Today I announce I’m ending my run to represent you in Congress. I thank the many friends, old and new, who joined the campaign to bring real focus to working-class, neighborhood issues in our district. But because this was my first time seeking office, ours was a retail campaign built on making new connections at street level, every day. COVID-19 presented too great an obstacle to that approach.
So now we must figure out the best way to advance the issues of the campaign: student debt, small business challenges, living wages, and the painful inequities endured by minorities and migrants. We must pass the torch. Which candidate for Congress is best poised to hear our message, to win the office, and to move resources to the district so that local leaders can develop solutions?
I’ve thought hard on this question the past several weeks. And I’ve decided that it’s the incumbent, Ilhan Omar, who gives us the best chance of making progress. I have reached out to Ilhan, and, after a good series of discussions, am now prepared to endorse and support her campaign.
Because we have been running against Ilhan, I owe you an explanation of my reasoning. Foremost, the issues of our campaign do not differ greatly from Ilhan’s, or in truth, from the issues emphasized by the campaigns of most of the Democratic candidates. Our district has championed progressive values for generations through its congressional representatives.
