“We love you, Barbara. We think you would make a great senator. But Adam Schiff, he just looks like a senator.”

John, I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard this on the campaign trail.

And I’ll be honest, it breaks my heart. Like Adam, I have served in Congress for over 20 years. I’ve sponsored over 600 bills. I’ve brought tens of millions of dollars home to California to build affordable housing, create good-paying union jobs, address the climate crisis, and provide housing for the unsheltered.

The difference? Adam is a white man, and I am a Black woman.

You see, since 1789 there have only been two African American women elected to the Senate — Vice President Kamala Harris and former Senator Carol Moseley Braun — who, together, served a total of 10 years. Maybe that’s why when people think about what a Senator looks like, they don’t think of a black woman. Well guess what? I think it's past time we change that. So whenever someone tries to tell me that a Black woman with all the experience I bring to the table can't win — I just smile and say, "Watch me."

We can win this fight, John — but it's not going to be easy. Black women candidates on average raise just one-third as much money as white women — a metric that has become painfully clear in the fundraising deficit in this race. That's why I'm reaching out: I need to raise another $10,000 by midnight to overcome these hurdles and pull ahead, and I’m counting on your help to get there.

If you’re ready to help me win this race so I can become just the third Black woman elected to the Senate and build a progressive future for all of us, will you split a donation between myself and The Collective PAC now?

I have never backed down from a tough fight. Growing up in a world of racism and discrimination, backing down has simply never been an option for me. Because when someone doesn’t give me a seat at the table, I bring a folding chair. Just like I did at only 15 when I worked with the NAACP to integrate my high school cheerleading team and become the school’s first Black cheerleader.

Now, I’m ready to take the fight for justice to the Senate, where my lived experience as a Black woman making true progressive change for Californians will give a voice to those who are currently voiceless.

So even if a Black woman isn’t what people think of when they think of a U.S. Senator, you can help change that. Because together, I know we can shatter this glass ceiling. But it's going to take serious resources to spread our progressive message and win, and I’m counting on you to help power this campaign forward.

Please, will you rush $10, split between myself and The Collective PAC to help me win in California? Every dollar you give will go directly toward fueling our progressive movement to victory.

Thank you for standing with me in this fight.

— Barbara Lee