You’re invited to our Summer Campaign Kickoff this Sunday!

Most of you know that my team and I are working incredibly hard. It’s important work that we do gladly, and we know that sometimes, the seeds we are working so diligently to plant and tend won’t emerge and bear fruit for many months (if not longer).

But last week, I needed a little fruit in this season.

You probably saw that I shared we were far behind on last month’s fundraising goal. I made the tough call to keep moving forward on key things we need to flip this seat in November even though we didn’t yet have the funds:

• hiring four field organizers (doubling our team!),

• bringing on a part-time, local team member to help us with fundraising,

• securing a physical space for this next five month stretch,

• and getting a billboard designed.

Not small expenses for a grassroots campaign. We needed help, and I asked for it.

And you all said: we got you. Hundreds of you chipped in, and you helped us reach last month’s fundraising goal. Thank you!

Thank you for reminding me, every single week, that you’re in this with us. I am so grateful to be doing this work alongside each and every one of you.

Last week at a meet and greet, a couple I’d met once before came up to say hello. She told me she’s a school bus driver, and loves seeing our signs cropping up all over town. She also told me that when she has a little extra money, she sends some to me, some to Indivisible Tennessee, and a bit to one other candidate. “It’s not much, but I figure that it adds up.”

It does, friend. It does. I cannot tell you what that means to me and my team.

Here’s how we keep that magical, multiplicative math going. If you’re ready for what comes next and YOUR part in flipping this district, let me introduce you to my Field Director, Madison.

Madison is a former teacher who got involved in political organizing in TN-02 back in 2020, working on Renee Hoyos’s campaign. She later worked on the field program that helped secure Susan Crawford’s Supreme Court Justice victory in Wisconsin last year. Sound familiar? That’s because that was the most expensive judicial race in our country’s history: the race that Elon Musk tried to buy and couldn’t.

We may be outspent on this race by Tim Burchett and the GOP establishment, but we’re not going to be outworked.

That’s where you come in.

Madison and Ami, our Deputy Field Director, are implementing a field program designed to reach and persuade every voter we need to get to the polls in November.

As of this week, we have 779 people who have signed up to volunteer on this campaign. That is something to celebrate! To reach the number of voters we need to talk with to flip this seat on election day, we need volunteers to do 300 volunteer shifts every single week reaching voters through canvassing, phone banking, and friend banking.

In other words: we need your help. And I know this community will show up, as you do every single time we put out the call. We don’t need a lot – just a few hours a month, and more if you have it. A small price for flipping this seat and getting us the representation we deserve in Washington.

If you want to get more involved but you’re nervous, or not sure if the time you have will really make a difference, or have more questions about the campaign before you take the leap – I’m so excited to invite you to our Summer Field Kick-Off Party!

Come out this Sunday, June 7th from 11 - 2 at Printshop Beer Co in South Knoxville to get trained on all the basics of voter outreach, learn how to talk to folks you already know about the movement we’re building, and get excited and energized for this next phase of putting Hope to Work in East Tennessee.

Let us know you’re coming here. And as a little extra incentive, the first 25 people get their choice of a yard sign or bumper sticker!

And if you are coming, please bring an item off of Knox Pride’s needs list, which include shelf stable essentials: canned goods, crackers, protein bars, and ramen. If you’re not able to make it this Sunday, you can still support by purchasing directly off their wish list or dropping off donations at the Pride Center (4028 Chapman Hwy, open M-F, 11am - 4pm).

One final note: we’re launching a summer internship program that will run from June 16 – August 13! We’re focused on developing the next generation of democratic infrastructure in our community, so if you or someone you know is looking for hands-on campaign experience and a meaningful summer, check it out and apply here.

See you soon, friends!

In gratitude and solidarity,

Michaela Barnett