The first midterm election of a new Democratic president is very, very tough. I learned that painful lesson first-hand.

As head of the DCCC in 2008 we celebrated a strong victory for Democrats that November — as we also elected Barack Obama as president.

We spent the next two years working with the Obama Administration to pass ground-breaking legislation, including the Economic Recovery Act, Wall Street Reform, and the Affordable Care Act. And not a single House Republican voted for any of these. But when November 2010 came rolling around Republicans were on the attack and voters were not yet feeling the benefit of the recovery package or the ACA.

The results were terrible: The Tea-Party swept in and we lost control of the House in 2010.

We can’t let that happen again. We need to get to work.

Mitch McConnell and Senate Republican Campaign Committee Chair Senator Rick Scott of Florida are already out recruiting big money candidates for the Senate seats that are up in 2022 — including for our campaign right here in Maryland where I am up for re-election.

If we’re going to protect and expand our majority, we need to start preparing right now to defeat McConnell’s handpicked candidates and deep-pocketed donors. Will you consider making a contribution today to help us build a winning campaign from the ground up?

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Democrats hold a razor-thin majority in the Senate and we’re going to work like hell to use it to deliver real relief to the American people and make progress on big issues that have gone unaddressed for way too long — passing critical economic reforms, advancing racial and social equity, addressing climate change, strengthening our democracy and more.

But our work will be undone if McConnell and his allies take back the Senate in 2022. That’s why we need to start preparing right now for everything Republicans will throw our way.

Our campaign relies on contributions from grassroots supporters like you. Pitch in what you can today to help us protect and expand the Senate majority: