Who I Am & Why I’m Running

Hi, I’m Jess, and I’m the Democrat running to be the first woman to represent Delaware in the U.S. Senate. I grew up in New Windsor, NY the oldest of 3 daughters where my dad worked in sales and my mom spent my early teen years going to school to earn a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree to become a teacher. Inspired by my mom’s commitment to education, I earned my bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in 2006. I’m also a graduate of the University of Delaware where I completed an MBA in 2019.

I moved to Delaware 10 years ago and live here with my husband Bill, a lifelong Delawarean. We live, work, and volunteer in Wilmington, a city that suffers from highly concentrated racial and wealth inequality. For years, I’ve worked within the system to make my city and state better: I tutored and mentored young students, served on the board of a local nonprofit that runs after-school programs for Delaware girls, and lobbied my elected officials to support policies that would prioritize our needs, not the profits of corporations and special interests. While I remain proud of those individual impacts, I know it isn’t enough. If we don’t fix the underlying problems, we’ll just treat the symptoms forever.

That’s why I decided to run for office — because our current system is not working for the majority of people. I believe that everyone deserves a good education, healthcare, a place to call home, and clean air and water. I’m running for Senate to guarantee that everyone’s basic needs are met through programs like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. Instead of cutting deals with Republicans that exacerbate racism and inequality, I will fight for policies that improve the lives of hardworking Delawareans so we can build a state and country that works for all of us.

We have to be the leaders we’re looking for to change our broken systems ourselves. I know it won’t be easy. We’ll be fighting powerful, well-funded corporate interests and people who don’t believe better is possible. But I assure you it is, if we fight for it together. If you believe we’re worth fighting for, now is the time because we can’t sit back while our leaders continue to compromise our future.