John,

I am a full time dad, full time worker, and a full time member of my community—so running for office, much less for Congress, is already a high-wire juggling act, to say the least.

So when people ask me why I am running, I need to have a good answer to be taken seriously. And it just so happens that I do, but it’s not what you might think.

Where I come from, in rural Appalachian Ohio, there is no single issue that acts like a silver bullet to help address the problems my communities struggle with every day. But there is only one good reason to get involved, to run for office and put your name on the ballot: more than ever, people here need hope.

We need leaders—of every party—who know what is happening and have lived the same struggles as their voters, and who will treat the life or death problems that our small towns and rural communities are facing every single day with the gravity and the seriousness they merit.

Politics and campaigns are far too divisive and demanding to do this for any other reason, in my view.

But bringing hope to the people that I grew up with is something that I can throw all of myself into and something I can be proud of. Together we can build something we can share with our children and know they will see why we did it and why we sacrificed so much.

In this election, I know that there are hundreds of candidates asking for your support, your money and your time. And I just wanted you to hear it from me why I am in this, why I have put myself out there, and why I so often ask for your help. It isn’t for charity, and it certainly isn’t for me. It’s for our fellow Americans, to fight for them and for each other with urgency, empathy, and compassion.

Thank you in advance for helping us hold on to hope and to show, not just talk about, a better way forward:

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I appreciate you more than I can express. Thank you for your support and solidarity.

-Jerrad