Friend -

Yesterday was a pretty incredible day for the start of our campaign. All across Michigan and the rest of the country, people chipped in to support this race. We raised more than a million dollars in twelve hours — I’m so, so grateful to everyone that added to the outpouring of support. Thank you.

It’s funny, when I started my career in public service, I never imagined running for Congress, let alone the United States Senate.

I spent most of my career in national security. While I served under Presidents Bush and Obama, I didn’t consider myself an overly “political” person – in fact, my role was expressly apolitical. I served our country in my roles at the Pentagon and within the White House, guided only by concern for our nation.

After the 2016 election, my time in the executive branch ended, because I had been a political appointee for President Obama. So I started to explore what it would look like to get politically involved. I started going to local Democratic club meetings and talking to people in my community. But it was one moment in particular that brought everything into focus for me.

It was May 4, 2017.

I was sitting in my living room in Holly watching live CNN coverage of the Rose Garden ceremony President Trump held after the House passed legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

I caught sight of my then-Congressman, smiling and beaming with pride that he had just voted to repeal protections for people with pre-existing conditions.

That was it. Something inside of me broke. I thought to myself: “No. You don’t get to ignore your constituents, vote against their interests, and keep your job.”

We have a term for this in the military community: it’s called dereliction of duty. It’s a fireable offense. We decided that day we would fire him, and in November 2018, we did just that.

Health care is why I started running for office. It is personal to me.

In 2011, my mom died of ovarian cancer. She had thankfully beaten cancer as a young mom, but for the rest of her life she had a pre-existing condition -- which meant getting health care coverage was always a struggle.

When she did have coverage, it was her highest bill, over $1,000 per month with a $10,000 deductible.

And when she was diagnosed in 2009 with advanced ovarian cancer, unbeknownst to our family, she had let her coverage lapse in order to pay other bills.

I ran for the House, and today I am running for Senate, because no family should have to decide between paying for utilities or the health insurance or prescription drugs they need to stay healthy.

I know I won’t be able to run this race and win alone, it’s going to take a big team, which is why I have to ask:

Will you make your first donation to my campaign for Senate in Michigan? I know we can win this race and get to work in the Senate on these issues that affect all of our lives.

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Thank you,

Elissa