I’m a mom running for Senate.

This is my story.

As I promised from day one, Substack is going to be a way for me to share more about my personal life, to pull back the curtain of what it’s actually like to run for public office, and why I think we can build a better future for North Dakotans (and all Americans). 

With that, I wanted to pull back from politics for a moment to give you a little insight into why I do what I do.

I’m not that different from most parents.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the world our kids are living in now, and what kind of world we’re providing for them in the future.

My greatest mission is to create a world for my kids that’s better than the one I grew up in.

But, before I was a parent, I experienced many of the same struggles everyday Americans experience daily. I don’t come from money. I grew up in a family that struggled to get by in rural America. We counted on food stamps to put dinner on the table. We counted on government-funded programs, like Headstart for Preschool. So believe me when I say I know what it’s like to struggle. I know what it’s like to wonder where your next meal is coming from. I know what it’s like to live on a fixed income. 

I’m sure you may feel or know someone who feels the same way. 

And frankly, I refuse to sit by and do nothing knowing that Senator Kevin Cramer tried to cut the affordable healthcare that so many families rely on. 

I refuse to sit by and do nothing while hardworking parents are struggling to find affordable housing or childcare for their kids.

I refuse to sit by and do nothing while the women of North Dakota worry that one of their most fundamental rights – how and when to have a family – will be stripped from them entirely.

A new report released by the Republican Study Committee, just made many of our fears a lot more plausible. The report showed that Kevin Cramer will work to raise the retirement age, cut retirement benefits like Social Security and Medicare, pass the most extreme anti-abortion bill in American history, and gut the Affordable Care Act, raising costs on all Americans in the process. 

That’s exactly why I’m running for U.S. Senate – to stop all of that from happening and to make sure all of our kids grow up in a country we can be proud of.

Right now, I have one of the best chances in the entire country to flip a Senate seat from red to blue. I’m running to create a better country for my family, and yours. 

If it’s not apparent enough, I love being a mom and can’t wait to serve. 

Thank you for your time, 

Katrina