If you were thinking about donating, send it to a local group that keeps people afloat.
Sharing this campaign does more here, and your money does more there.
WA-10 is hurting because the people in power have not lived the life the rest of us are living. If you feel like Congress is working for everyone except working families, you are not imagining it. You are paying the price for decisions made by people who answer to money, not to you.
Our race is simple.
Their money, or your voice.
PACs and lobbyists, or your family.
More of the same, or finally someone who lives like you and fights like you.
Marilyn Strickland has spent more than 15 years in political and corporate power:
| Years | Role | Who She Answered To |
|---|---|---|
| 2010-2018 | Mayor of Tacoma | City insiders and business interests |
| 2018-2020 | CEO, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce | More than 2,000 corporations and major employers |
| 2021-Present | Member of Congress, WA-10 | Party leadership and national donor networks |
She did not break into the system.
She grew inside it.
Fifteen years answering to boardrooms and big donors does not prepare you to fight for working people. It prepares you to protect the people who already have power.
Roughly 85 percent of Marilyn Strickland’s donations come from outside WA-10.
Those donors do not live here. They do not work here. They do not pay the price for her votes.
You do.
Her largest checks come from:
These industries profit from high drug prices, endless military spending, rising rents, junk fees and privatized health care.
| Marilyn Strickland’s Donors | What Those Interests Want |
|---|---|
| Wall Street and financial PACs | Deregulation and tax breaks |
| Drug and health care companies | No real price caps and high premiums |
| Real estate and development interests | Weak tenant protections and higher rents |
| Defense contractors | Billions in contracts and endless wars |
| Telecom and utility PACs | Fewer rules and higher fees |
| AIPAC aligned and influence networks | Votes and access that match their priorities |
This is not corruption in the criminal sense.
It is systemic corruption that puts wealthy donors first and working people last.
If Big Pharma, Wall Street and defense contractors are happy to fund your representative, you should ask why.
Every dollar I raise is a promise to WA-10. Every dollar she raises from PACs is a promise to them.
Look at the bigger picture in American politics:
| System Fact (Nationwide) | What It Means Here In WA-10 |
|---|---|
| Most federal campaign money now comes from PACs and large donors. | Most politicians are effectively sponsored. |
| Incumbents enjoy a huge fundraising edge over challengers. | Donors protect whoever already has power. |
| Corporate PACs target long serving officials with seniority and influence. | Marilyn Strickland fits that profile and benefits from it. |
PACs do not fund people who might shake things up.
They fund safe bets, predictable votes and stable access.
The system is built to protect people like her, not people like you.
Here in WA-10, you feel the squeeze every day:
This did not happen by accident. It happened because leaders in Congress protected donors and lobbyists instead of protecting you.
If your rent went up and your wages did not, that is not an accident. It is a choice made by people who do not live like you.
My campaign is built on three clear commitments.
I do not take a single dollar from corporate PACs. No pharma money. No defense money. No real estate money. No telecom money. No AIPAC money. No lobbyist checks that come with strings attached.
Every dollar I raise is from people who live and work in WA-10. That means you set my priorities, not a donor in Washington D.C. or New York.
I know what it is like to watch bills stack up and pay more for groceries and rent while your paycheck stays the same. I do not need a poll to tell me what matters here. I live it.
You should not need a lobbyist to be heard by your representative. You should only need a vote.
They see WA-10 as a line item. I see it as home.
| Question | Marilyn Strickland | Adam Arafat |
|---|---|---|
| Who funds your campaign? | Corporate PACs, influence networks and big donors from outside WA-10 | Small donors and working people in WA-10 |
| Who do you answer to? | Donors, lobbyists and party insiders | The people who live and work here |
| What shaped your career? | Years inside politics and corporate power | Life in our community and the cost of being a regular person |
| What is your priority? | Keeping a system that works for donors | Breaking a system that punishes working families |
| What happens if elected? | More of the same | A representative who fights for you, not for PACs |
This race is not left versus right. It is the powerful versus the people. It is insiders versus neighbors. It is PAC funded politics versus real representation.
You deserve someone who feels the cost of life in WA-10 because they actually live it. Not someone who built a career defending corporations, collecting PAC checks and voting in line with the people who finance their campaigns.
You cannot fix a broken system by sending back the people who broke it.
If you were thinking about donating, send it to a local group that keeps people afloat.
Sharing this campaign does more here, and your money does more there.