Rep. Becca Balint: We must be all in to elect Vice President Harris
By Rep. Becca Balint
Let’s recap the past few weeks on the Harris campaign. Fundraising records smashed. Organizing calls so packed with people that they break the internet. Thousands and thousands of volunteers rushing to work on the campaign across swing states. A broad coalition coming together spontaneously to make history. Endorsements from individuals and organizations pouring in such a deluge that it’s hard to keep up. Young voters energized and engaged for a candidate in ways we’ve not seen in years. Hundreds of thousands of new voter registrations. As Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, her recently-announced Vice Presidential pick, said, “America is smiling again.”
But still, the naysayers keep talking: “She’s not electable. The nation won’t elect a Black woman to the presidency.”
Let’s not allow fear to limit our imagination. I know we have the ability to see this moment differently. Of course, we can elect a woman. Of course, we can elect a Black woman. This moment is full of possibility and promise. Embrace it. Don’t give in to the cynical voices that are beholden to the worst of who we are.
We have to stop parroting the idea that we are only as good as the most racist or sexist or otherwise intolerant people in our country. We’re not. We have the capacity to do much, much better. But we have to believe in what is possible and do the extremely hard work to manifest it. History doesn’t just happen. We make it happen.
How do I know that these naysaying pundits and political figures are wrong? Because I was elected to Congress. I was the first woman elected to Congress from the state of Vermont. That was in 2022. Yes, you read that right.
And I was the first openly gay person elected from my state. And you know what people told me? Vermont wasn’t ready to elect a gay woman. They said the voters would already have to overcome their sexism. Asking them to overcome their internalized homophobia was a bridge too far. They were wrong. I won in a landslide.
And my story is not unique. Every single female member of Congress has a similar story to tell. We were told we weren’t “electable” and wouldn’t be accepted by the voters. We know the voices of these pundits so well. And the women of color elected to office had to overcome their own horrifying experiences with racism, too. So, when you tell us that the nation isn’t ready for a woman, for a Black woman, for a gay woman, for an Asian woman, you are denying our own experiences and the reality of the situation. Our voters did turn out for us. Every time we take a seat in the House of Representatives we are proof that we overcame racism and sexism and homophobia. We can win; we did win.
How did we do? We worked our asses off and built broad coalitions.
Pundits have spent the last few weeks warning Democrats not to be “giddy” and that we have a very hard fight ahead. Give me a break. Democratic voters and leaders are not feeling silly or giddy. We are stone-cold sober and understand the stakes and the profoundly hard work it will take to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
We have so much “dog” in the fight that it’s like we’re running this campaign from inside a humane society shelter. It’s insulting and wrongheaded to suggest that we don’t understand the stakes, the toughness of the fight, or the perils if we lose. We know who will suffer the most from a second Trump presidency. It’s the poor, the working class, women, Black Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, the LGBTQ community, the poor, the Dreamers, and rural Americans.
What we need at this moment is for the naysayers to do the work with us. It’s going to take all of us to do this really hard thing. I know we all also have the ability to see this moment differently. We need all of us who deeply care about protecting our freedoms to get involved in this race. Do you want to be part of making history? Or as my wife says: Do you want to be on the ship or dragged along by the anchor chain? We need everyone’s skills, commitment, and grit to elect Kamala Harris.
Rep. Becca Balint is a mom, teacher, writer, and progressive leader who represents Vermont’s at-large district in Congress. Becca is the first woman and openly LGBTQ+ person to represent her home state of Vermont.
