Full Transcript:

I'm Alex Rikleen, and I’m running for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. If you haven’t heard of me, you’re not alone: I’m just one of many who reads the news each day and thinks: something has to change.

In the last campaign, Democrats warned us that Donald Trump represented an existential threat. I believe he is proving them right every day. But our Democratic leaders are acting as if existential threat was just a talking point.

It's unacceptable.

I'm a parent, a teacher, a writer, and a volunteer. I'm also an American, and this country has always relied on ordinary people stepping forward when freedoms were under attack. So, I am stepping forward to challenge an incumbent because Democrats have shown us that they’re not going to change course on their own.

As a dad, I teach my kids courage, kindness, and the difference between right and wrong.

As a Jew, the lessons of “Never Forget” and “First They Came” are prominent and straightforward – they require we stand up for everyone.

As a former history teacher, I’ve studied what happens when opposition parties lay back in the face of authoritarians – it ends poorly.

In this perilous moment, I believe we need dramatic action now, and we are not getting it from our current Democratic leaders.

Senator Markey has been a fantastic leader on progressive policy throughout my lifetime, and he is better than most at standing up for others. In a normal political environment, I'd proudly continue voting for him. But this is not a normal moment. Better than most is not good enough. His established credibility makes his absence in this Moment of Trump all the more problematic.

Markey, like many other democrats, has silently stood by as Chuck Schumer surrenders Democrats' leverage. He said nothing as a member of our own Massachusetts congressional delegation took pot-shots at trans children. If Senator Markey is not willing to defend everyone in Massachusetts and to act like our system of government is under assault, then he needs to be replaced by someone who will.

This election is in 2026, but the crisis is already here, and political campaigns should be about more than electing one person. I pledge:

Every campaign event will include community service so we can start making a difference in our communities now.

The campaign will be a platform to highlight the wrongs this administration is committing and to identify ways that we can all make a difference.

And I will push our current representatives to do more to protect our freedoms.

With these three pledges, this campaign can affect change long before the election.

So, join me. Make your voice heard. Let’s turn our outrage into action.