Hi folks, this is Mikie. Please take a moment to read this important message from my friend Elissa Slotkin:

It's June, so that means we're right around the corner from our important Federal Election Commission deadline: On June 30th, we have an "end-of-quarter" deadline closing our “Q2,” which is the second quarter of the election year.

This will be the last FEC fundraising deadline before the Republican National Convention, beginning on July 15, and before we learn who our Republican opponent will be ahead of the primary on August 6th. It’s also the first deadline since we launched our TV and digital ads.

So it's a biggie. The most important of the campaign to date.

I know campaigns say that a lot, and you deserve to know why it's so important — especially since we're going to be sending a lot of emails about it. Let me show you a perfect embodiment of how these FEC deadlines translate into a report card on our campaign.

See this tweet from a Detroit News bureau chief?

It's from after the last quarterly FEC fundraising deadline reports were filed, after March 31st.

Everyone looks at them. The press, our opponents, and especially outside spending entities looking to see if we are vulnerable to attack as they decide where to allocate their resources.

For us, if we file a good report, maybe some of those super PACs decide to move on from our race. File a bad report, and all bets are off.

Add to that the fact that the fundraising goals we set for these FEC deadlines are not arbitrary. They are important benchmarks we have to meet in order to keep our ads on the air and continue reaching voters. They are what we need to raise in order to win.

So yes, this is the most important FEC fundraising deadline of the campaign so far. And yes, our April and May fundraising was less than we had hoped for. So we're really banking on a big month to catch up before we file our report. And we can't do that without people who care enough about the outcome of this race to make a difference. So please:

Can I ask you to use this link to make a contribution to our campaign and Mikie Sherrill before our FEC fundraising deadline on June 30th? Our average online donation is around $30. Some give more. Others give less. But if we get lots and lots of donations of all amounts, we'll reach our goals.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your split between Elissa Slotkin and Mikie Sherrill donation will go through immediately:

Thank you,

Elissa