Good morning, john. This is Ken Burns.

Between the last 50-or-so years I’ve spent bringing our past to life in film, and the present stakes facing our fragile, 248-year-old experiment this fall, I can safely say from experience that the 2024 election will go down in history.

From The Civil War to The Central Park Five, The Dust Bowl or Defying the Nazis — in these moments, we had to decide whether or not we'd live up to the essential promise of our nation: a democracy that respects the rights and addresses the needs of all its citizens.

And less than 40 days from now, America will decide once more. We're faced with two options: one that focuses on a brighter future that lives up to that promise, and another that prefers a past where it was too often retracted.

But this choice won't only be made when we select our next president. It's one we'll make in every race, up and down the ballot in every state.

So when it comes to Florida's Senate race, I choose Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. If you do too, then please, split a donation between her campaign and Tina Smith now to help her prevail.

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As the first South American immigrant to serve in Congress, and a tireless advocate for her community, to me, she reflects the realization of the American Dream and democratic values that I encourage us all to uphold.

More than that: I trust her to keep our nation on the path of progress, where our nation's essential promise is extended to us all, in the U.S. Senate.

I cannot say the same for her opponent, Rick Scott — someone whose positions, policies, and personality all point to the darkest departures from that promise: The grifts of the Gilded Age. The manic paranoia of the (original) McCarthy era. The relentless injustice of Reconstruction.

So I'm reaching out to you now, john, because Florida must now decide which path to follow. And in a race that could decide Senate control, Florida's choice could shape the next chapter of our story.

Fortunately, the polls seem to indicate the tides are turning toward the path of righteousness that Debbie embodies. But another lesson history teaches us is that money talks.

So against an opponent who wields our story to selfish ends, with enough wealth to blanket the airwaves with lies from now to Election Day, it's on all of us to ensure Debbie has the resources to rise above the noise, starting by reaching her $150,000 daily goal.

Please, john, will you join me in the fight for our nation's essential promise by powering Debbie to victory in Florida with your gift split between her campaign and Tina Smith today? This will be the next turning point in American history, so I would not ask if it weren't so vitally important.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your split donation to Tina Smith and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell will go through immediately:

We the people are about to make history. I hope you'll join us on the right side.

Thank you,

Ken Burns