Chris Zannetos, candidate for Congress in Massachusetts 4th Congressional District, today announced that he is suspending his campaign.
“I entered this race because our economy works only for the few, and leaves everyone else struggling,” said Zannetos. “The opportunity to build a better life for one’s family is the centerpiece of our country’s compact with its people. The lack of it disenfranchises Americans and enables cynical politicians to drive the anger and division that threaten our country today. I believed that I could leverage my job creation experience and education activism to greater effect by driving legislation to address the enormous income and opportunity gaps that have only widened over the past few decades.”
Over the course of his campaign, Zannetos biked through every town in the district, meeting with over 500 people and 117 small business owners. Hearing their concerns and stories of grit, determination and community spirit strengthened his belief that we must focus on creating accessible, stable, family-supporting jobs as the path forward for those impacted financially by the pandemic.
Chris presented bold plans for public-private collaboration to create new paths to the American Dream for all residents of our district. He highlighted the challenges faced by the family-owned businesses that are the fabric of our district’s communities, and offered solutions to protect and grow jobs, and make good jobs accessible without a 4-year degree.
“The challenges I heard from my fellow citizens only confirmed that the time was right for my focus on creating more and better-paying jobs accessible to everyone,” Chris commented. “Unfortunately, with my late entry and a crowded race, it’s been difficult to break through the noise. I am hopeful that after the presidential election and delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine, we will all turn our attention to this critical issue.”
With one week left until the primary, internal polling indicated that while support was growing for Zannetos’ campaign, there was no longer a feasible path to victory with the time remaining.
“The easy path for me would be to finish this campaign on Election Day,” said Zannetos. “But that would only take votes from a candidate who is committed to fixing this issue, who can win this race. There is one candidate who has shown in her career a consistent commitment to helping working people and those disenfranchised, and a willingness to create the public-private collaborations required to solve this challenge. This is why I am endorsing Jesse Mermell for Congress. While there are some policy areas in which we disagree, she has the integrity and focus needed to help those left behind by our economy – and has proven that she can be counted on to do the hard work required.”
“I’m honored to have Chris’ support with so much on the line in this race and for our country,” said Mermell. “Chris and I couldn’t agree more that prioritizing the rebuilding of a fairer post-COVID economy, an economy filled with opportunity for workers and their families, is the highest priority for our next member of Congress. I’m grateful to Chris for elevating these key issues in a smart and thoughtful way throughout this campaign and have asked him to lead a diverse task force of business, education, community and government leaders in our district focused on job creation and access to opportunity. Together, we will continue to build the winning coalition in this race to ensure our next member of Congress will lead on our core values and act on our shared priorities.”
Zannetos, while disappointed that he won’t be representing the people of the district, has committed to continuing his life’s work to make good jobs and opportunities more accessible to everyone through his non-profit, STEMatchMA.
“Entrepreneurs are used to daunting challenges that require tenacity, and we also are willing to pivot—change direction—to achieve the ultimate goal. This campaign has never been about me, it’s been about creating new paths to economic security for the people of our district,” Zannetos said. “I am thankful for so many campaign supporters and staff who have set aside so much of their lives to help address economic inequality, which makes this decision even more difficult, but given the situation it is the best path toward our ultimate goal. I pledge to them that I will continue to drive a solution in other ways for our people, for our district, and for our country.”
