Listen -- I know what it’s like to lose.

A few short weeks ago, I was a candidate in the Democratic Primary for Georgia’s 7th Congressional District until I came in just short of the cutoff to advance to the run-off election.

At the time I lost my election, I had a robust fundraising operation, a full-time professional staff, and even support from prominent national progressives like Ro Khanna and others.

So what went wrong?

The short answer is that it was just too little too late. By the time I was able to secure national progressive support and build the kind of campaign (and raise the kind of money) that I would have needed to win, the stage was already set.

Look -- I’m the child of Bangladeshi immigrants. I’m 30 years old and I have $30,000 in student loan debt. I had to cancel my health insurance and spend my life savings just to run for Congress.

Our elections aren’t designed for people like me to win them. If you’re not white, wealthy, or well-connected, you’ll start every race as an underdog.

Now, I don’t want what happened to me to happen to the next working-class child of immigrants who dreams of making a difference in her community. And that’s why I created The Progressive List, to build a broad, intersectional coalition with real political power that can support progressive candidates from the very beginning.

If we don’t invest in the future of our movement, no one else will. So today I’m asking for your help to build a progressive movement that goes beyond any single campaign or organization.

Will you chip in $5 to support The Progressive List?

Thank you for believing in us,

Nabilah Islam