Nobody expected 2017 to start this way. This isn’t the fight we were expecting to fight.
But this is the fight that’s in front of us. And the people of Massachusetts didn’t send me to Washington to roll over and play dead while Donald Trump and his team of billionaires, bigots, and Wall Street bankers crush the working people of our Commonwealth and this country.
This is no time to quit.
I will fight today, tomorrow, next week, this year, next year and as long as I’m standing to build a future – not just for some of our kids, but for all of our kids. That’s why I wanted to let you know that I am running for re-election in Massachusetts in 2018.
There’s no big, fancy fundraising event or a splashy rally or slick TV ad. None of that because, frankly, we’ve just got too much work to do right now. But I don’t kid myself: the upcoming fights in the Senate – and our campaign in Massachusetts in 2018 – are likely to be uglier and nastier than anything we’ve ever imagined. I’m not taking anything for granted.
The big banks and giant corporations aren’t lining up to give money for my re-election. In fact, a lot of them would rather see me pack my bags and go home. Nope, I’ve always relied on thousands of people like you chipping in $5 or $10 at a time, knocking on doors, making phone calls, and organizing cities and towns like yours to make our campaign possible – and I need your help again now.
In the weeks and months ahead, we will stand up to the Trump Administration’s racism, sexism, bigotry and hate. We will fight back against attacks on Latinos, African-Americans, Muslims, immigrants, women, and LGBT Americans. Our diversity is what makes our country strong – and on this, there will be NO compromise.
We must also fight for the millions of Americans – from Boston to the Berkshires and all across this country – who bust their tails day after day and who can’t build a little economic security. They’re fed up with an economy and a political system that works great for those at the top, but that doesn’t work for them. So I’m ready to fight harder than ever for debt-free college, raising the minimum wage, protecting and expanding Social Security, investing in our public schools, affordable health care and childcare, securing workers’ rights, and defending Wall Street reform.
We MUST keep fighting for our values. We must prove to Donald Trump and the Republican leadership that when they run this country for the rich and powerful, the American people will hold them accountable.
Representing Massachusetts in the US Senate and fighting for working families here and all across this country is the best job in the whole world and the greatest honor of my life. But I also know this: We fought our hearts out to win in 2012, and I expect we’ll have an even bigger, more expensive fight in 2018.
The smears and right-wing attacks from Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, the Koch Brothers and Wall Street aren’t about to get a little worse – they’re about to get A LOT worse. We cannot and will not allow the Republicans and the powerful interests to sink our campaign the same way they sank so many campaigns in 2016.
You’ve been there for me every step of the way – and I know we’ll be there shoulder-to-shoulder to fight every step of the way ahead.
