Committing to public service is hard. It’s this weird dance— trying to get a lot of people to like you, to believe you, when they haven’t met you. I’ve always led with my actions, speaking louder than words. It leads me to ask, “How do I genuinely share with you who I am, not just as a candidate, but as a person?” More importantly, how do I remain authentically myself when my entire life is under a microscope?

Being authentic is a non-negotiable for the woman I aim to be; this includes during a campaign. I’ve been successful in community work, making a positive impact in our communities, while remaining true to myself and my convictions. It’d be a disservice to us both if that changed now. I am a woman working hard for profound change, and refusing to let life pass me by, even through the toughest and most harmful parts of my life. It’s important not to let the worst of them get the best of you.

Being true to myself and living my values of authenticity and transparency means I will not be hiding any part of myself during this campaign. Because of that, my public-personal Instagram will be used against me during this campaign. To include lies claiming I have an OnlyFans account, which I do not, and have never posted images or videos on it. Though I have posted a lot about different sides of myself on my personal Instagram, including a series of boudoir photographs. This account has always been public, and will remain public.

These photos and the incredible experience of shooting them are my resistance to sexual assaults and nonconsensual, sexual recordings by men. Sexual assaults that weren’t taken seriously by the justice system, and illegal recordings that have been attempted to use against me. I was finished being ashamed for what others did to me, and I unapologetically reclaimed loud love for my body. If you’ve never had someone violate you, take pieces from you, then I ask that you withhold judgment and consider a new perspective.

From an adolescent in the 90s/00s enduring maximum diet culture, to becoming an active teen who remained chunky, then being welcomed into early adulthood with sexual assaults— the relationship with my body hasn’t always been so kind over the years, and the self-love it took to work past that is immeasurable. Not a single soul is stealing my reclaimed power. I understand I’ll still be slut shamed, and the concept of consent will be lost among many. It will not detour or distract me from showing up for our communities, working hard for even those who intend harm, and keeping my commitment to always being exactly who I am.

Through it all, I’m still running for State House in Kansas to be the change in a broken system that failed me, that failed so many survivors of sexual violence and toxic beauty standards. A system set up to fail women does not get to judge how I choose to heal. I hope to inspire women to know they can, and should, run for office without fear of how they might be perceived. I will not be shamed or silenced, and I will not stop fighting for others to do the same unapologetically.

Sincerely,

Emily

05/16/26