John,

While I’m writing to you today to ask you to add a small contribution to my Senate campaign before Thursday’s midnight deadline, I want to make one thing extremely clear:

I am only asking for you to make a contribution if you can afford it. Not everyone can — but if you can spare even $3 for my campaign, I can personally assure you it will make a difference.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

As an elected member of the Municipal Council of Newark, New Jersey, I went on a 10-day hunger strike and lived in a tent to force the council’s hand to address issues in overlooked communities. As a Senator, I hear every day from people struggling to afford their rent, mortgage, prescription medicines, and more.

I know that for seniors living on fixed incomes, parents struggling to afford child care for their kids and pay off their student loans, and working people whose wages aren’t rising as fast as the cost of living, financial pressure can feel like it’s always there.

So I mean it when I say that it’s okay if you can’t afford to donate to our campaign.

I also want you to understand why — with my refusal to accept contributions from corporate lobbyists and executives in Big Pharma and the fossil fuel industry — these contributions are so important.

The beauty of our campaign is in our ability to rely on and support one another, especially around important deadlines like the one coming up in just 48 hours.

If you can afford to chip in $3, it helps us reach new people so that the next time you can’t, another grassroots supporter is able to add their support in your place. So if you can, I’m humbly asking you to chip in $3 today.

Thanks for reading — I hope this explanation gives you a bit more insight into how we are running this campaign.

With love and gratitude,

Cory