Elise Stefanik brags she cast the deciding vote to gut Medicaid, putting 5 North Country hospitals at risk of closure and leaving a 114-mile stretch of no care for our children, seniors, and veterans. Why? All to make her billionaire donors even richer.

At just 17, I ran the South High Marathon Dance to help our neighbors afford their health care, and I will never forget calling my third-grade teacher’s family to tell them we’d cover the cost for their 9-month-old’s surgery.

The North Country taught me that Medicaid and Medicare aren’t a privilege—they are a promise we make to each other. I’ll fight to make sure your health care is always there when you need it: VA care for Fort Drum families, capped insulin and prescription costs, mental health and addiction treatment, and protected reproductive healthcare.