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Friend,
Thank you. I try to say it often and I mean it every time. The support you lend to our work – your attention, your presence, your willingness to stay in the fight even on exhausting days – is what makes all of it possible. June and July kept me moving, and along the way I found plenty of reasons to feel both clear-eyed about what's ahead and genuinely energized about the people doing the work. I want to share some reflections on where I've been these past two months.
In June, I joined the Rainbow PUSH Coalition's annual convention in Chicago, the first since the passing of Reverend Jesse Jackson. I've been to PUSH headquarters before at the invitation of Reverend Jackson; knowing him deeply shaped how I think about our own work. At this gathering, I talked with the crowd about accountability, about corruption, and about the kind of investment communities like the South Side of Chicago deserve and have too often been denied.
It was also a joy to be back in Chicago again, later that same month, for the opening of the Obama Presidential Center. It was inspiring to reflect on the extraordinary achievements of his presidency, and celebrate the Center’s mission of empowering people to make a difference. That vision felt especially resonant this year, as our country marked its 250th birthday and so many of us are thinking hard about what this nation still owes to the people who show up for it.
From there I went to Little Rock, Arkansas, to campaign with Dr. Chris Jones, who's running to represent Arkansas's Second District. Chris is a rocket scientist, an ordained minister, and someone who has spent his career bridging divides rather than deepening them. Politics can feel like it's punching us all in the face, but Chris is focused on building something better: a future where entrepreneurs thrive, young people can find good-paying jobs, and elected officials answer to the people who put them there. There is no such thing as a permanently red state, and Arkansas can prove that if we're willing to show up.
July is peak Michigan summer, and I spent some time at home campaigning for great candidates in my backyard. I endorsed Jocelyn Benson for governor, someone whose integrity I've seen up close over the years. She was tested in ways few secretaries of state have ever been tested, and she met those tests with steadiness and competence. I also endorsed Callie Barr, who is taking on the fight to represent Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula in Congress. Callie has spent years as an advocate for military families, and she'll bring that same focus and follow-through to Washington.
It was great to be back in Iowa to speak at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration. I talked with the crowd about the work ahead to build coalitions that reach independents and even persuadable Republicans, and about candidates like Rob Sand, who's spent his career rooting out waste and holding power accountable.
From there I went to Omaha, Nebraska, to campaign for Denise Powell, who is running in a district Democrats can absolutely flip back from Republican hands this year. Denise is the kind of leader who understands that people don't want politics as usual; they want a future that is shaped by what matters most in their everyday life.
I had a great visit to Florida, where I keynoted the state party's Leadership Blue gala near Orlando. Florida Democrats have real gains to point to over the past year, and I told the room what I believe: no state is red or blue forever, and the next chapter gets written by the people willing to do the work, not anyone predicting from the sidelines that it can't be done.
Something that has become a little bit of an unexpected specialty of mine is going on Fox News, and I did so once again recently during a trip to New York. I have long believed that we can’t expect people to hear us if we’re not even talking to them, so I made a commitment to show up and have real conversations in as many places as possible, including conservative media like Fox News. I'll keep showing up for these conversations, because I think that's part of how we earn trust with people who've stopped expecting Washington to respond to them at all.
I closed out July in Nashville, at the National Urban League Conference, where I took part in a fireside chat about the work needed to confront the threats facing our democracy and economy, from gerrymandered maps that let politicians pick their voters instead of the other way around, to an economic pattern that keeps failing families on healthcare and housing while the political system meant to fix it stays broken.
It’s hard to believe, but we are now less than 100 days from the November election. What keeps me going, into this home stretch, is simple: this work matters. The future of our politics is built by candidates who represent something better, and by everyone organizing behind them. Wherever I see that kind of effort, I want to help – and I'm grateful that you're part of it too.
Thank you for being along for this.
Pete
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