Hi there, friend, it's Debbie. If you don't know me already, I'm the Democrat running to defeat Sen. Rick Scott in Florida.

I'm about to ask you to make a donation to support my grassroots campaign. But first, I'm hoping you'll let me tell you a story about doughnuts and the American Dream. (If you're short on time and ready to chip in, you can click here to help me flip Florida blue!)

When I was 14 years old, my mother, my sisters, and I left our home in Ecuador in the hope of achieving our American Dream. As I adjusted to life and high school in a new country, my mom worked double shifts to support our family. But even still, it was a struggle to pay the bills and afford rent for our small, one room apartment.

When I turned 15, I got a job at a local doughnut shop. It was hard work, but it's what my family needed to make ends meet.

I'm not the only one who got their start in the doughnut business. When he was a young man, my opponent, Rick Scott, bought two doughnut shops.

While I was a teen making minimum wage to help keep the lights on at home, Rick Scott was an owner.

For me, the doughnuts represent a lifeline that helped my family afford rent. For Rick Scott, they represent the beginning of his private corporate career.

I went on to graduate college and become the first South American immigrant ever elected to Congress. Rick Scott went on to oversee the largest Medicare fraud in the nation’s history, amass a fortune of hundreds of millions, and buy a Senate seat.

If you ask me, our differing stories in the doughnut business make the differences between us pretty clear. 

I know we can win — and new polling data shows our campaign 4 points ahead! But Rick Scott spent $64 million to buy this seat in 2018 and has already written six-figure personal checks to his campaign this time around. I can't win this race without your help. So please, if you have anything to spare, will you rush $5 now to defeat Rick Scott and give Floridians the leadership they deserve?

Thank you for taking the time to read this email and for all that you do to power my grassroots campaign.

With gratitude,

Debbie