More than 700,000 Americans live in Washington, D.C. They pay taxes, serve in our military, and contribute to our nation’s success — yet they have no voting representation in Congress. That’s not democracy. That’s taxation without representation, and it’s long past time we fixed it.

The denial of statehood to D.C. residents isn’t just a policy failure — it’s a moral one. It’s rooted in partisanship, fear, and a refusal to recognize the equal citizenship of the people who live in our nation’s capital. No American should have fewer rights because of where they live.

As your representative, I’ll fight to make D.C. the 51st state and ensure that its citizens have the same voice, representation, and protections as every other American. That means:

• Granting full statehood to the District of Columbia with voting representation in both the House and Senate.

• Ending partisan obstruction that keeps D.C. residents disenfranchised for political gain.

• Protecting local self-governance and ensuring D.C. can pass its own laws without congressional interference.

• Upholding the principle of equal representation as the cornerstone of our democracy.

But the fight for democracy doesn’t stop at the Potomac. Millions of Americans in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands also live without full representation in Congress. They serve, they work, they pay into our systems — and yet they’re denied an equal voice in the laws that govern them.

Whether it’s D.C. or the territories, the principle is the same: no American should be treated as a second-class citizen.

This isn’t about politics — it’s about fairness, equality, and the very promise of America. Democracy means every citizen has a voice. The people of D.C. — and every U.S. territory — have waited long enough to be heard.