Not too long ago, we introduced you to Cori Bush, a registered nurse and Ferguson activist. We asked you to join us in asking her to run for Congress. You, from every corner of the nation, answered the call and told Cori you would back her.

Today, we are incredibly proud to announce Cori is running to represent MO-1 in Congress!

Cori embodies the kind of leadership St. Louis needs.

She knows the pain of working families because she has lived it. She understands the needs of society’s most downtrodden, because she serves them every day as a nurse. When Ferguson burned, she answered the call and stood tall on the front lines against police violence. She’s the perfect person to represent St. Louis because she is St. Louis.

She’s yours.

But Cori isn’t just our first official candidate. She’s yours. At the start of our nomination drive, you recommended Cori in droves. Over and over again during our vetting process, we were impressed with the passion people have for Cori; and after getting to know her, we firmly agree that it’s a passion well-placed.

While Cori’s just the first of the many candidates we will be running in the 2018 midterm elections, she’s a strong representation of what’s to come:

She puts people first — As a nurse, she’s been a first-hand witness to community health struggles: “We have patients who don’t even realize they are getting better because they are so stressed about how they will be able to get the resources in the future.“

She believes in her community — Cori believes in fighting to create thousands of jobs in St. Louis, not fighting to save 1 job in DC. That’s why she’s committed to bringing renewable energy jobs to St. Louis, even if the refining and fossil fuel industry attacks her for it.

She’s not afraid to speak the truth — Cori believes the role of government is to support, not control. That’s why she wants to break the school-to-prison pipeline, create educational standards on-par with other nations, pass Medicare For All and make the federal income tax fairer for the middle-class.

She’s struggled and lived the real American experience — While taking care of two young children, working and going to nursing school, she lived out of her car. You won’t find a DC politician of any part who’s faced the stigma of homelessness. Because she knows first-hand how expensive being poor is, you can trust Cori to protect social support programs, remove barriers to housing and increase funding for job training.

Cori, like all of our candidates, will challenge the status quo of American politics. They’ll be attacked as unprepared by Establishment Democrats and soft by Republicans — but so what? We will be defined by ourselves, our actions and our commitment to the people.

Excited?

You’re not alone in our excitement. Cori’s already begun to lay the foundation for her campaign. Just last week, she held an organizing rally where over 100 volunteers came out to get to work putting Cori in Congress.

What comes next

We come out swinging. This first campaign needs your donations to get further off the ground and mobilize a field team to get Cori’s name out and register folks. Remember—Cori does not accept corporate or special interest money. It’s all small-dollar donations. It’s all on you.

Can we count on your support again? A $27 donation from past donors like yourself will help us get Cori’s name out there in a big way and show them Justice Democrats is a force to be reckoned with.

By helping us kick-start Cori’s campaign, you’ll be helping to reinforce the grassroots, community-orientated campaigns to follow. The Washington establishment is waiting to see if we’re serious. Democrats, and Republicans alike, still believe the only path to power is in the pocket of the mega wealthy. Potential candidates in other states are watching to see if we can win.

We want Cori’s announcement rally to send a message to the establishment: A new day has dawned, and we will build a Congress that represents real people over corporate donors.

Today it‘s Missouri. Tomorrow it will be your state. If we fill up Congress with fighters like Cori, we all win. We’re in this fight together. When we change Congress, we change the game.

Follow Cori’s campaign on Facebook and Twitter.

Visit her website to sign up.