First, I’d like to congratulate my opponent Vanessa Enoch on her victory. It was a very hard-fought race; I am honored to have been your opponent and you have my full support in beating Warren Davidson. I want to thank my fiancé and my family for supporting me on this journey and for understanding my absence at home for the last year. Everything I do, I do for you all and I love you so much. I’d like to thank all of my supporters and volunteers who were the lifeblood of this campaign and who truly believed in the message that we were trying to share with all of Ohio. You all made this campaign possible and made it a close and hard-fought contest. Even when others said I had no chance to win this election, you all believed in me and for that, I will be forever grateful. 

I did not run for Congress in an attempt to gain influence or recognition. I ran for Congress because I truly do love my country. I believe in its promise of a better life. Most importantly I believe that we can make our country a better place for so many people who have gone unheard and been underrepresented in our government today. Though the outcome was not what we had hoped for, we knew we were fighting for the right reasons. I am proud of what this campaign has been able to accomplish despite lacking the resources and funds of typical establishment candidates. This experience has taught me many valuable lessons that I will use to sharpen my skills so that I may better serve my community and help every Ohioan. 

Though I have lost this race, my fight is not over. It is too important to fight for the rights that are being stripped away from us and to protect our democracy from sliding into authoritarianism and autocracy. My son and children all across this country do not have the benefit of being adults. Adults should be responsible enough to protect them from ever-increasing gun violence. While large corporations make record-breaking profits, middle- and lower-class Americans are struggling every day to make ends meet. People deserve a livable wage to be able to provide for their families. They deserve to have access to education and be provided with healthcare. 

My generation is the generation who are currently having many firsts in our lives. We are trying to start our careers, have our own families, and are struggling to buy our first homes. Since we were born, we have known nothing but terrorist attacks, war, school shootings, economic recessions, and deadly pandemics. We have not seen the prosperity, job security, or, if you ask many of our sisters, the rights that previous generations had fought hard to obtain.  The “American Dream” has become harder and harder for people to achieve. We must make real changes in this country to provide for many generations to come, a future in which everyone truly can succeed in this country. 

We need younger voices in government who have a vision of what this country could be, and who can offer a better path forward. As long as I have breath in my lungs, I will always fight for Ohio families and workers. It has been an honor to seek the Democratic nomination to represent Ohio’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Again, though I may have lost, my fight is just beginning. Don’t wait for change in 2024, together we will make America better than it has ever been for so many people!