Shason,
When I announced my candidacy for the United States Senate, I said I wouldnt run away from who I was or the life Ive lived.
Im a black woman, a single mom who struggled to put food on the table and pay for childcare, a woman who walked into a Planned Parenthood when she needed healthcare, an Air Force brat, and just one of the millions of women who has received unequal pay in the workplace for my equal work as a lawyer, systems engineer, and non-profit executive.
Those experiences shape who I am as a person, my values, and how I legislate in Congress.
History was talked about a lot on this campaign, and it should be -- because history matters.
It matters for the hundreds of young women and girls I met who watched me run for this Senate seat and thought this is something I can do.
Who will look to the nation's space program, boardrooms, workplaces, and know that they belong.
I think about when I was a young girl and my dad was stationed at Andrews Air Force base. After church on Sundays when the weather was nice we would go to the hill outside of the U.S. Capitol and I would look up at that big white building -- I never dreamed that could be my office.
I hope for all the women and girls across Maryland and the country that I helped shatter that idea -- even just a little bit. Because for every girl whos never told she could run for Congress, run for Senate, be an engineer, or go to law school, I want to say to you right now -- you can do this.
Be what you want to be, do what you want to do -- you can be anything you dream of.
This campaign for the U.S. Senate ends tonight, but the values that drive us to fight for what we believe in, and the dreams I hope we inspired in young people to change the face of our democracy, never will.
Thank you for being a part of this with me,
Donna
