This has been one of the most interesting presidential campaign cycles I have ever seen.

Emotions are high, and the anonymity of social media coupled with the 24-hour news cycle are making extremism the discourse of choice. Real political progress has been given short shrift in favor of catchy one-liners.

I am normally not publicly political, but I wanted to share my thoughts about how I decided which presidential candidate to support. I hope my perspective inspires others to get the facts, come to their own conclusions, and, perhaps most importantly, to vote.

As a proud Democrat, I believe in social justice and a strong economy that supports all of our citizens in realizing their full potential. In supporting a candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, I looked long and hard at both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Both have their merits, but when I looked beyond the catchphrases, the choice was clear.

I didn’t expect to get very involved with the presidential campaign, but the more I have learned, the more determined I am to do everything I can to support Hillary Clinton in securing the Democratic nomination, and ultimately, the presidency.

Now, let me tell you why.

The New York Times wrote last month of Clinton that “voters have the chance to choose one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history.” It’s true. Here are a just a few of her compelling credentials: provided healthcare for millions of children through the creation of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, helped create the Adoption and Safe Families Act and the Foster Care Independence Act, got 9/11 responders the health care they needed as a two-term U.S. Senator from New York, and repaired relationships with global leaders and promoted human rights (declaring “women’s rights are human rights,” and “gay rights are human rights”) through her service as U.S. Secretary of State. I am particularly moved by her consistent compassion for children and families.

She’s also a fighter and has blazed an impressive trail that many of us benefit from. Here’s just a short list of the historic “firsts” in her life:

First student commencement speaker at Wellesley College in 1969

First female chair of the Legal Services Corporation (a nonprofit that provides equal access to justice under the law for all Americans) in 1978

First female partner at Rose Law Firm in 1979

When Bill Clinton took office as President in 1993, Hillary became the first First Lady to have a postgraduate degree (she was also the first to have an office in the West Wing)

Elected in 2000 as the first female Senator from New York (did you know there have only been 31 women ever elected to the Senate? Hillary is a member of this distinguished group)

When she became a U.S. Senator, she was the first (and is still the only) First lady to ever win a public office seat

One of the things I am most impressed by is that despite facing unthinkable criticism and challenges at every step (she might be the most judged candidate we have ever had), Hillary has always kept fighting for those who are left out or left behind. She believes that our nation can only reach its full potential when every individual can reach his or her own. As president, she wants to ensure the affordability of quality health care, end the era of mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights and keep families together, defend every American’s right to vote, advance gender equality and LGBT rights, make America the clean energy superpower, and provide tax relief for small businesses and the middle class (you can read more about the issues here). She has the experience and track record to make these things happen.

Importantly, when Hillary left her post as U.S. Secretary of State in 2013, she left with one of the highest approval ratings of any predecessor.

So what has happened since? There has been a systematic campaign aimed at destroying her character and legacy. Conservative super PACs determined to prevent her from getting the nomination and holding the oval office have poured money into the attack. More super PAC money has been spent attacking Hillary than any other candidate in this primary race ($3,558,660 against Hillary already — far outpacing any spending in support — with only $10k spent against Bernie). Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Leader, has even publicly admitted that the Benghazi hearings were about destroying Hillary’s candidacy. She is (rightly) considered a threat to their agenda because she is an effective progressive, with the proof to show for her efforts.

The conservative super PACs have simply not subjected Bernie to the same attacks (and any national polls on electability reflect this) because he is the candidate they want to face in the general election — and that’s when the attacks would come, and they would come hard ($720.4 million in conservative outside spending in the last presidential election).

This is a game of chess, and the GOP is thinking two steps ahead to victory in November.

Some progressives have even noted that a vote for Bernie Sanders is a vote for Donald Trump because of this reality, saying “Primaries don’t elect presidents; they elect candidates who have to beat the other guys. A socialist who wants to raise taxes on everyone cannot beat any Republican, period.” Some Republicans are even encouraging party members to vote in the Democratic primaries in order to prevent Hillary from being their opponent in November. The stakes are too high, we can’t lose this office.

Those are her credentials, the issues, and the context, but what about the female thing?

Am I voting for Hillary because she is a woman? No (see above). However, is it a major plus that we finally have the opportunity to elect the first female president in the 227 years since George Washington took office in 1789? #HillYes!

Women represent 50.8% of the U.S. population (there are ~163 million of us!), and no woman has ever broken this highest, hardest glass ceiling.

In fact, no woman has ever even been nominated to run for the office of President by a major political party — ever. What about Vice President? Only two women have been nominated by the Democratic or Republican parties: Sarah Palin in 2008 and Geraldine Ferraro back in 1984. I am proud to be a woman in America, but we still have a lot of work to do on gender equity, especially in the highest offices across the public and private sectors (did you know that women comprise just 19.4 percent of Congress and hold only 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEO roles?). Glass ceilings aren’t broken when we assume they someday will be. They are broken when we actively work to shatter them.

It has been frustrating to be asked if (or told that) I am supporting Hillary because she is a woman, as if that were her only credential.

I am supporting her because she is the best candidate for the job, regardless of gender. People can disagree with her policy positions, but if being a two-term U.S. Senator from a major state and U.S. Secretary of State (the highest ranking member of a president’s cabinet) doesn’t provide bona fides, what must a woman do in order to be considered qualified?

Now, let’s turn to Bernie.

Some of what he talks about resonates with me (I also care deeply about addressing income inequality), but I need a candidate with a track record of getting things done, who can work across the aisle to address the multi-faceted issues facing our country.

I don’t need the candidate whose health plan has been widely criticized by leading liberal economists as akin to “magic flying puppies with winning Lotto tickets tied to their collars.” Even the economist backing Sanders’ plans is voting for Clinton. The numbers simply do not add up, and the American people deserve viable plans and real results.

The Affordable Care Act passed with zero votes to spare — how will any of Bernie’s plans pass without support from members of the other party? His significant lack of foreign policy experience, narrow issue focus (it’s all about Wall Street, not about the racial and gender inequities, and many other issues facing our country), repeated failures on gun control (he has consistently sided with the National Rifle Association and gun lobby, including voting in 2005 for a bill to shield gun manufacturers and sellers from lawsuits, and voting five times against the Brady Bill, which requires universal background checks for gun sales) have made me question the Sanders campaign. And, despite claims that his team is working on a comprehensive gun control platform, we have yet to see any evidence of such.

I’m also concerned by a candidate who has been in public office for 34 years (and yet, inexplicably, promotes himself as an outsider to politics), and has always run as an independent, who is now trying to be the flag bearer of the Democratic party (of which he has never been a member until now).

Sanders’ lack of focus on immigration and minority issues until the advent of his campaign (see this and this), are also troubling. In contrast, Hillary has been fighting to advance these issues her whole life (the recent Congressional Black Caucus PAC endorsement highlighted not just what she plans to do, but her record on racial profiling, voting rights, and minority business interests). I believe that Sanders does care about these issues, but he has put Wall Street at the forefront of his campaign. Interestingly, experts deem Hillary’s Wall Street Plan to be tougher than Bernie’s.

And finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the issues with Sanders’ campaign (falsifying credentials to gain access to union workers, illegally querying the Clinton campaign’s databases, repeatedly claiming endorsements that they did not receive, and most recently the misogynistic comments of Killer Mike, which Sanders has defended). You might not have heard of all of this, likely because millions aren’t being spent to tell us about it.

The bottom line is this: I don’t need anger, I need answers. I don’t need a candidate with unrealistic promises and no foreign policy experience who will not be competitive in a general election.

I need a candidate who is a fighter, an inspiration, a voice for the voiceless, a skilled diplomat, and an effective change maker. For all of these reasons and more, #ImWithHer.