Shawn Harmsen is a political and social justice activist in Iowa City. -promoted by Laura Belin

I believe Senator Elizabeth Warren would make the best president out of all of the candidates. So after spending more than a year carefully listening to candidates and watching their campaigns, I am excited to commit to caucus for Warren.

I have been a fan since she first appeared on the Daily Show, back when President Barack Obama reached out to her for her expertise and integrity to help save America in the wake of Bush’s 2008 recession, a recession that hit both of my parents pretty hard.

I watched as she helped put together a new agency to protect consumers, and how she got elected to the Senate after Republican senators blocked her from leading the agency she helped create.

The first time I saw her speak, and read her book, was a half-dozen years ago.  I wanted her to run in 2016.

But despite all that, I wanted to keep an open mind this time around and vowed I would see all the candidates in person before making up my mind. Which I did. Many times over. I also vowed I would not decide until I saw who could field a campaign that led me to believe they could win the whole thing. Warren has shown me she can.

After all that, Elizabeth Warren has earned my support many times over. She has the right ideas, and I believe she will get the job done. I believe she will clean Donald Trump’s clock, and inspire and support and help Democratic candidates all down the ballot.  And we need that here in Iowa and across the country.

The urgency of this need was driven home last week as a Republican-controlled Iowa legislature took a big step toward turning women into state-controlled incubators, and a Republican-controlled U.S. Senate moved into an impeachment trial that they have promised to coordinate with the Republican president.

One other thing I really like about Warren, and one reason I believe she is a great candidate, is because she has the ability to meet people where they are and bring them along to see her vision for the future. Her background as an educator really shines through in those moments when you sit with her in a town hall or at the kitchen table. I have had the opportunity to do both.

Warren is tough, smart, and of course persistent. Her focus on fighting corruption and the current corrupt system is 100 percent spot-on. She sees the problem, and will fight like heck on our behalf to fix it. She will fight for people like my mom who are struggling to keep their homes.

All the candidates will be a vast improvement over the guy in the White House, but I trust Warren to be the one who will fight the hardest for my family. On every issue, from education to health care to labor to climate change to America’s role on the world stage and on and on, she has plans that I deeply respect, deeply love, or both.

Bottom line: Elizabeth Warren is the person I want running the country where me and my family (and most of my friends) live.

P.S. – I want to recognize two other candidates who dropped out but were also in my top tier for most of the past year – Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. They each brought something very important to the race, and I am very grateful.  I also want say how much I admire and respect the staff and volunteers these candidates brought to Iowa.  I am better for having gotten to know and work with them and our state and nation are better for the campaigns they helped run.

Also, all respect to my fellow Democrats who have a different first preference. I am happy you have someone you believe in. I will go make my preference known on February 3, then the nominating contest will leave us and other states will have their say.  On February 4, I look forward to working with you, my siblings in the Democratic Party, to fight to make sure all four of our congress people and U.S. senator are Democrats. I look forward to taking back the statehouse in Des Moines.  And I look forward to working with you to get whomever wins the nomination into the White House.

Top photo of Elizabeth Warren with Shawn Harmsen provided by the author and published with permission.

Editor’s note: Bleeding Heartland welcomes guest posts related to the Iowa caucuses, including candidate endorsements. Please read these guidelines and contact Laura Belin if you are interested in writing.