The Announcements

How do you kick off a political campaign? We did it by making a public announcement. Two, actually.

Until the public announcement, we felt like there was the slightest of possibilities that we could turn back, call it all off. Not that we wanted to do that or believed it was the right thing, but in those dark moments of fear and doubt, we went to that place and told ourselves that was an option, even after Harvey's resignation in Washington, even after moving back to Oklahoma, even after securing a campaign team and a Web site. It could just all go away if we wanted it to, without much public humiliation.

Not so after the announcement. So really it was good for us--a line we needed to cross to get those doubts out of our minds. We set a date for March 11, and we planned an announcement in Shawnee, Oklahoma, at 10 a.m. and one in Oklahoma City at 6 p.m. Shawnee is the small town where Harvey and I went to college; it's in our district and we wanted to have a presence there to let its people know that it's an important part of the district to us and we need their votes and support. And Oklahoma City is where we live and the heart of the district.

The day was beautiful, a chill in the air but the sun shining bright. Harvey headed to Shawnee early with his campaign manager, Tyle, so they could set everything up in the downtown public park we had reserved for the event. Meanwhile I got myself and the kids up and ready (in our coordinating but not too matchy outfits), piled them in the car, and began the hour drive. We arrived about half an hour early--thirty minutes to try to keep the kids from running around the park and mussing their clothes and hair. (This is stressful for me.)

Somehow we managed, and at ten o'clock, Tyle stepped up to the microphone and got things started. He welcomed the small crowd and introduced me. I brought Gracie up to read Micah 6:8 (our theme verse and slogan for the campaign), and then I came back and introduced Harvey.

Harvey began his speech, introducing himself, sharing his background, and explaining why he's running for Congress. With passion and conviction, he expressed his core values and campaign commitments. And of course, the pastor in him couldn't help mentioning one of the stories from the Old Testament that God had used to push him to this point, the story of Nehemiah.

After the applause, shaking hands, mingling, and teardown, we headed across the street to Hamburger King, one of our favorite burger spots from college, for lunch. It was a special lunch for us, a lunch of celebration and excitement for what we'd just done and what was ahead.

The evening announcement was even more exciting. It was our home crowd, and it was bigger. We held it at the conservatory of the Will Rogers Garden Exhibition Center, a beautiful room full of green, blooming life. It was such a blessing for us to see so many familiar faces, some unexpected, who had come out to support us. We had such a large turnout that the seats were full and many were standing in the back. The program was the same as the morning's, but Harvey was more energized and comfortable, and he fed off of the crowd, much as he did as a pastor.

The day was a success, not only the announcement itself, but the connections we made with friends and supporters who signed up for our newsletters and took cards to pass out and signs for their yards. Tyle had sent a press release to the local media with a copy of Harvey's speech, and it was satisfying for us to see an article in the Daily Oklahoman with Harvey's picture and bio. Since Harvey was an unknown, we weren't even sure the papers would pick it up. We were delighted to see his face and name in there that day.

But this was just the beginning of a journey, of course--a journey that would require many hours and physical, emotional, and spiritual stamina. We had a long road ahead, a road of at least four months and hopefully more. We were thankful to the Lord for the victories of that day, and we prayed we would keep our eyes on him as we stepped forward on the campaign trail.