Dear friends and supporters,
This is a difficult message to write. This morning I called my primary competitor, Pat Hackett, to congratulate her on securing the Democratic nomination to become the next Congresswoman for Indiana’s 2nd District, and offered her my full support and endorsement.
I have never encountered a problem I didn’t want to solve, or witnessed suffering I did not want to alleviate. I chose to run for Congress to find solutions to the problems that so many here face, including the lack of affordable health care and affordable housing, and to set us on a sustainable, economically sound path to reduce carbon emissions. I also chose to run because our country has lost its moral compass, and I hoped to work to heal the partisan divide and to reunite Hoosiers, and Americans, around common values.
Two nights ago, the president of the United States arranged for the courtyard in front of St. Johns Episcopal Church in downtown Washington, DC to be cleared of peaceful protesters. Those present included clergy members of the very church in front of which he wished to stand. Officers assaulted peaceful protestors with smoke canisters, pepper balls, flash bangs and, by some accounts, tear gas. Those gathered were protesting police brutality, and they were brutalized. And the president walked through the space he had caused to be forcibly cleared, stood in front of that church with a bible in his hand and had his picture taken.
Our government is broken. Our government has been broken for a long time, but rarely has one of our leaders shown so little respect for the foundations of our country, including the right to assemble and the right to criticize our government, as the president did on Monday night. Our government will not fix itself. Rebuilding our institutions so that they are ones we can believe in will take effort and dedication. We are all going to have to do the hard work of demanding more, at every level of government: more compassion, more commitment to the rule of law, more devotion to a concept of justice that demands equality and fairness, and more willingness to reject how things have always been done when how they have been done causes irreparable harm.
Democracy is a team sport. I will not be moving forward as your candidate, but I am still in the fight to repair what we have collectively broken, and I will be working with Democrats up and down the ballot to bring new leadership to Washington and to our state and local governments. Assuming that last night’s results hold as remaining ballots are counted, between now and November you will find me out in support of Joe Biden for president, Dr. Woody Myers for governor, Frank Mrvan for Indiana’s 1st District Congressional seat, Christina Hale for Indiana’s 5th District Congressional seat, Ryan Liedtky for Indiana House District 21, Dr. Don Westerhausen for Indiana House District 5, Laura Fred-Smith for Indiana Senate District 18, David Niezgodski for Indiana Senate District 10, Aaron Mishler, for Indiana House District 48, Luke Bohm for Indiana Senate District 5, Chad Harris for Indiana House District 18 and the fantastic women supported by 25 Women for 2020 who are advancing to the general.
Thank you for everything you have done to support my candidacy and to fight for a fairer, more inclusive, more compassionate country. I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for your support, your enthusiasm and your commitment.
With much love,
Ellen