Statement by Elizabeth Warren - How We're Building Our New Presidential Campaign

By Elizabeth Warren

One night during my first Senate campaign, my husband Bruce and I snuck out to the movies.

We were on the platform at a T station, waiting for the train home, when a young man walked up to introduce himself. He said he was a student, and he explained all the reasons he was supporting our campaign.

It was clear that money was tight for him — full-time job while he's in school, two jobs in the summer, student loans, family can't help. We took a picture on his phone, and, as he was about to leave, he said, “I give you money every month, and I'm taking on hours so I can give more.”

I felt my chest contract, and I said thank you, but maybe he should keep the money. He said, “No, I'm part of this campaign. This is my fight too.”

And that really was the answer. It wasn't just my campaign. People weren't volunteering and donating for me. They were supporting something a lot bigger.

Thanks to him and a whole lot of people who chipped in what they could, we won that campaign in 2012 — going up against buckets of cash from powerful special interests and beating Wall Street's favorite Senator.

This is my fight, too. It still gives me goosebumps. And it's the way we're building our new presidential campaign.

Everyone who donates, regardless of how much they can give, or signs up to volunteer has an equal place in our movement. I'm not setting aside any time for fancy fundraisers that people have to buy their way into, and I won't be calling up donors based on how much money they can give.

That means I get more time to talk with people like the young man I met at that T station. And it means that this is your fight, too.

Tonight's our first monthly fundraising deadline since I announced that I'm running for President — will you make a donation of $3, or whatever you can, to own a piece of this movement?