Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 24, 2022 at 8:51 PM

When I was 19, I had an abortion

John,   When I was 19, I had an abortion. It allowed me to live a happier, healthier life, and I was saved from the risks associated with my pregnancy. It was not an easy decision, it never is for women, but I made it with freedom and without fear of pr…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 23, 2022 at 8:11 PM

Fwd: 5 Days Out!

John,   My primary is next Tuesday. We're going up against some fierce competition, but I have confidence that we can pull through.   I'm so thankful to be on this journey with you. All the support I've gotten, the friends I've made, the conversations I…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 21, 2022 at 8:00 PM

Fwd: They wanted to hang Mike Pence!

John,   As Trump hid miles away, tweeting from his stronghold and telling his cronies that maybe his Vice President deserved execution, his cultist followers stormed Pence's location chanting "Hang Mike Pence!"   Yesterday, Pence held a rally in Peoria…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 17, 2022 at 8:12 PM

Fwd: You have to see this, it's making me sick

John, this is unacceptable.   This country has a serious, deep-seated issue. Gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children, above anything else, and, frankly, it's making me sick.   I just found out about a song they're teaching kids in sc…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 15, 2022 at 8:03 PM

Fwd: I need your help

John, We're just hours away from our mid-month deadline. If we raise another $360 by midnight, we'll have enough to keep our momentum and show Illinois that we're the campaign to pay attention to. I'm hoping some of my supporters will step up to the pla…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 13, 2022 at 7:59 PM

TRUMP LOST LOL: A Day for Community

John,   On Saturday, I attended Peoria's annual Moss Avenue event and set up a station flying a "TRUMP LOST LOL" flag. I had a wonderful time meeting the people of Peoria, and I'd like to share that experience with you. I …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 10, 2022 at 8:28 PM

Trump: "Mike Pence deserves to be hanged."

John,   During the January 6th riots, Trump privately said that his Vice President, Mike Pence, "deserves to be hanged." As Proud Boys stormed the Capitol chanting just that, Trump sat back in his ivory tower and watched as the people he put in danger w…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 8, 2022 at 7:58 PM

Re: Republicans Are Threatening Our Democracy

John,   Did you see my message last month about right-wing insurrectionism? Well, this week, the Jan. 6th committee is holding 6 high-profile hearings about the coup attempt, The Justice Department is investigating a U.S. general for secretly lobbying for a foreign coun…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 6, 2022 at 7:55 PM

The NRA Convention: The Safest Place in America

If guns make us safer, why did the NRA ban them at their own convention? John,   In the last week alone, there have been 15 more mass shootings, totaling 25 deaths and many more injured. This is unacceptable. Gun violence is a plague on this coun…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 3, 2022 at 7:36 PM

I survived a school shooting

John,   I survived a school shooting in 1992. A former student killed three students, a teacher, and injured ten others.   I knew the victims. I saw the pain that ripped through the community. I attended the memorial events. I was there, and it haunts me…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

June 1, 2022 at 9:13 PM

I ripped a bong during an interview

Let's talk about cannabis John,   Last week, I ripped a bong on my interview with the DCCC (the Dems' official campaign arm). I'm aiming to be this country's first female representative that is open about her cannabis habits. …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 30, 2022 at 8:03 PM

Memorial Day

John,   Today, we all get to take a step back and appreciate the freedom and luxury that the brave United States forces have afforded us. Without those who have laid down their lives in our service, we would not have a country that we could be proud of …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 27, 2022 at 8:52 PM

Republicans Are Threatening Our Democracy

John,   Last week, on his new social media platform Truth Social, Donald Trump shared a post that just said “civil war.” This is the latest in a long line of insurrectionist messaging to his base that has gravely endangered our democracy. …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 25, 2022 at 9:13 PM

Another Senseless Shooting

John,   Yesterday, our country experienced another senseless tragedy; a school shooting that killed 18 children. This month has already plagued by a series of mass murders. I cannot begin to explain the pain my heart feels for the victims and their fami…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 23, 2022 at 9:16 PM

Esther Joy King: A Threat to Women

John,   The Republican frontrunner for Illinois' 17th district, Esther Joy King, is explicitly anti-choice. She has said that there is a need to overturn Roe v. Wade, and has retweeted multiple tweets by anti-choice pundits, including one Ben Shapiro tw…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 20, 2022 at 7:54 PM

Re: Outlawing Abortion Kills Women

John,   Open access to abortion saves lives. Outlawing the practice only pushes women underground into unsafe, unsterile environments. Deaths due to unsafe abortions have plummeted since 1973, and will only skyrocket when the GOP trashes our civil right…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 18, 2022 at 7:47 PM

Re: 8 year old cannabis advocate?

John,   I became an advocate for cannabis at the age of 8.   I was in 2nd grade at the time and was also an entrepreneur. On hot summer days after school I would load up my little red wagon with ice and soda and take it to construction sites across my …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 16, 2022 at 6:52 PM

Re: I've never had a birthday party

John,   Growing up, I learned that if I ever wanted a birthday party, I would have to conform to my father’s racist expectations and exclude my black and brown friends. That was something I refused to accept.   In my 47 years on Earth, I have never had…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 13, 2022 at 7:23 PM

Commie Liberal

As I matured into the values and political beliefs that I hold today it began to destroy my relationship with my father and tear apart my family. When I first registered with the Democratic party, my father cut all familial ties with me due to me bei   Joh…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

May 9, 2022 at 9:03 PM

My father the racist

While growing up, my father tried to teach my brother and I that different races were inferior because of the color of their skin. From an early age I learned to hide my black friends from my father. I learned to watch The Cosby Show with the remote   John…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 29, 2022 at 12:09 AM

Our first quarterly goal is coming, and we need your help

Wallace team members are now impersonating Team McGowan staff and are trying to get our supporters to invalidate their own signatures on our petition. Would her donors agree with her expending campaign resources on impersonating the staff of other candid J…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 25, 2022 at 6:55 PM

Blood In The Water

Wallace team members are now impersonating Team McGowan staff and are trying to get our supporters to invalidate their own signatures on our petition. Would her donors agree with her expending campaign resources on impersonating the staff of other candid J…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 22, 2022 at 10:14 PM

Murder by Objection

John, On March 21, 4:44 PM, a common strategy used in Illinois politics was used on our campaign along with 109 other candidates across the state; our paperwork was challenged.  We received notice that a bad actor within the Republican party has filed a…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 17, 2022 at 7:35 PM

Danger Around the Corner

  John,   On Monday I submitted our campaign’s petition signatures to the Illinois State Board of Elections.   Thanks to grassroots support from across the country and my team's hard work we collected enough signatures to make it on to the ballot.   It w…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 15, 2022 at 10:38 PM

⛽⛽⛽

Soaring gas prices hit rural districts like IL-17 the hardest. For many in our district and across rural Illinois it can take as long as an hour to an hour and a half to drive to the grocery store and back. When you have no choice but to do commutes like   …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 9, 2022 at 9:06 PM

High Times

Yesterday, the nationally renowned cannabis-focused periodical, High Times, published a feature article on our campaign’s pro-legalization platform.   Hi John,   Yesterday, the nationally renowned cannabis-focused periodical, High Times, published a fea…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 7, 2022 at 8:29 PM

An end to the practice silencing women in the workplace?

Women today have a right we did not have yesterday, if we are victim of a sexual harassment, we no longer are forced into arbitration with our employer.   John,   This past Thursday, marked a historic day for women in the workplace. At a ceremony in the ov…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 4, 2022 at 7:54 PM

My father the racist

While growing up, my father tried to teach my brother and I that different races were inferior because of the color of their skin. From an early age I learned to hide my black friends from my father. I learned to watch The Cosby Show with the remote   John, …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

March 2, 2022 at 9:58 PM

Build Back Unity

Whether you were watching in a large city, small town, or right here in Rockford, I hope you also felt the passion Biden presented. One quote of this stood out to me was, “We are building a better America for all.” John,   President Biden showed clear, con…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

February 28, 2022 at 5:22 PM

Ukraine

As you know, Russian military forces are currently involved in a massive land invasion of Ukraine. I will not mince words, what Putin has done is nothing short of a massive breach of international law and there is no place for actions like this in th John,  …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

February 22, 2022 at 5:36 PM

Voting rights act on life support

GOP state legislatures will soon be able to get away with egregious violations of the VRA unparalleled since the days of Jim Crow. John,   This past week a Trump-appointed federal judge in Arkansas threw out a case from the NAACP that called into question a…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

February 18, 2022 at 9:30 PM

8 year old cannabis advocate?

  I became an advocate for cannabis at the age of 8.   I was in 2nd grade at the time and was also an entrepreneur. On hot summer days after school I would load up my little red wagon with ice and soda and take it to construction sites across my town. Over…

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  Brandon Russell · [email protected]

February 16, 2022 at 7:07 PM

My friend Jackie

My name is Brandon Russell, I am the campaign manager for Jackie McGowan. In my experience working on campaigns I've never seen someone enter a race with so much raw passion and pure excitement. Jackie has been having so much fun connecting with peopl Hi Joh…

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

February 14, 2022 at 6:58 PM

If I’d been there 30 minutes later I’d be dead

  I was in biology when it started. Out of nowhere Sheriffs armed with shotguns stormed into class and told us that we were now in the middle of a school shooting. They escorted us out of the building and when we reached the exit they told us to run for our…

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  Team McGowan · [email protected]

February 9, 2022 at 3:22 PM

This Isn't a Typical US House Race

John, the dynamics of this race have been fundamentally altered. The campaign arm for Congressional Democrats, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has shifted our district, IL-17, to a “District in P   John, the dynamics of this race have …

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  Jackie McGowan · [email protected]

February 2, 2022 at 6:44 PM

Rural Illinois Needs a Fighter

Losing this toss-up seat would be an immediate threat to our razor-thin Democratic majority which is why we must fight to make sure it stays blue. I won’t stop fighting and I hope you’ll join me.   John,   My name is Jackie McGowan. I'm the dirt-road Democra…

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