John, want to know how to get under my skin?
Just say, “Abdul, we can’t win.”
People do say it straight to my face. Not voters, mind you. But pundits and political consultants will say it to me all the time!
“You can’t win.”
John, can you give me a chance to explain why they’re wrong? If I lay out the case, you can decide for yourself. And if you’re convinced, I need your help. Deal?
Okay, so you hear the excuses people give…
— “Your name is Abdul – that’s too Muslim!”
— “AIPAC will spend millions against you!”
— “The Republicans will call you a commie!”
— “You’re too handsome and funny!”
Maybe not that last one. But you hear the others!
Let me break down why we don’t pay attention to the naysaying and why we’re going to win this race in four key points:
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1. General election polling says we can beat Mike Rogers.
A poll released just this month by Mitchell MIRS tested all of the Democratic candidates. This wasn’t a poll paid for by our campaign. It was an independent poll. And it says that we are statistically tied with Mike Rogers. By the way, my primary opponent is not tied — and is actually losing to Mike Rogers in this poll.
So we are tied in the polls with Mike Rogers before we’ve even had our chance to mount our campaign. Before we ran a single ad or sent a mailer or launched a big canvassing effort. I’d say that bodes pretty well.
2. The Democratic Primary is a three-way race, and we are rising to the top.
I’m not a career politician or a state senator who's been in elected office a long time. You might think a guy like me wouldn’t have a shot at winning a contentious primary. But we started this primary with 24% of the vote, in second place. And our AIPAC-backed opponent isn’t too far out of reach. First place is within single digits, and we’re rising to the top.
3. We’ve earned tons of meaningful endorsements.
Bernie Sanders, Rashida Tlaib, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal, Keith Ellison, Andy Levin.
Michigan Democratic Party Progressive Caucus, Michigan Democratic Party Grassroots Caucus, Michigan Democratic Party LGBT&A Caucus. Plus dozens of county executives, city councilors, state representatives, and mayors.
I could list everyone here, but my email would be a bit too long!
4. We’re winning the fundraising battle.
This is critical because in 8-in-10 elections, the candidate who spends the most money wins.
In the last quarter, we out-fundraised every single Democrat in this race in terms of real contributions from real people. We did it even though I have a hand tied behind my back. Because, unlike my opponents, I’ve never once cashed a corporate PAC check and never will.
And by the way, this is thanks to YOU and your contributions.
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Do you believe we can win now? Good. But, there’s a catch…
All our early momentum — the polls, the endorsements, the fundraising — is great.
But if we don’t scale everything we are doing right now, we will fall short on election day. We need more volunteers. More grassroots fundraising. More people spreading the word.
I am betting that it’ll come. Because a lot of people are reading this email just like you right now. And if even just 1-in-5 of us choose to get involved, we would instantly make our campaign dramatically larger. We would win this primary. Win the general. Then we go to the Senate and fight like hell for money out of politics, money in your pocket, and Medicare for All.
I’m calling it right now. If you and thousands of other people join together to support this campaign right now, we are going to build a movement the likes of which Michigan has never seen before. We are going to defeat Mike Rogers and flip this state. And each one of us will have one more vote and one loud voice in the U.S. Senate fighting for money out of politics, money in your pockets, and Medicare for All.
But it starts with you taking a leap of faith to make your first donation to help us get there.
Yes, I believe that we will win.
Abdul
