It's been a busy month — Pride, Juneteenth, protesting redistricting, and now door-knocking and phonebanking across the 9 counties. But I need to talk about the elephant in the room: money.

This week marks the end of the 2nd quarter fundraising, and we are short of our goal of $18,000.  If we don't close that gap by the weekend, it shows up in a public federal report — and that number is how the press, donors, and party leaders decide whether this race is real.

Beyond covering signs, materials, and ads, our fundraising numbers REPRESENT our legitimacy. They determine whether we can earn endorsements and whether we can afford to go on the radio or TV at all.

Campaign finance reform will be a top priority for me in Congress, because the system is broken. In 2024, the median winning non-incumbent congressional campaign raised $2.4 million. This cycle, we've watched a Senate primary in Texas top $122 million, and the Iowa Senate race cost $29 million. That's not democracy — it's a barrier that keeps anyone who isn't a self-funding millionaire or backed by corporate PACs entirely out of the race.

I am neither of those things. My husband Mike and I are working class — we have student loans and bills like everyone else. I'm running this campaign as a sacrifice, not a career move.

This campaign is 100% grassroots: 9 out of 10 donors give $100 or less, and we take zero corporate PAC or AIPAC money. We keep costs lean — I design our graphics, manage our social media, and print our merch. Our team is tiny, but we still pay our all-youth field staff fairly and print at union shops. We spend carefully so every dollar from you goes further.

Here's what I'm asking, directly: set up a recurring donation today, even $20/month, before Friday's deadline. Then forward this to five people who believe in this. A recurring gift from you, multiplied by people who trust you, is what helps us hit $18,000. I believe we can do this. But we will only accomplish it together.

Contributions are limited to $3,500 per election, for a maximum of $7,000 per donor per election cycle. That equates to $3,500 for the primary (prior to August 6, 2026) and $3,500 for the general (prior to November 3, 2026)