Our Pledge
My name is Mike Broihier. I’m a retired Marine, an educator, and a farmer. I’m running for United States Senate in Kentucky.
For the first eight months of this campaign, it was just my wife and me.
We would travel across the state, meeting voters and discussing their hopes for Kentucky. It was rewarding work, but it was an enormous task for just the two of us to handle.
I’ll be the first to say that what happened next involved a lot of luck.
As the presidential primary began to sort itself out, many staffers from Andrew Yang’s campaign began their search for the continuation of a movement they felt proud to be a part of. Somehow, they found us.
They are bright, tireless kids. They would beg to differ on being called kids, but it’s true.
We knew they would bring the knowledge of running professional campaigns with them, and that they would expand our effort to reach Kentuckians with our ideas.
What we didn’t fully know until they were here on the farm was what compelled these young people to do what they do, and to leave home behind to do it.
My staff and I recently reviewed the Humanity Forward pledge — a pledge for candidates seeking to uphold the values that Andrew Yang ran his campaign on.
When we saw what this pledge entailed, it made perfect sense to me why they worked for Andrew. It made sense why they didn’t want to split up after the end of his campaign.
They bear a deep connection to the values in this pledge — as do I.
More than anything, I saw our campaign, built on social and economic justice for all reflected in the tenets of the pledge. We signed it.
These values are why we’ve come together to speak to Kentucky. They are what drive our campaign.
Humanity First — We are worth more than our labor. We are much bigger than a title, or a salary. Personal connection, freedom, justice — we revere these core concepts of humanity, and yet we cannot assign a number to their value. That is why our campaign is committed to the values and ideas that affirm the dignity and respect of all people, and why we adhere to the idea of putting humanity first.
Integrity & Transparency — At the outset of COVID–19, our campaign knew that it would have to adapt to overcome the challenges of this pandemic. One way we’ve done this is by pulling back the curtain to voters. Our campaign hosts frequent meetings between constituents and staff to share progress in our digital efforts, and I have made myself directly accessible to voters every night on our daily live stream. We are excited about the opportunity to show you how we are campaigning on our values and to be more accessible to voters than ever before.
Abundance — Our campaign is a movement that believes in fighting for policies that will secure every Kentuckian’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s why we don’t just talk — we act. By issuing an emergency Universal Basic Income amid the coronavirus, we’re able to illustrate the benefits of implementing a UBI program while doing good for a family in Kentucky.
Grace & Forgiveness — America is a land of second chances. We’re all human. We all get knocked down from time to time. Where we grow as people, and as a country, is what we do when we get back up. Our campaign is rooted in the promise of economic and social justice for all, so that everyone can reach their potential and no one gets left behind.
Not Left or Right, but Forward — Oftentimes, partisanship is a manufactured conflict stoked by special interest. We’re all raised differently, but in some form or another, we all learn about what this country stands for. Those themes are what give us a shared bond with each other. And there is an abundance of ideas we can all agree on. Progress starts with our shared values, our intentions, and having an honest dialogue about how those values can be reflected in the laws we choose for ourselves.
Math — Our campaign is one of substance. Motivated by public service and hope for the future, our ideas win the day when they are supported by data, by experts, by science, and by facts. The success of this campaign will be marked by an unflinching adherence to the truth, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I pledge to run a campaign built on these values. From the very beginning, it’s what we’ve done. To the very end, it’s what we’ll do.
