“I never wanted to be a politician and I still don’t. I’ve had two successful careers and have started a few small businesses. I’ve also worked for some big corporations. I was ready to retire and spend more time with my family – which I’ve done for the past 3 years. I think they’re ready for me to find something else to do.

I’m tired of seeing the leaders of our country being influenced by the toxic divisions that are tearing apart our families and society. It’s time for me to step up and do my civic duty. To give back and try and change things for the better. If not me, who? If not now, when?

It’s easy to look at the economy and realize that something has gone horribly wrong. Working people, the middle class, and small businesses have been losing ground over the past 20 years. The goose that lays the golden eggs for our country has been kicked around and squeezed to the point where laying more golden eggs is almost impossible. Consider that since 2000 the cost of food has risen more than double the rise in average household income. The cost of a home has risen 6 times and the amount of government spending 5 and a half times. The S&P 500 has gone up 9 times more than the rise in average household income. To everyone who works and is trying to do the right thing for their family, to everyone who is young and wonders why their lives are worse than their parents: you are not wrong.

And yet, who have we allowed to have the most influence over our government? Big corporate executives and big union bosses. Big tech, big pharma, big media, big whatever – all trying to control big government in Washington DC. This needs to stop. Our government spends money on the wrong things and spends way too much.

One thing the federal government should certainly be responsible for is the security of our borders. Instead, we see millions of people coming in without any accounting for who they are, what they intend to do, or what they’re bringing with them. And they’re being given access to all sorts of handouts at our expense. At a minimum, the federal government and the state governments should be working together to enforce existing laws and secure the border. Seeing our government at war with itself is unacceptable.

For my whole life, in every place I’ve ever lived, I’ve seen people working to provide for their family. Values like self-sacrifice, faith, integrity, fidelity, and valor are simply part of who these people are. They do these things not because the government tells them to, but because they know the right things to do - moral obligations that are freely chosen, not mandated by a government.

It doesn’t take a village to raise a child, it takes a family, and it takes families to make a village.

The sad reality is that many children in our country are suffering. Years of ridiculing and demeaning old fashioned “family values” have taken a toll. Our society’s strength, fundamentally linked to the vitality of the family structure, has been eroded. I want to champion the traditional family as critical for a child’s development and success. The data proves this. However, my approach will be inclusive, recognizing all who step up to provide for their children. I’m not worried about the government being a safety net. I want the government to stop being an impediment.

I’m ready to go to DC and see if I can help bring back sanity and civility to the public discourse on these issues and all the other issues that face our great nation. We need bold leaders for such a time as this.”