When Tammy was nine years old, she came down with a serious illness similar to spinal meningitis. She spent three months in the hospital. But even after she got better, insurance companies refused to cover her because of her “pre-existing condition” label.

Tammy took these lessons to heart and championed important reforms in the Affordable Care Act. Her push to allow kids to stay on their parents’ insurance plans until they are 26 years old has helped cover millions of young Americans. Her leadership in protecting people with illnesses has made sure no one is denied care because of a pre-existing condition.

Tammy was raised by her grandparents because her mother struggled with mental illness, chronic pain, and drug abuse. Tammy had to grow-up fast as her mother struggled with addiction to prescription drugs her entire life. So when the opioid epidemic spread across Wisconsin, devastating countless families and entire communities, Tammy worked to make sure Washington finally stepped up and supported local prevention, treatment and recovery efforts in Wisconsin.

As her Nana grew older, Tammy served as her primary caregiver, a challenging but deeply rewarding experience. She saw firsthand the importance of strengthening and protecting Wisconsinites’ earned benefits of Medicare and Social Security. And as a Senator, Tammy worked across party lines to pass bipartisan legislation into law to support family caregivers across America.

During her second semester of law school, Tammy was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors where she served four terms. During her tenure, she made the most of her position chairing the Dane County Task Force on AIDS at the outset of the epidemic. Then, after serving on the Madison Common Council to fill an aldermanic vacancy, Tammy was elected to Wisconsin’s 78th District in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Following encouragement from friends, family and neighbors, Tammy decided to run for the U.S. House of Representatives. It wasn’t an easy race. Many powerful people said it wasn’t Tammy’s turn. They told her voters weren’t ready. But Tammy pushed forward — and in 1998, with a scrappy grassroots campaign, she was elected to Congress.

Tammy became Wisconsin’s first female member of Congress and America’s first openly-gay non-incumbent elected to Congress. Tammy got to work, and in addition to leading the health care reforms that allow Wisconsinites to stay on their parents’ health insurance until age 26 and protect people with pre-existing conditions, she distinguished herself as a fierce defender of working families in Wisconsin.

She led efforts against the unfair trade deals that are responsible for shipping American jobs overseas and holding back wage growth for Wisconsinites. Tammy was one of only a handful of votes against repealing the Glass Steagall Act, which separated risky investment banking from traditional banking. That repeal has repeatedly been pointed out as a driving force behind the 2008 financial crisis.

In the House, Tammy worked across party lines to build consensus around bipartisan legislation to help Wisconsinites. Her bill to help our blinded veterans, the Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act, passed the House and Senate with overwhelming support from Republicans and Democrats alike. And she worked hard to make sure her women’s health legislation to expand access to breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings was signed into law by a Republican White House.

Tammy is building a stronger Made in Wisconsin manufacturing economy by championing Buy American rules, confronting unfair trade deals, and helping create good-paying Wisconsin jobs. She is working across party lines to make sure our veterans are supported with the health care, jobs, and community support that they have earned and deserve. When some in Washington pushed partisan repeal efforts that would have ripped health care away from millions of Americans, Tammy led the fight to protect our health care. And recently, Tammy ushered through the Respect for Marriage Act, protecting the freedoms and rights of millions of Americans in same-sex and interracial marriage.

Special interests want Washington to keep working for them, not Wisconsin. As a Senator, Tammy has stood up to the powerful and wealthy who want to keep the system rigged in their favor by holding Wall Street accountable and taking on big pharmaceutical corporations that jack-up the prices of prescription drugs.

So, it’s no surprise that corporate interests, billionaire mega-donors, and shady Super PACs have always made beating Tammy a top priority and have flooded Wisconsin with millions in outside spending against her. But no matter how much they throw against her, Tammy will keep fighting as hard as ever for our families.