I’m officially running for re-election in North Carolina in 2020, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

I know what it’s like to grow up in a working-class family, to live in a trailer park, and to struggle to make ends meet for my young family while attending night school. However, because of the opportunities provided by our great country, I was able to work my way to a successful business career and to realize my American Dream.

But in 2014, the opportunities that I had growing up were under attack, so I promised that I would go to Washington and clean up the mess created by Barack Obama. I promised to get government out of the way so that you would be rewarded for your hard work. I promised to do my part to make America great again. I've kept those promises, and what North Carolinians need is a U.S. senator who will continue working with President Trump to get things done.

The president knows I’m a fighter, that I will fight to advance his agenda, and I’m proud to have his endorsement. And when you look at the successes we’ve achieved together already, it makes perfect sense that President Trump and I will have each other's backs as our names return to the ballot next November.

President Trump and I have partnered to get government out of the way with free-market policies such as tax and regulatory reform, which have led to increases in take home pay for the people of North Carolina, as well as record-low unemployment among women and minorities.

While we have seen unprecedented obstruction and political attacks coming from liberals to derail President Trump’s nominations, I’ve used my post on the Senate Judiciary Committee to fight back and confirm 150 well-qualified conservatives to the federal bench. This includes Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, who follow the Constitution and the law rather than legislating from the bench.

I have voted to help the president secure the border, and I sponsored his legislation to move America to a merit-based immigration system focused on the needs of our economy and to build the wall. He’s returned the favor, rallying behind my bill that holds dangerous sanctuary jurisdictions such as Mecklenburg County accountable for refusing to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The president and I have worked side by side to rebuild our military, and he’s helped me as I’ve secured more than $1 billion in improvements for Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point, Seymour Johnson, and New River Air Station.

And when it comes to caring for the brave men and women who have completed their service to our nation, the president has signed my bills to improve veterans’ access to quality health care, to expand their education and job opportunities, and to protect veterans and their families from predatory lending.

The reason my election is so critical is because it will determine whether or not we continue this progress and keep America great, or spiral down the path to socialism.

That’s exactly where a Democratic controlled Washington would take us. Just look at the latest we’ve heard from Democratic presidential candidates on the stump. Their policies include eliminating the health insurance you get from your job and trillions in tax increases, as well as controlling what you can eat, what straw you can use, what job you can work, and what transportation you can use to get there.

They want to eliminate the filibuster so they can decriminalize illegal immigration and put taxpayers on the hook for the healthcare of all of those who will take advantage of open borders.

Maintaining a firewall against this radical, liberal agenda will require holding our Senate majority and the White House, both of which run through North Carolina. President Trump’s second term will only take place if he carries the Tar Heel state, and if I am victorious in November, Chuck Schumer’s path to the gavel will be cut off for good.

If we learned anything from last week, it’s that the battle for North Carolina will yet again be fierce in 2020. And as someone who had to overcome dark money spending records in 2014, that’s alright with me. I’m ready, and I know President Trump is, too.

When it comes to fighting for the hardworking North Carolinians who have been forgotten by Washington, we’re not done yet, and America won’t be kept great by letting Democrats take us backward. But with your support, we will win and we will make sure all Americans keep winning.

Thom Tillis is a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He lives in Cornelius, near Charlotte.