Today I am reaching out with a gigantic thank you.

Our end-of-quarter FEC deadline was last night. Cecilia and I are still running the numbers and calculating our totals, but I wanted to give you an update on what we know we have accomplished so far. 

During what we think will be a record-breaking quarter, we received donations from over 100,000 first-time donors. Our average online contribution was $27.54. That is people power — across the country and in DC! And thanks to you, in September alone, we raised five times more in one week than our opponent raised in an entire quarter.

And we’re not just seeing support for our campaign in our fundraising. It’s showing up in the polls. We’re still just one point behind our out-of-touch opponent, Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. With your continued support over these critical next few weeks, we can close this gap and WIN this. 

Before I let you go, I want to show you what we’re building here in Mississippi. I talk a lot about how contributions to our campaign have a direct and immediate impact. So here’s exactly what I mean.

Your grassroots donations help us run TV ads like this one (watch below!) that reach hundreds of thousands of Mississippi voters. This quarter, we launched three TV ads featuring real Mississippians (unlike the Russian and Ukrainian models that Senator Hyde-Smith used in her TV ad).

Your grassroots donations help keep our organizers and volunteers safe and well-equipped — with everything from notebooks, to clipboards, to PPE. Running a campaign in the middle of a pandemic has never been done before, so we are prioritizing everyone’s health and safety.

And your grassroots donations allow us to run critical Get Out the Vote programs. We have hired over 30 organizers across the state. This month, we launched our volunteer phone banking program and have been texting more voters than ever before. In fact, just last week we texted over 90,000 Mississippi voters in one day. That might be a first for Mississippi.

For decades and decades, Mississippi has been overlooked. I mean, damn it, even when Category 3 hurricanes are barrelling toward the Mississippi Gulf coast, our home is referred to as the “landmass” between Texas and Alabama!

But now, with your support, Mississippi is finally starting to be seen and heard, and we’ve got something to say. I couldn’t be more grateful.

Thank you for believing me, and thank you for believing in Mississippi.

— Mike