John, can I share a photo with you?

That young guy, missing his two front teeth with a curious look in his eye? Yup, that’s me!

And if you had told him that nowadays, I’d be running for the U.S. Senate from the great state of California, he would no doubt be very pleased — but genuinely shocked.

You see, growing up, I was fascinated by history and politics.

Sitting around the dinner table at night, we’d talk about the news of the day or the history book my father was reading at the moment.

The conversation was always dynamic — my dad comes from a long line of Democrats, and my mom from a long line of Republicans (in fact, her father was a Republican County chairman at one point, so you can imagine the discourse at larger family gatherings!).

Back then, Democrats and Republicans disagreed with each other about plenty of issues, but you could disagree without being disagreeable.

What changed? Many things. How we get our information. Cable news. Algorithms set to exploit fear and anger.

And Donald J. Trump became President. And when he became President, he sought new and inventive ways to divide us. And used many of the old ones, like bigotry and hate.

When I started in politics, Democrats and Republicans would work together to get things done. They often disagreed — strongly — but they put the best interests of the American people first and found areas where they could agree.

But those days feel long gone now. We have seen a seismic shift in the last few years — since a charlatan celebrity and reality TV host who called disabled veterans “suckers” and “losers,” denigrated our immigrant communities, and railed on about “fake news” was elected President of the United States.

I’ve never been one to back down from the bullies — so amidst these attacks, I did my duty and called him out and held him to account. I took on these fights not because they were easy, but because they needed to be done.

And for taking on those fights, I’ve become Trump’s favorite boogeyman and enemy.

The little boy in the picture at the beginning of this email never would have imagined bearing the brunt of attacks from a U.S. President and his cronies in Congress and the far-right media.

But if standing up for our democracy, for our rights and freedoms, and for our Constitution has earned me the enmity of Trump and the MAGA movement, then that’s a badge of honor I will wear proudly every day.

These are the fights I’m going to take on in the U.S. Senate — where many of Trump’s chief enablers reside. Which is why Trump is doing everything he can to stop me from winning. Please, help me keep up this fight by pitching in $3 or any amount you can spare to our campaign today.

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Many of the most important fights for the future of our democracy will be waged in the U.S. Senate in the years to come. I plan on being there, on the front lines, just like I always have. Your help sending me there means the world to me.

Thanks for reading this longer note about our campaign and what this all means to me.

— Adam