The Climb
Nine days from today, Indianapolis votes.
I won’t pretend I’m not nervous. When I turn on the TV, I see the worst. When I knock on a door, I see something else entirely. I’ve been trying to figure out which to believe.
This has been the hardest, most transformative, and most gratifying experience of my life. I say that without hesitation and without performance. Taking a full swing at an 18-year incumbent—a man whose family has held elected office in Indianapolis for more than 50 years—knowing full well what it would cost. Knowing that people I considered friends would go quiet. Knowing that the institutions I had worked to strengthen would work against me. Knowing the uphill climb and choosing it anyway.
Because if the choice is between stepping away and stepping up, I'll always step up.
Our team has knocked on over 40,000 doors in this district. Made nearly 2 million direct voter outreach attempts. Had one-on-one conversations with more than 16,000 people. And what I’ve found on those doorsteps has sobered me in ways I didn’t expect.
The 25-year IPS educator who can’t stretch her dollar far enough and is going to a food bank. The mother of two boys on the autism spectrum whose sons are being devastated by cuts to special education. The woman with multiple sclerosis turned away from food stamps because she makes $100 over the threshold. The woman in the chair—diabetic, deep vein thrombosis in both legs, nerve pain so severe she can’t sleep in a bed—denied Medicaid, appeal after appeal, and still fighting.
These aren't statistics. These are my neighbors. And they're why I’m still standing here nine days out, nervous and grateful and absolutely certain that this was the right thing to do.
Running for office and potentially losing an election is, in the grand scheme of things, the smallest of difficulties. What I’ve witnessed at those doors...that's what’s real. People are hurting. People feel unseen. People feel unheard. They’re disillusioned and disengaged and quietly desperate for someone to tell them that their government is capable of actually working for them.
I can’t fix everything. No one person can. But I know this...you can't be comfortable in office when the people you represent are uncomfortable at home. You can't be complacent when your neighbors are struggling. People deserve better. That’s what this race has always been about.
I also know what I’ve found alongside the struggle. Resilience. Generosity. People who have every reason to give up and haven’t. People who opened their doors to a stranger and told him the truth about their lives. That's a gift I can't repay. I can only promise to carry it.
Whatever happens on Tuesday, May 5—and I believe we have a real chance—I know that I'm coming out of this race a better person. A better citizen. A better neighbor. The Phoenix born from the ashes.
This campaign has always been about something bigger than one race or one congressman or one election cycle. It's about urgency versus inertia. It's about whether the people of Indianapolis have a representative who shows up for them before the cameras arrive. It's about whether this city believes it deserves more.
I believe it does. I hope you do too.
Early voting is open now through May 4th. Election Day is May 5th. Watch our closing message and find your polling place here:
https://www.georgehornedo.com/vote
And if you’ve been on this journey with me, thank you. From the bottom of everything I have.
Let's climb,
George