Salaam is Running for Congress.

3 things you need to know and how you can help

As Republicans take our country into darkness, I am ready to fight back and shine a light towards a better path from Virginia’s First District. If you’ve been an A Paycheck Away reader for the past few months and like how I bring people in to raise our voice together, then I hope I can count on your support for our campaign to work towards a brighter future.

If you’re just joining us, then here are three things you should know about my run for Congress.

1. I have experience.

   I’m a child of immigrants. When my father was in high school, he moved to America from Kenya with his family. When my parents got married, my mother moved here from England. We lived a simple life in a household with low income, relying on programs like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and free school meals to get by.

   

   My kids think I’m cute.

   When I was in law school and for a few years after, I struggled in silence through poverty, hunger, and poor living conditions. I promised myself that I would not let others go through this in the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nation in the world.

   After I joined the Virginia Poverty Law Center, I led an effort to expand food assistance to over 25,000 working families — a bill that passed unanimously. I led efforts to expand free school meals for thousands of children across the Commonwealth and repeal laws that punished people for being poor.

   When the pandemic hit, I helped create a screening tool for food assistance which helped thousands across Virginia. I wanted to show that we can use modern technology to help people. It’s grown a lot since we made it and now over a million people across the country have unlocked tens of millions of dollars in benefits.

   Then I took the fight national — advocating before Congress and educating thousands nationwide on how these issues matter and what they can do to fight to protect basic needs programs.

2. I’m ready to take the fight to Congress

   As Republicans gut these programs, it’s not enough to flip the House only to rebuild what we are losing. We need to create better programs. The path to affordable living includes things like regulating rent increases, building towards health care for all, and consolidating welfare programs into a guaranteed income program.

   All this while we improve the things that make America a strong and beautiful country:

   1. clean, reliable water for every community,

   2. strong public schools where teachers don’t need to take a second job and kids don’t go hungry,

   3. respect for our veterans, their benefits, and their jobs, and

   4. support for farmers and protection of farmland.

3. We can flip the district

   The current representative has been in office for 17 years. His legacy includes:

   1. actively supporting measures that will cause our neighbors to lose life-saving medical care,

   2. people losing their jobs and basic needs support, and

   3. veterans losing their benefits.

   Is he doing this to save money for the US Government? Nope!

   Rep. Wittman is giving trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthiest people in human history all while increasing the debt - which our children and their children will be paying off until forever if we keep electing people like him.

   And when asked to come before the people and explain his votes, he hides.

   Our neighbors deserve better and the outrage is palpable. This is why Virginia’s First District is projected to flip. Based on my experience and expertise, I will flip it.

   Just like all the successes we had in Virginia, we can only do this together.

Here’s how you can help

1. This is a people-powered campaign.

Because I will not accept any corporate or AIPAC money, I need your support at whatever amount you can provide. If you can make it recurring, then that’s great! If you’re wondering about limits - keep your total donation under $3,500 - that’s the maximum through the June primary.

2. Do you know people in the district?

Isn’t she a BEAUT!

Share this post with them. Let’s plan some meet and greets with them, their friends, and neighbors. Let me know in the form on my website below.

3. Share our launch video!

Spread the message far and wide, inside and outside of Virginia, to let people know that there is a fighter out there with the experience and the fight we need right now. To flip the House, we need to Flip the First.

Thanks y’all!

Sincerely,

Salaam, your friendly neighborhood Congressional candidate.