TheLiberalOC accepts contributed content from Democratic candidates for public office; this was submitted by Esther Kim-Karent, a candidate for Congress in CA40.
Dear Fellow Democrat,
I’m Esther Kim-Varet — I am your neighbor. I am a full-time working mom, small business owner, educator, food equity advocate, and the daughter of North Korean immigrants. I’m a fighter and I’m running for Congress right here in CA-40 to kick out the corrupt politicians, Young Kim and Ken Calvert, who no longer serve our community. I promise you, I have built a top-tier national Democratic campaign that will make you proud to fight alongside me.
The New York Times published our latest poll by award-winning pollsters, Tulchin Research, best known for their consistent accuracy. The poll was conducted with 500 likely voters in the new CA40 in both English and Spanish. This poll shows Ken Calvert in the lead at 24%, Young Kim at 22%, and myself at 20%. There is a 4% margin of error, so we are certainly in a statistical tie. The next Democrat in the race is at 6% and rapidly trending downwards because of their limited ability to message.
We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to flip CA-40, but only if we back a campaign that is viable, rooted in the community, and capable of building the coalition needed to win. I’m tired of purity politics. Do we not remember how we got here? All the Democratic voters, even after seeing the data, that decided to sit out the last presidential election or vote for Jill Stein are also responsible for the current mess we are in today. It’s not just the Trump voters.
Our campaign is the ONLY viable Democratic campaign in CA-40. I have refused corporate PAC money and are powered by more than 65,000 grassroots donors, which have helped us raise $3 million (more than 20x the next highest Democrat). More than 5,000 of those donations have come in from the new CA40. Let those numbers sink in. This is why we are leading by such a big margin against other Democrats in the race. We are the only ones that have built the extensive resources and grassroots base across the district to message to the voters.
I am fighting because I want government accountability, transparency, and reform. We desperately need this and the first step is to win back the House this fall. I am the only candidate in this race that has made a public pledge to impose term limits on myself. I am also the only candidate that has made a commitment to banning stock trading by Members of Congress, overturning Citizens United, and putting an end to the revolving door between Congress and lobbying firms. Again, not every candidate in this race agrees on those things, but I believe cleaning up corruption and strengthening our democracy is essential to protecting our freedoms and rebuilding trust.
My values and background are both true to our Democratic coalition and can connect with critical independent voters. I invite you to review my policy positions and priorities—written in my own words— at: estherkimvaret.com/priorities — and my bio at: estherkimvaret.com/about
Let’s be real here. We cannot win on hopes and dreams. We cannot win by putting forward a candidate unable to attract substantial funding on a national scale.
I am building the only real movement that can flip this Red seat to Blue. But I cannot do it alone. I’m asking for your urgent support so we can flip this district, defend democracy, and deliver for working familiesin Riverside and Orange Counties.
Democratically yours,
Esther Kim-Varet
Candidate for Congress, CA40
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