Today, We Take the Next Step

Adrienne, Devon, Bayley and I headed to the polls together in Essex Junction, the place that raised me and the place we’re raising our girls now.

I’ve voted in every election I’ve been able to vote in. I believe deeply in the simple act of showing up, filling out a ballot, and having a say in what happens next.

But I have to admit, this one felt a little different.

For the last seven months, we’ve been building this campaign one conversation, one town, one volunteer shift, one cup of coffee, one phone call and one ridiculous amount of fruit snacks at a time.

We’ve traveled all over Vermont. We’ve sat around kitchen tables and in diners and breweries. We’ve visited farms and businesses and schools. We’ve marched in parades. We’ve talked with people who are hopeful about Vermont’s future and people who are scared about it. We’ve met people who are hanging on by a thread and people working unbelievably hard to make their communities stronger.

And everywhere we go, I keep coming back to the same thing:

I believe in this place.

I know things are hard right now. Housing is too expensive. Health care is too expensive. Families are working harder and somehow falling further behind. Too many young people wonder whether they’ll ever be able to build a life here. Too many Vermonters have stopped believing that government can actually make things better.

I understand why people feel that way.

What I don’t accept is the idea that nothing can be done about it. We are capable of doing hard things when we decide that each other are worth fighting for. And over the course of this campaign, I’ve seen that same thing again and again.

I’ve watched volunteers give up their evenings to call strangers. I’ve watched supporters drive across the state just to spend half an hour with us. I’ve watched people who told me they had basically given up on politics decide to get involved again.

I’ve watched Vermonters choose hope.

That’s what this campaign has always been about for me. Not pretending everything is fine. Not promising that the problems in front of us are easy. It;s about choosing to believe they’re worth solving, it’s about choosing to get up and get to work.

So today, I’m asking you to take the next step with us.

If you haven’t voted yet, please go vote.

Bring your kids. Bring a friend. Check on your neighbor. Text the person who told you three weeks ago that they were definitely going to vote but probably needs the reminder anyway.

I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built together. I’m grateful beyond words to Adrienne and our girls for sharing me with this campaign, to our team for pouring everything they have into it, and to every single person who has opened a door, made a call, put up a sign, chipped in a few dollars, offered advice, challenged me, encouraged me or simply stopped to talk.

But this isn’t the finish line. It’s the first step.

There is so much work ahead of us — to build homes, lower health care costs, strengthen our schools, grow our economy, protect the place we love and make Vermont a place where another generation of families can build a good life.

Today, we get to decide whether we keep going.

I know what my answer is.

Let’s go.

Ryan