winning playbook is here. Donate here:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/rebeccaforwa-email

Solidarity,

-Rebecca