I want to congratulate Laura Galante for Delegate on her victory today in the 18th District Democratic primary. The road moving forward will be tough, but she will have the support of the Democrats in Culpeper, Fauquier, Rappahannock and Warren counties, including mine. We are at a time where the stakes are high for democracy in Virginia. The Virginia legislature will be playing a crucial role both for our state and the nation. I truly hope she can flip the District blue in November.

On the campaign trail, candidates are asked many questions about many problems. To me, there is only one problem at the core that we can’t ignore. Our political system is badly broken. We can fix our environment, we can fix income inequality, we can fix education. But we have to demand real solutions from our leaders. We also have to put our time, effort and creativity on the line. To quote Dr. King, “There is no deficit in human resources, the deficit is in human will.” Democrats need to have a candidate for every public office in every deep red area in Virginia for every election. We cannot have Democratic deserts in Virginia and expect any substantive change. I encourage anyone and everyone who cares about their community to run for office. It’s tough, you’ll probably lose, but losing is what teaches us to be winners.

Thank you to everyone who donated their time and money to my campaign and everyone who voted for me. Please keep following me because I will remain active in the civic and political space. However, I will be bi-coastal for a while, splitting my time between Rixeyville and Silicon Valley where Stephanie is now working for Facebook. Again, thank you for everything and see you soon.

-Tristan