Friends,

  First, I want to say how enormously proud I am of each of you. So many of you stepped up and gave absolutely everything you had. Our seasoned veteran volunteers welcomed and trained brand new volunteers in phone banking, text banking, postcarding, knocking doors, and so much more. We had folks donating their time, their treasure, and their talents from right here in Beaver County and from all across the country to support our efforts. It has been truly inspiring to see how many people were brought together in this effort. We left it all out on the field, and we made our community stronger in the process. 

I want to thank all our candidates and their campaign teams for their extraordinary efforts this year. While the results were not what we hoped for, we did have some bright spots. We held onto two incumbents who have worked tirelessly to support Beaver County:  Congressman Chris Deluzio and Representative Rob Matzie. Neither victory was guaranteed, and that we held those seats in the face of everything else is a testament to your hard work. Congratulations to Chris, Rob, and their campaign teams!

I know many of us are frightened, sad, or angry, and those feelings are valid. We will get through whatever is next. I say this often because I genuinely mean it. You all are family to me. We will get through this together because we have built a web of love and support here for each other. 

Take some time to rest these next few weeks. Spend time with your families. Snuggle your pets. Breathe. Take a walk in the woods or a vacation somewhere warm. Plan your Thanksgiving menu or put up your Christmas tree a little early. Find the thing that fills your cup and focus on that. And then come back to us. 

We will still be here as a safe space for you to come and share your feelings, passions, tears, and laughter. We will still be here organizing and fighting for a future worthy of our children and grandchildren. I could not be more proud of what we have built together. So rest up. Then dust yourselves off. We have work to do. 

In solidarity,

Erin Gabriel

Chair, Beaver County Democratic Committee