John, too often when campaigns face cold, hard data showing a tough road ahead, they turn a blind eye. It’s one of the reasons Democrats are where we are today.

I’m determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past. So I’m going to share with you the truth about what the data is showing about our race here in New Jersey. I’m also going to share my plan for how we overcome the obstacles and win. And then, if you’re all in on beating Jack Ciattarelli and preventing New Jersey from falling into the hands of a MAGA loyalist, I’m going to ask you to split what you can between my team and Democracy Defense Action to help me put that plan into action.

Here’s an unvarnished look at what the data tells us:

→Polling. Since the general election began a few weeks ago, one poll after another has come out showing me with a small lead (often just 3-6%) over Jack Ciattarelli — with more than enough undecided voters to swing the outcome either way.

And that’s not even taking into account the possibility that the polls could be underestimating Republicans, as they have in several recent elections. We need to campaign like we’re behind — because we may well be.

→Recent elections. The 2024 presidential race in New Jersey was decided by less than 6% The last governor’s race here? Decided by just 3%. Recent election results and recent polls all tell the same story: New Jersey is a battleground state.

→Attack ads. Ciattarelli’s super PAC has announced plans to spend over a million dollars attacking me across New Jersey, with plenty more planned in the weeks ahead. One recent poll found that after undecided voters heard these false attacks without a fact-check, they swung heavily in Ciattarelli’s direction.

Here’s what this all means: we are in an incredibly competitive race, and we will only win it if we work night and day to get our message out all across New Jersey. And that’s exactly what my team and I plan to do.

We need to get out of the usual Democratic comfort zone and show up everywhere so that voters can actually hear what we have to say.

We need to blanket the state with our plan for lowering costs and making daily life easier for New Jersey families.

We need to reach out personally to undecided voters — and make sure every single one of our supporters shows up to vote this fall.

And it won’t be enough to fight Ciattarelli and his dark-money machine to a draw. We need to outhustle, outwork, and outsmart them every step of the way.

John, I’m all in on winning this race for the people of New Jersey. I’ve spent my life running toward tough fights, and I won’t hesitate to run toward this one. If you’re with me, I need your support. Please split whatever you can between my campaign and Democracy Defense Action to help us win what is shaping up to be a nail-biter of a race.

Thank you,

Mikie

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