Dear MoveOn member,
There are only 26 days left in the 2020 race, and Donald Trump and the GOP are absolutely scrambling.
Trump's poll numbers nationally and in key swing states are tanking, and now it seems that his increasingly erratic behavior and lies may just be the final straw that takes the GOP-controlled Senate down with him.1,2
We cannot let this golden opportunity to secure a Democratic Senate at the same time that we defeat Trump slip through our fingers, and with so little time left in the race, this is the moment to go big or go home.
Which is why MoveOn has just announced that we are investing $2 million in a massive ad blitz across three key Senate states to defeat Martha McSally in Arizona, Susan Collins in Maine, and Lindsey Graham in South Carolina.
This campaign is funded entirely by small dollar donations from MoveOn members, and our ability to keep the ads up, run them during primetime, and make sure that the right voters see them is entirely up to members like you. Will you chip in $3 a week to help power MoveOn's closing argument in Arizona, Maine, and South Carolina?
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Winning these three Senate races is the key to ending Mitch McConnell's despicable reign in the Senate, and although the numbers look good, don't fool yourself into thinking that our work is done in these races.
In Arizona, Democrat Mark Kelly—former astronaut and the husband of former congresswoman and gun control activist Gabby Giffords—is fighting to defeat Martha McSally, a Trump loyalist who lost her last race for Senate in 2018, only to be appointed to the Senate weeks later by the state's Republican governor. Kelly is leading McSally in the polls, but that is no guarantee in this traditionally Republican-leaning state, and you can rest assured the GOP and their billionaire backers are pouring millions in to prop up McSally.3
Our ads in Arizona are aimed at motivating the state's large population of young Latinx voters to vote for Joe Biden and Mark Kelly to build a safer, more equitable future for the people of Arizona and all of us across the country.
In Maine, Sara Gideon is deadlocked with Susan Collins in one of the most highly anticipated races of the year. Until recently, Collins was thought to be untouchable in Maine—having won her last race for re-election by more than 30 points—but her despicable decision to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court showed the truth: Her "moderate" identity is a facade, and she has turned her back on the voters in Maine.4 Gideon has been leading Collins, but the most recent poll shows her lead shrinking as Collins pulls out all the stops to save her political life, which means we cannot afford to give an inch in these final days.5
Our ads in Maine will remind voters that Collins has voted with Trump 95% of the time, and a vote to keep her in office is a vote to continue Mitch McConnell's obstruction in the Senate.
And then there is South Carolina. Earlier this week, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report moved the Senate race between Jaime Harrison and Lindsey Graham to the "toss up" category, a change that would have been nearly unthinkable just a few months ago.6 South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, but Jaime Harrison now looks poised to defeat Trump's number one lap dog. But this race will come down to the wire, as Republican megadonors have dumped millions into the state in a last-minute effort to save Graham's seat as he works simultaneously to confirm far-right Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.7
Our ads in South Carolina are aimed at reminding the state's Black voters that Lindsey Graham's effort to ram through Amy Coney Barrett aims to install her on the bench in time to hear a court case that could end the Affordable Care Act and rip health care away from millions of Americans in the middle of the biggest pandemic in 100 years.8
We want these messages to reach as many voters as possible and to keep them on the air and online through Election Day. Can you help make that happen by starting a weekly $3 donation now?
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
On Tuesday, in the midst of a nonstop and incoherent tweet storm, Donald Trump abruptly announced that he would no longer negotiate a deal to pass any coronavirus relief for families struggling to get by until after the election was over, and he demanded instead that Senate Republicans focus solely on confirming Amy Coney Barrett—even though at least three Republican senators are currently sick with COVID-19.9
In the days since, he has flip-flopped over and over again on that decision, but with so few days left until the election and Mitch McConnell's hold on power slipping, it is clear that installing an illegitimate candidate to the Supreme Court is the only thing that matters to the GOP—not protecting families from eviction, ensuring that everyone has access to free testing for the coronavirus, or providing desperately needed funding for cities and states hit hard by the pandemic.10
It is a disgusting act of a party that has given up even attempting to pretend that they care about the American people.
Under no circumstances can McConnell remain in charge of the Senate. Our ads will help motivate the voters we need to finally close this shameful chapter in our nation's history, but we need your help to make this closing argument to the people of Arizona, Maine, and South Carolina.
Please dig deep and chip in $3 a week.
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Thanks for all you do.
–Dan, Mary, David, Mohammad, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "2020 Election Forecast," FiveThirtyEight, accessed October 8, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/144910?t=8&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
2. "2020 Senate Election Forecast," FiveThirtyEight, accessed October 8, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145132?t=10&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
3. "Arizona U.S. Senate Polls," FiveThirtyEight, accessed October 8, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145133?t=12&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
4. "Electoral history of Susan Collins," Wikipedia, accessed October 8, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145134?t=14&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
5. "Sara Gideon and Susan Collins within 1 point in new BDN polls of Maine Senate race," Bangor Daily News, October 6, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145135?t=16&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
6. "South Carolina Senate Race Moves to Toss Up," The Cook Political Report, October 7, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145136?t=18&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
7. Ibid.
8. "Fear for Obamacare if Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to supreme court," The Guardian, October 2, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145137?t=20&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
9. "Trump's back-and-forth injects chaos into Covid relief effort," Politico, October 7, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/145138?t=22&akid=278154%2E40999114%2E8OpvkY
10. Ibid.
Want to support our work? As Robert Reich says, "No organization in America has a better track record of success in developing cutting-edge strategies to get out the vote and win elections than MoveOn." But it will take each of us doing our part to defeat Trump and flip the Senate!
Will you chip in $3 a week to help MoveOn combat right-wing lies, make sure every vote is counted, and win this election?
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
PAID FOR BY MOVEON
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