Matt Rowe for Congress Matt Rowe lost the election for US Representative from Virginia's First Congressional District. He wrote a thank you note to those who supported him. I am proud that he thanked me by name: "Shelley was instrumental in helping translate my thoughts and ideas into sound policy."
Here is the whole piece: THANK YOU! I want to thank all of the great volunteers that came out and helped all this year. It is incredibly humbling that folks I had never met before would give their time to help me out. Many stepped up in ways that I never would have imagined. We had people phone banking every week and constantly knocking on doors. There are some folks I've known for years that I never knew would support me the way they did. They say you find out who your friends are when when you need them the most; and I made some great friends during this campaign. I want to thank all of the wonderful organizers and interns on the coordinated campaign (many of whom came here from all parts of the country) for their tireless efforts to keep Virginia blue. They worked 14-, 15-, or 16-hour days and were successful in winning Virginia for Hillary Clinton. They joined this campaign not knowing that I was going to be part of the equation, but they invested so much of their time and efforts to help me. I've never had so many people in my life tell me that they believed in me. This kept me going during times that I had a hard time believing in myself. Words cannot express how grateful I am. I want to thank my overworked staff. Bruce kept the money straight and handled the FEC with ease. Brooke provided some much needed dazzle to our social media while Tom and Lew made some amazing videos. Chris helped with policy, press, and debate prep (he was my fake Wittman!), and Shelley was instrumental in helping translate my thoughts and ideas into sound policy. Finally, my most sincere thanks to Jasmine, my campaign manager. She is the greatest combination of calm, collected, positive, and focused. Jasmine kept me on the right path and would intercept those things that I didn't need to worry about. She believed in me from the beginning and dedicated all of her time to us. There is no one else that I could ever have taken this journey with. Finally, I want to thank my family. My mother-in-law Barbara became the third parent we needed to get through this busy time. My mom Carolyn was always there to support me, whether it was picking stuff up from the printers, hosting a party, or just talking with me when things were tough. My kids are so sweet and made me feel so good coming home after long days of campaigning (or, in Sylvie's case, came out and door knocked with us!). Also, my wife Megan, is the greatest wife on Earth. She always kept me moving forward and never let me slow down. She really put up with a lot. Megan was a full time mom with a full time job and was a full time campaign worker. I could never have done this without her and I love her very much. I'm proud of the race we ran. I'm proud of the 130,000+ votes we earned. I'm proud to have been on the same ticket as Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine. I'm proud that we fought for the ideals that would ensure everyone is treated fairly and that everyone has a chance to succeed. While we didn't win the votes on Tuesday, that does not diminish the fact that we are right. We were right yesterday, we are right today, and we will be right tomorrow. While the next few years will be tough, we will not back away from our convictions. We will win the next election through hard work and strong determination because we owe it to our country to do the best we can and we will never, never, never surrender! Thank you all! #MR4C#ImWithHer#StrongerTogether