Friends,
Saturday was one of our best days of the campaign, and we didn’t even see it coming.
Last week I posted to social media that if anyone wanted to get a beer, they could join me at a local brewery on Saturday afternoon. It’s been a rough couple weeks and I thought people could use an opportunity to regroup and recharge.
Well, 500 people showed up. It was a massive turnout and our team could not have been more thrilled to see everyone.
Whole families came. There were kids and dogs and college students and retirees and it all just worked beautifully.
I gave a short speech and promised I would stay until everyone who wanted to meet got a chance.
A line formed and I started greeting people.
Four hours later, I spoke to the last person — a woman who wanted to emphasize the importance of early childhood education.
But there were so many issues: affordable housing, the Roe decision and the path forward, gerrymandering, new advances in sustainable energy, a lot of questions about polarization and misinformation, and a lot of local concerns, like zoning and even a very specific neighbor dispute that needs to be resolved before things get too hectic.
In other words, I heard about things that really matter to people — which is how I should be spending a good chunk of my time if I want to represent them.
I’m so grateful for everyone who joined us. This turnout tells me that we’re running this campaign in a way that people respect and can relate to, and we’re going to keep it up.
Here’s what I didn’t do at all that day: Fundraising.
I didn’t ask anyone for a dime. We brought merch and we gave it away.
The reason I can do that is because of your support through emails like this. It’s fundamentally changed how we can campaign, and the evidence is pretty strong that this is how people want us to engage.
So I hope you’ll see this event and our approach to politics and decide to support us. It really does mean a lot.
Best, P.S. At the end of my speech, Owen ran up to give me a hug. It was a really special Dad moment for me.
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