“I’m ok, we’re hiding in the office.”

The last text I read as I boarded my flight on January 6th. I won’t ever forget where I was that day, {NAME}.  On January 6, 2021 I was in New York City helping my son move into his dorm room. In between hauling boxes, my phone started pinging. First with news alerts, then worried and increasingly furious texts from friends and colleagues.  Something bad was happening at the Capitol, and the images and details were coming in faster than I could process. [An animated gif featuring overlapping images from the January 6th insurrection appearing in succession and ending with Donald Trump standing with his arms outstretched at his speech at the Ellipse that morning.]( My mind was racing throughout the day. This was personal. I have friends in that building, and I was frantically texting them to see if they were safe.  As I boarded my flight back to Arkansas that evening, the last message I read before having to shut off my phone was a text reply from a member of Congress whom I had helped elect. He told me he and his staff were in hiding, but that he was ok.  Later that night, members of Congress returned to the Capitol after it had been cleared to finish the job that was interrupted that afternoon – certifying the votes of the 2020 election that Joe Biden won.  But 147 members of Congress voted against certification that day. One of them was Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas. And it’s why we’ve recruited Rodney Govens to run against him this year. [  Donate now >> Â]( I spent the whole flight home thinking about that text from my friend – and wondering what came next.  Now we know.  Donald Trump, still bitter from his embarrassing defeat and the collapse of his coup three years ago, has been plotting a comeback ever since.  Last year, Republicans installed one of the most radical, far-right members of Congress and a chief insurrectionist as Speaker of the House. And every single member of the Arkansas House delegation voted for him.  Three years ago we narrowly averted a coup. Can we avoid January 6th 2.0?  I know this much: with Mike Johnson at the helm, we can’t let Republicans be in charge of the next presidential vote certification.  Republicans currently hold a single seat majority, and we’ve got 4 seats up for grabs here in Arkansas. Vortex is ready to leave it all on the field to make sure Trump never gets another chance to steal an election.  Are you with us?  Robb Ryerse [Support Vortex PAC >>](      Vortex PAC is a new grassroots movement to transform Arkansas politics away from the far-right. We are recruiting, training, and supporting Democratic candidates to flip all four of Arkansas’ U.S. congressional districts and help win back the House majority in 2024. [DONATE >>](   Paid for by Vortex PAC  ©2024 Vortex PAC, all rights reserved  Our mailing address is: Vortex PAC PO Box 1141 Springdale, AR 72765 We're sad to see you go, but if you believe you received this email in error, or you no longer wish to receive our emails you can unsubscribe using the link below: [Click here to unsubscribe.]( Sent via [ActionNetwork.org](. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from Vortex PAC, please [click here](.