We are living in a dangerous civic moment. Democracy itself is under pressure, communities are being targeted, and too many leaders stay silent to protect their party’s image rather than defend the principles they swore to uphold. I am running because this moment demands leaders who will speak clearly when others are uncertain, and who understand that power is supposed to belong to the people, not to special interests or to those who already have the most.

My campaign is not funded by big donors or special interests. It belongs to the people of Minnesota’s Second District, and that independence is the whole point. When a representative owes nothing to the powerful, they are free to actually represent everyone else. Returning power to the community starts with refusing to be bought by the forces that have hollowed out so much of our politics.

Protecting democracy also means protecting the rights and dignity of working people. One of the most important ways working men and women have ever defended their voice is through unions. Unions gave us the weekend, fair wages, and safe workplaces, and they remain one of the few institutions that let ordinary workers stand on equal footing with the powerful. In Congress, I will defend the right to organize and bargain collectively, and I will oppose efforts to weaken the protections that give workers real power in their own lives.

Dignity is the thread that runs through everything I believe. Every person in this district, regardless of their background, where they come from, or what they look like, deserves to be treated as a full member of this community. As a leader who has spent his life building bridges across different communities, I will be a representative who listens across differences and stands up for people when they are targeted or made to feel unwelcome. Speaking up when it is hard is not optional. It is the job.

I will also fight to protect the basic machinery of democracy: the right to vote, fair and accessible elections, and government that is transparent and accountable to the people it serves. When confidence in our institutions erodes, it is working families who lose the most, because the powerful always find a way to protect themselves.

This is about more than any single policy. It is about whether the people of the Second District have a real voice in their own future. I am running to make sure they do, to defend their rights, protect their dignity, and bring power back where it belongs: with the community.