7,151 votes. 19 months.

I’m deeply proud of the campaign we ran, & deeply grateful to my interns, volunteers, & every voter who believed in my vision.

When nonprofits I worked for weren’t hitting the mark, I started one. When the Governor appointed me to serve, I said yes. When I had a story to tell, I published it. When I needed a more powerful tool to fight for my community, I went to law school. And when the Democratic Party wasn’t listening & there was an opening, I launched this campaign.

The view from the cheap seats has often subjected me to criticism, minimization, or jokes at my expense. But I look around the room & seem to be one of only a few trying to do something—anything—to solve the problems we face. I’m proud of that.

We knew from the minute my opponent entered that it would be an uphill battle, but felt bowing out would allow future corporate Dems to push out qualified leaders from marginalized communities. We weren’t the only campaign navigating this, & some were successful, giving a new kind of leadership a seat at the table. We weren’t able to do so in my race, but we can’t change the whole party overnight.

The Medicaid Quality Improvement Project I served on just won a national award. My nonprofit just passed a new Strategic Plan. I continue leading policy with the Michigan HIV/AIDS Council. The LGBTQ+ civil rights case I filed an Amicus Brief for is entering oral arguments. I’m still the Board Secretary of the Red Cross. My Juris Doctorate is complete in December. The work continues & I’m going to be just fine.

But our nation is not “just fine.” We can’t each solve every problem, but we all have to do one small thing. Get off your Facebook commentary. Volunteer, donate, call an elected official, & love your neighbors.

My favorite part was visiting every part of the district—rural & urban, red & blue—and seeing people building businesses, joining neighbors in civic engagement, creating art, & dreaming of their future.

It’s in moments like these, multiplied across communities like ours, where the dawn begins to crack, where the fever starts to break, where hope is found & change begins.

It’s up to all of us to let the light in.