Though I know—and regret—that many people will be understandably disappointed or frustrated, I’ve made the difficult choice to withdraw from the First Congressional District race.
Put simply, I am burnt out. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has created challenging circumstances for all of us, including campaigns (which are usually loosely managed chaos in the best of circumstances). Support and resources—such as fundraising and volunteers—have naturally become more scarce as people direct their attention to the pandemic, and traditional campaign tactics are no longer available to us. While I absolutely view our district as worth investing in, and see significant opportunity in digital campaigning, I do not feel I can reasonably put forth the level of effort required to do so without creating an extremely unbalanced, unsustainable situation for myself, my family, or my staff and volunteers. Each person can only do so much, and the same experiences which drove me into politics also taught me the importance of self-care and recognizing your own limitations. I’m rapidly approaching mine.
While this may seem sudden, it’s something I’ve been contemplating for weeks while trying to rest, find an alternate course of action, or resolve/mitigate contributing factors, rather than let people down. After much consideration, I’ve come to the difficult conclusion that were I to continue, I not only would be unable to give MD-01 the candidate it deserves, but would eventually struggle to meet my clients’ demands, or, worse, struggle to be the mother my son deserves.
It’s not an easy decision, but it is a necessary one, and the one that is best for me and my son. I want to thank all the incredible people who have believed in me, invested in me, and been by my side, for the last two months or the last three years. I also want to extend an apology to those I’ve been slow to respond to these past few weeks. I always try to be responsive, but I needed time to myself—to rest, to think—and I wasn’t sure how to answer, as I wasn’t sure how to proceed.
I wish I’d had the clarity to make this decision sooner, and I wish I were able to give back every cent and minute of time people have contributed. That being impossible, I’d like to do the next best thing: to make sure that time and money will still matter. To that end, I have a final request (okay, two), and would be sincerely appreciative if you can help (but understand if you cannot; please practice self-care):
ONE. Chip in one more time to help retain minimal staff for a few more weeks to close out the campaign properly. All too often, campaigns lack the funding to do this. Efforts are simply abandoned and the data and lists of available resources disappear while candidates up and down the ballot must start from scratch each cycle. Rather than being able to campaign, they waste time, energy, and scarce resources trying to hunt down information which could and should have been readily available to them. Unfortunately, it’s not something I’m able to do on my own or with unpaid volunteers.
Not only would these staffers be able to document lessons learned and capture our data to be reused by other campaigns in the future, if resources permit, we will convert our website, flipthefirst.com, into a site that will promote local candidates and causes, while assisting BOTH of the remaining candidates to produce the strongest possible nominee to take on Andy Harris in November rather than limping out of the primary. The amount we can raise from this last email will dictate how much we can do, so every dollar helps. Any excess funding will be donated to the eventual nominee, to the party to be used specifically in MD-01, or to a local charity providing assistance to those impacted by COVID-19.
TWO. Please support the other two candidates, Jennifer Pingley (electJenRN.com) and Mia Mason (MiaDMason.us). Jennifer is a nurse who immediately impressed me with her grasp on policy, her public speaking skills, and her ability to clearly explain complicated concepts, as well as her extensive advocacy work. Mia is a veteran who has impressed me with her field efforts, her dedication to showing up in every county, and her consistent willingness to give each person the attention constituents deserve from our Reps. We would be lucky to have either, especially over someone like Andy Harris, and both are doing work to build the party that MUST be done this cycle, in advance of 2022. However, both require support, and holding out until the conclusion of the primary is not a viable way to accomplish lasting change. Last night, I made a personal contribution of $100 to each of these women who have generously agreed to take on this mountain of an effort. I will make my social media platforms available to them to help promote their campaigns, and my staff will provide equal resources to them for as long as resources permit. In the general, I pledge to donate at least $500 to the nominee. I hope everyone will support them to the extent they’re able—even if it’s only to write some postcards or like, follow, or share them on social media – and join me in investing in our own backyard.
As Gandhi said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” If we won’t invest in our own district, who will?
I love and appreciate all of you, and hope you stay safe and healthy during this challenging time. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything we can do to help. While I may not be able to stay on as your candidate, I will always care deeply about this district and will assist in making sure we get the attention we deserve.
Best, Allison
Donate to Help Us Close Out The Campaign And Flip The First