As we look forward to the May 19, 2026 primary election, affordability, economic anxiety, and lack of faith in government leadership appear to be on everyone’s minds. Add to that soaring healthcare costs and immigration issues, and you have a recipe for what could be one of the most transformational elections in our lifetime.

I get it. I am right here with you. Across the country, voters are flocking to let establishment politicians know that they have had enough. No longer a rarity in elections, people from all socio-economic backgrounds are running for office, and here in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District (CD4), things are no different.

I live in Corvallis. I am a working mom, the wife of a disabled veteran, and a social worker. I am an Episcopal Lay Preacher and a Native American woman. I have never run for office before. Instead, I chose to spend my career on the political front lines as a policy advocate and community organizer.

I am running for Congress because I believe that we need folks in the federal government who are directly impacted by the decisions being made at the federal level, working class folks who understand what it is like to raise children in this economy, and I don’t have faith that the politicians who benefit most from this system of corporate politics will do anything to change the system that has made them millionaires. In fact, the incumbent in this race is the number one Democrat violator in Congress (217 times) of the Stock Act, enriching herself in her position of power while the rest of us suffer to make ends meet.

We have spoken with tens of thousands of voters since we launched our campaign on July 1, 2025, and one thing has become abundantly clear: voters want representatives who will fight corruption at every turn (I will). I have had voters ask me if I am willing to fight against the rise of fascism (absolutely), if I will call what is happening in the Middle East a genocide (without question), and if I am willing to introduce legislation that will actually help the folks in CD4 survive this brutal economic attack on our day-to-day living (one thousand percent).

Voters are invested in electing a Congresswoman who does not take corporate donations, who is willing to be in community with them, and who recognizes that the system as it is does not work for everyday people. Here I am.

Folks here in Oregon are tired of the status quo and the hand wringing. We do not want representation that waits for Washington talking points to take a stand against the tyranny that is happening in our nation. We are looking for a champion that will stand up against corporate greed and for the healthcare we all deserve, the very things I’ve spent my career fighting for. Someone who knows how to write and pass legislation that puts us on the offense and who doesn’t sit on the sidelines waiting for the perfect time to stand up and fight.

I have been in the trenches working to advance reproductive justice, increasing healthcare access, advocating for people who the system wasn’t built for. I got my political chops as the chief lobbyist for Planned Parenthood in Utah. I know how to fight and win.

We need fighters to end the system that keeps food, housing, and education out of reach for so many. We need to imagine and create a government that puts an end to our neighbors having to ration their prescriptions, that doesn’t force parents to skip meals so they can feed their kids.

Democratic voters have a real choice: A career politician who’s financially profited off this system and panders to the status quo, or someone who has spent nearly three decades fighting alongside you. How about a fresh perspective in Congress? I am not wealthy, I am not a career politician. I am here with an invitation to all of us. As voters, we deserve the space to think for ourselves, instead of being told what to think. We deserve someone who will go to bat for us and our families. We deserve someone who listens and knows that the better life we want is possible.

There has never been a more important time than right now to elect leaders that are willing to fight for a better life for all of us. I live alongside you in a system that has forgotten working class people, forgotten our veterans, and forgotten our disabled loved ones. People in Congressional District 4 need a champion. Here I am. Unapologetically bold? Here I am. It’s time for a fighter. Here I am. This is the moment for us to elect visionaries who will create a future that works for us all.

For more information about the campaign, visit www.melissabirdforcongress.com