On June 22, 2024, Jessica Velasquez made the following remarks at the state party convention:
Find your reason why. Don’t let it just be a voice in your head, let it be the motivator in your heart. Feel it between each door you knock on, every call you make, every voter you register, every dollar you donate. Let your reason why help others into action and help them find their why, too.
I have served as your Chair for three years now. I’ve heard many of your stories and your reasons why. I’ve seen your passion. I’ve seen your frustrations, sometimes with the party, but I know that every person in this room is here because of their why AND because we all believe in a brighter future. All of those collective different why’s… that push for a better future… that’s our party. That’s what we are about.
Your why is how we will defeat Donald Trump.
Your why is how we are going to re-elect Gabe Vasquez, Melanie Stansbury, Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Martin Heinrich.
Your why is how we will keep the White House in November.
Your why is how we will once again defeat Trump and finally close the book on the MAGA movement forever. Monday marks the second anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which repealed the protections of Roe v. Wade and unraveled nearly 50 years of reproductive rights and access to safe and legal abortion. This alone should be a stark reminder of the stakes of this election.
As President, Donald Trump picked not one, not two, but three Supreme Court Justices and Donald Trump and his regressive Court are responsible for the catastrophic effect the repeal of Roe has had on reproductive healthcare in America. The next President will likely pick at least one, if not more, Supreme Court Justices. And that is something we just can’t risk.
The fight for reproductive justice is just one of SO many reasons we should support Joe Biden and Democrats this election, and the clear and present danger of an ultra-conservative, regressive Supreme Court should stay firmly in our minds from now until Election Day. The Court is already imbalanced and will be for generations. A second Trump presidency will result in an even more imbalanced, extreme, and dangerous Supreme Court. Women’s rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, civil rights, gun control, and even our Democracy itself, is on the ballot this year.
Beyond the impact of a MAGA-infested Supreme Court, the policy and institutional changes that Donald Trump would put in place would further destroy the civil rights and freedoms we all hold dear. The list of threats against democracy is so vast, that we would be here all day if I were to name them all. But you are Democrats, and you know, deeply, all that we stand to lose if we don’t win in November.
From now until Election Day, I encourage every one of us to find the reason why-–why we get up every day and engage in politics. Why we are Democrats. Why the work we do matters. Remind yourself of your reason why constantly. Perhaps you know and love one of the 23 million women of reproductive age who live in a state with an abortion ban currently in effect. On a happier note, maybe you know or ARE one of the 8.4 million Americans who have benefited from Joe Biden’s cap on insulin costs. Maybe you care about combating Climate Change, and you’ve seen how Joe Biden’s policies have made renewables the number 2 source of electricity in the United States. Maybe you’ve seen firsthand the improvements the Infrastructure Act has brought to New Mexico or the benefits of Biden’s economic policies for New Mexico’s families.