In just a few days, Minnesotans across the state will cast their ballots.
As a student at Carleton College, you have the opportunity to vote in Minnesota’s Second Congressional District — one of just 35 seats nationwide that will have a direct impact on which party controls Congress for the next two years.
Republicans have been shouting their priorities from the rooftops for if they take back the majority next year. Up first: banning abortion in every state in America, rolling back our climate change progress and reversing the action we have taken to curb gun violence. And as my GOP opponent Tyler Kistner says himself, he’s “pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-Trump.”
If the past few years have taught me anything, it’s that we should believe Washington Republicans when they tell us what they’re going to do. And then vote accordingly.
For nearly 50 years, Republicans fought to overturn Roe v. Wade. This summer, after the Supreme Court took away the right to an abortion, Republicans in Congress introduced a nationwide abortion ban — a ban that would be enacted here in Minnesota and would send doctors and nurses to jail for providing abortions.
My opponent called the ban “reasonable.”
I still cannot believe that, in the year 2022, I had to introduce a bill to protect access to birth control and contraception. I… the first lesbian mother ever to serve in Congress… had to write a bill to make sure Republicans can’t make condoms illegal. But I’ll never back down from the fight to protect our rights.
Earlier this summer, I helped pass long-overdue gun safety legislation to make common sense reforms to our gun laws. It wasn’t perfect, and we need to do more, but it was progress.
My opponent, on the other hand, is endorsed by the Gun Owners’ of America — the group that called the NRA “weak.” This district deserves independent leaders who will always put their constituents first, not the gun lobby.
Another item on the GOP’s to do list: rolling back the climate progress we made this year. In August, I helped pass the single largest investment in combating climate change ever, and we got it done without a single Republican vote.
Republicans are already talking about reversing that historic progress and drilling more oil instead. My opponent’s campaign is bankrolled by Big Oil and Big Pharma. It’s pretty clear where his allegiance lies.
Our planet cannot afford to have another politician unwilling to stand up to the oil companies. This issue is too critical for us not to act quickly, and I’m committed to doing everything I can to make sure our planet remains habitable for generations to come.
Time and time again, Republicans have shown us their intentions. They’ve made it clear that our most fundamental values are all on the line in this election — birth control access, marriage equality, clean energy investments and gun violence prevention.
The stakes of the election could not be higher, but as a student at Carleton College, you have the power to tip this race in the right direction. So, on November 8, I urge you to make your voice heard here in the Second District. You can still register and vote on Election Day at UCC Church or St. John’s Lutheran Church!
I’m grateful to have you in this fight with me, and I humbly ask for your vote.