A different kind of Senator: One that truly represents North Carolina

Democratic County Conventions are being held today all across North Carolina. Unfortunately, despite his super-human capabilities, Ken can't make it to all of them. He has asked that the following letter be read to convention-goers on his behalf. Read it. Share it. Make sure progress has a voice in this year's election:

Dear North Carolina Democrats,

I come from a very different place than the senators serving today. My grandmother was born in 1893, on a plantation in Person County. She was taught to read and write by her children and lived to be 100 years old. Even though her own mother had been a slave, my grandmother believed deeply in the promise of America as the land of opportunity. Now, her grandchild seeks to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Senate to make real on that promise, and to secure a future where all Americans have the opportunity to realize their full potential.

I’m not like other candidates. I washed dishes, cleaned toilets, served French fries, and drove a bus to put myself through Duke University and Harvard Law School. When I get to Washington D.C., I’ll be a different kind of senator—a senator that understands and represents the needs of our state and people.

After graduation, I came back to North Carolina to work to improve communities across the state. I started my own firm because I wanted to provide affordable legal services to entreprenurs and small-businesses. I’ve worked with small and large companies, state and local governments, and non-profit organizations. I’ve worked with businesses in nearly every industry in North Carolina to create jobs and expand economic opportunity. This is not just a campaign issue for me. I’ve spent my entire career helping to create jobs and spur economic growth. I know what it will take to get our economy back on track.

In 2008, Barack Obama inspired us to believe that change was possible. For the first time in a long time our politics reflected our hopes and nor our fears, our dreams and not our differences, and the promise of our future rather than the old, tired limitations of our past. But over the past year we have seen that change does not come easy to Washington D.C. Republican leaders like Sarah Palin use ‘Change’ as a punch line. And Richard Burr, doing the work of big business and putting partisan politics above the interest of the people, has transformed himself into the new Senator “No.”

We can’t beat Richard Burr by simply attempting to replace one career politician with another. We won’t change the U.S. Senate by sending another politician to Washington that is already bought and paid for. This year, in this election, we need a new kind of experience, and a new kind of leadership.

That’s why I am asking Democrats to stand with me in this campaign. Together let’s write the next great chapter in the history of North Carolina. Let’s make North Carolina a leading light, moving this country forward, and securing the promise of opportunity and prosperity for all.

God bless you and God bless the great State of North Carolina.

Ken Lewis

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate