Assembly District 21

Heartfelt Thanks from Virginia Chang Kiraly

To My Dear Friends:

You are awesome! While the numbers did not work in our favor, I believe our message resonated with many people. We had tremendous support from all parties, and we should be proud of that!

I am humbled by the support you provided. This was truly a community effort! You have no idea what that support meant to me, especially in our darkest hours. In mid-September, my campaign infrastructure was down to one person -- me. While, at that time, there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel, my family, friends, and supporters rallied around “our campaign” and resurrected it. We ran a first-class and extremely smart campaign against an incumbent, and I am very proud of our hard work! Here are the top highlights:

• Bipartisan support from Democrats who “crossed party lines” to vote for me. I am particularly proud of this because many of these Democrats voted for a Republican for the first time!

• We walked about 4,400 homes, called hundreds of homes, and raised 5x the funds people thought we could raise running against an incumbent in a heavily Democratic district.

• We erected a billboard on southbound 101 in Redwood City. Many people have commented on seeing my billboard and have remarked that my photo is “iconic.”

• Our campaign was a high school project for students at Palo Alto High School and engaged Stanford students who were seeking a more balanced viewpoint.

• We outperformed in two very strong and compelling debates.

• We received many endorsements from community leaders, elected officials, and business leaders throughout Silicon Valley.

• Our race was one of the few races in Silicon Valley that received positive press coverage in the mainstream press and the Chinese press.

• With pure grass roots campaigning, we received 45,314 votes, which is about 33% of the votes casted.

• My all-time favorite... I got to dress up as a “candidate” on Halloween (the one time I could!) and wear my lawn sign! Thank goodness, we were trick-or-treating in our neighborhood!

On a personal note, the most inspiring part of my campaign is the stories I’m hearing from parents. Many of you have mentioned that your children, from first grade to high school, took an interest in my campaign and wanted to learn more about the political process in California and government in general. I hope you continue to engage your children in understanding government and why ours is the best in the world. My oldest son, who is in fourth grade, could rattle off the statewide ballot measures better than most adults and was discussing them with my friends at lunch one afternoon! What an inspiration! If we can leave a world with more informed and engaged generations, think of what that world will be like!

Many are wondering what’s next for me. While I have no crystal ball, I will continue to work for a better future for our children -- something to which I have always been committed. I never had a political career to lose nor do I seek a political office for personal gain. My campaign was always about bringing common sense leadership to and representing the moderate majority in our great state. I am committed to continuing this endeavor so that our political process and government are not polarizing. The only way we will ever achieve success is by working together. Remember... our children’s future is not a political issue, so let’s continue to make California better for them!

Please keep in touch with me. I always enjoy a good conversation with friends!

Very truly yours,

Virginia