John, it’s Angus King,

I’m going to ask you to help my friend Sherrod by chipping in $5, or any amount you can, to our campaigns. I’ll explain why, but the short of it is that we’re both up for reelection in November, and we rely on grassroots support like yours to prepare. Will you help us by chipping in $5 now?

If you ever meet my friend and colleague from Ohio, Senator Sherrod Brown, you might ask him about the canary pin he’ll undoubtedly be wearing (pictured above). If you do, he’ll tell you what he told me:

Miners used to bring canaries into the mines with them to check for dangerous levels of gas. If the canary died, the miners knew to get out. Those workers didn’t have a union strong enough or a government that cared enough to fight for them.

He also told me a union worker gave him that pin 25 years ago. He’s worn it ever since as a reminder of the people he’s fighting for in the Senate — the working Americans who are too often left behind.

That’s the kind of leader Sherrod Brown is, and I’m proud to have worked with him to pass the historic PACT Act to expand access to healthcare for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals. We also joined together to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, capping the cost of insulin and lowering the cost of prescription drugs for our constituents on Medicare. Those are the issues that matter to the people of Ohio, Maine, and America as a whole.

John, we can’t stop now. Both Sherrod and I are up for reelection this year, and the stakes are high. A special interest super PAC launched attack ads against Sherrod in Ohio just last month, for example. Will you split a contribution to our campaigns so we can get the word out and organize before Election Day?

What Sherrod accomplished in his state may seem impossible from an outside perspective. Some people also think being an Independent in the Senate is impossible. In both cases, it just comes down to doing the work and remembering who it’s for.

Thank you for your support,

– Angus