Fifteen Conversations

One of the things I love most about campaigning in New Hampshire is that people expect their candidates to show up.

They expect to meet you in person. They expect to ask real questions. And they expect you to stay long enough to have an honest conversation. That expectation is one of the reasons I decided to run for Congress in the first place.

Over the next sixteen days, I’ll be attending fifteen public events across our district: gatherings in living rooms, community centers, coffee shops, and local organizations where neighbors come together to talk about the future of our country.

These events are some of the most meaningful moments in this campaign.

Because the truth is that the best ideas in politics rarely come from consultants or pollsters. They come from people who are living the consequences of the decisions made in Washington every day.

They come from parents trying to navigate the cost of healthcare. From teachers worried about the future of public education. From small business owners battling with Google to make sure customers can find them online.

And when those people take the time to show up and speak honestly about what they’re experiencing, the least a candidate can do is listen.

That’s why I don’t believe in quick campaign appearances where a candidate drops in, delivers a few rehearsed lines, and disappears. When I show up somewhere, I stay.

I answer questions. A lot of them.

And I listen carefully, because the people in those rooms are the ones I hope to represent.

Why else do I stay? Because after the speeches are over and the questions are answered, there is that rare opportunity to affirm a common purpose and the determination to finally see the changes we’ve been awaiting for so long.

When I stay, we can celebrate what we have accomplished together, and discern what we need to do next. This process can’t just be about winning votes—it has to be about something bigger than that. It has to be about building communities strong enough for the hard work ahead.

That’s why I show up. That’s why I stay.