Who We Elect Matters

By Becky Nelson, RN

MNA Member

Our lives can change in just one day: My life changed the day I married my college sweetheart, the day I moved into my dream house, the day I passed my boards and became a nurse, and the days I gave birth to my beautiful children.

My life also changed the day we lost our home in Hurricane Katrina, the day my husband got laid off a week after our second child was born, and the day I learned that my mother has stage IV cancer. That was the same day I was told her treatment would cost $10,000 a month.

Some days our patients receive a terminal diagnosis. Other days they are told their cancer is in remission. The worst are the days our families find out that their spouse, parent, or child has died, and this unimaginable pain is later worsened on the day they receive the bill.

Some candidates want us to blame each other for the bad days. We have to reject them and vote for the candidates who know that when we work together, we can make everyone’s lives better. MNA nurses endorsed Tim Walz for Governor and Keith Ellison for Attorney General because they want to work with us to do exactly that.

I’m voting because who we elect matters. I want the days that hit us especially hard to be easier. I want more days for all of us to thrive—regardless of the color of our skin or where we come from.

Let’s vote together. Visit www.mnvotes.org to make your plan. Polls close at 8 p.m. on November 6. Before you vote, be sure to check out MyBallot to find your MNA nurse-endorsed candidates.

One last ask, there’s a lot at stake this year and we need all the help we can get. Please join us for a shift on the phones or doors for this final stretch.