Have you had a chance to read my email from earlier today?

If not, no worries, because I know it was a bit on the long side. But if I’ve now piqued your curiosity, feel free to read it below — otherwise, here’s the gist of it:

Election Day is only 9 weeks from tomorrow, and with this race being neck-and-neck, hitting our $175k digital fundraising goal is crucial to our plans to continue building out our grassroots team in the home stretch.

We’re not on track to hit that goal, but the upside is that we’ve also got an active match opportunity that expires at midnight! So all hope is not lost.

Can I count on you to pitch in a last-minute grassroots donation to help put us over the top? Whatever you donate will be MATCHED, doubling your impact in an already super close race!

If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.

Thanks,

Rob Sand

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rob Sand <[email protected]>
Date: Monday, August 31, 2026
Subject: our biggest hurdle to date (seriously)
To: [email protected]

Tomorrow is more than just September 1st — it also marks just 9 weeks until Election Day! 😮

We’ve got tons to accomplish between now and then, but first things first:

Our August fundraising deadline is at midnight, and hitting our $175k digital goal is absolutely our biggest hurdle to date (more on that in just a sec).

That also means that our match opportunity — you know, the one where any donation amount you chip in is matched by a group of generous donors — also expires at midnight. A bit more than your average Monday, to say the least.

I’ll explain why hitting this goal is oh-so-very important. But if you’re already in the know, and you’re ready and raring to double your impact with a matched donation, please consider chipping in a few bucks right now.

So here’s the 411: 9 weeks is simultaneously a long time, and no time at all.

It’s a long time because we can’t take anything for granted.

For example, I’ve got a razor-thin advantage in the polls right now, but that edge could dissipate in the blink of an eye. Zach Lahn is spending $900k every week on ads to attack me and mislead Iowans, and that kind of cheddar buys a lot of airtime.

A lot can — and will — happen between now and Election Day.

But it’s also an incredibly short runway to accomplish the long list of things we need to do to build a lead and continue growing this grassroots team.

We need to reach Iowans at their doors, on their phones, on their screens, and anywhere else we can in order to get folks the facts about me, my record, and my plan to move Iowa forward.

No matter what, this race is going to be a nail-biter. But as you can imagine, the road to victory becomes even more challenging when we fall short of critical fundraising benchmarks.

And now we’ve come full circle.

We’ve got a golden opportunity to make up the fundraising gap thanks to a perfectly timed match opportunity courtesy of a few generous donors. So please, if you’re ready to help elect me as governor, will you chip in $25 right away? Remember, your donation will be matched — but only if you donate before midnight!

If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.

Thanks for being a part of what we’re building here in Iowa.

—Rob Sand