The end of a campaign is always so hard and sad. And this is the hardest. I’ve had the real honor to work for public servants at a lot of levels, lucky to win a few - and, like most who do this long enough, losing more than a few too
I always say you learn as much or more from the losses as you do from the wins; and while that’s way easier to say than to live, it’s as true today as ever. More to come, but a today a few things I learned from this one:
That Beto is a truly good man, whose love and hopes for his country are real, whose reasons for being in it are good and true, and whose capacity to listen and learn from fellow Americans is boundless - and clear from the first time I met him
That I’ll always be amazed and grateful for the volunteers and supporters who put their time and money and commitment behind their beliefs - because your activism is the only way progress gets made in this country, always
That there’s no one like the crazy, talented band of people who pack up and move cross country to work for a long shot because they live their values, and who have each other’s backs on the good days and bad, and I’m always so lucky to be in the trenches with you
That “candidate’s spouse” or “secret weapon” doesn’t begin to describe how much a candidate’s family gives out of love and belief in them; that Amy is as smart and good a life partner as any candidate could ever hope for, and we owe her and the kids our gratitude
That we *know* the old ways of politics aren’t enough anymore, that Beto’s voice and this campaign made huge contributions from speaking truth on gun violence to the obligations of all of us on white supremacy, and more
That even when every incentive is to not do it, it’s absolutely worth taking risks, whether personal or political, to stand up for what we believe and to try our hardest to meet the moment our country is in
That I’m grateful we have the best field of candidates in our party right now, and confident one of them *will* win in 2020 with our party unified behind them
That doing this work as a mom of young kids is hard, sometimes too hard, but the more of us who do it, and the more of us who talk about it, the better all of us will be for it
So, for now, job one is helping all the talented staff of this campaign land new roles (get at me for resumes!). Then maybe a minute to breathe, definitely some tears and a few drinks, and then onward - back to the fight, always.
