Campaign Week in Review
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes of a campaign? Dive in with me and I’ll share how our first week went!
High School Visit
On Monday, I spoke to a cohort of high school student leaders at the University of Virginia who were from all over the Commonwealth. This was my first public appearance as a candidate, so it was quite a rush to say, “I’m Salaam Bhatti and I’m running for Congress.” When I shared that I’m running in Virginia’s 1st District, a few students exclaimed that they lived in my district. I shared my journey through poverty, public service, and my vision. After the session, the students encircled me, and a few of my in-district neighbors said, “You’re the first person we get to vote for.”
Let me tell you - my heart was not ready for that.
Politico Interview
On Tuesday, I was in Washington, D.C. to take a few meetings. One of the meetings was with a technology innovator who is creating a mobile-friendly tool that will serve as a one-stop shop for applying to nearly every welfare program.
It’s about time!
I also had an interview with Politico - the leading digital newspaper covering all things policy and politics - to discuss my campaign. My favorite part about the article was this line:
He faces an uphill battle — given his a lack of name recognition and donor base — in order to beat his primary opponents….
If you’d like to help grow the name recognition, then click here:
If you’d like to grow the donor base, then see the next point!
Call Time
How many of you know that a huge chunk of daily life for candidates is spent calling donors? While I enjoy speaking with all of the people who will take time to talk to me, I wish I were spending that time in the district, meeting with small business owners, civic groups, and people walking down the street. This is where you have the opportunity to reduce the number of calls I need to make by sending a monthly donation to take us through the June primary election, or provide a maximum donation of $3,500.
If you want to send a check, then here are the address details:
PO Box 29142
Richmond, VA 23242
Once you have donated, send the link to 2-3 friends or family members who you know would also donate. That will greatly reduce my overal call time!
I look forward to what next week brings!