I got into this fight over two years ago when Republicans in Washington tried to repeal and replace our healthcare system without an honest replacement plan in sight. Seven years ago, Republicans in Tallahassee refused to accept the benefits of our own tax dollars from coming back, a move that makes healthcare more expensive for all of us. The thing is, right here at home we can expand Medicaid and make healthcare more affordable for every Floridian family earning less than $103,000 annually. 

With the Supreme Court essentially making political gerrymandering the law of the land recently, the imminent prospect of more unchecked Republican power-grabs are imminent unless we are willing to fight for fairness and demand democracy in 2020. 

Tallahassee matters now more than ever.

Democrats made remarkable gains in Congress in 2018 and we re-took the House. Now, the State Legislature has more than 60% of the seats held by Republicans despite every statewide election since 2010 being decided by nearly 1% or less. We already hold the majority in Washington, but FL-59 is one of the closest seats held by a Democrat in the Florida Legislature and now that Rep. Adam Hattersley will vacate it to run for Congress, it's our most vulnerable and critical seat to hold. 

The thing is, I didn't get into this race to fight for an arbitrary district line or a fancy desk in DC. I’m running for the same reasons I stood up to defend our country overseas — to get things done, to make life better for all my neighbors here at home, to protect our American values of love, equality, justice & freedom. To defend against hate, fear, xenophobia, and racism that seek only to further destroy and divide us. 

No path to the Florida majority exists without us keeping this seat. Which is why I'm going to defend it. Today, I'm announcing my candidacy for Florida House of Representatives District 59.

I'm going to help Democrats take the majority in our state capitol. I'm going to help lead the new generation of politics in our great state, and be a leader in for everyone in those fights. 

Running for Congress and earning your trust has been the honor of a lifetime. Together, we grew from nothing and put FL-15 on the national map. We built a movement and energized an entirely new generation of voters to get involved. I couldn’t have done that without your support and generosity. 

Make no mistake, while this is a seat we can win, the Republicans are going to come after it hard because it’s their closest pick-up opportunity in the state. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen. I'm going to fight like hell for all our values the things we believe in and the things our community needs — will you join me in this fight?

-Andrew