Friend, it's been about 48 hours since I announced my run for U.S. Senate against Marco Rubio – and I've got to tell you, I'm just so touched by the response so far. Notes from friends and family. Encouragement over social media. And of course, the grassroots support from people like you, friend. Thank you.

This is just the beginning. It's special, and I'm feeling hopeful – but I'm also under no illusion about the fights ahead of us. This will be a tough campaign. Election experts are already calling it one of the biggest battleground races for the Senate. And we will be up against tens of millions of dollars in spending from the GOP. 

So I'm reaching out for the second time today to report that we still need 742 members of this team to become Founding Donors. It's our first big fundraising goal – and if we hit it, right out of the gate, we'll show everybody what I know to be true: that this team is unstoppable and we can win in Florida. 

Can I count on you to rush a contribution of $5 or more now – whatever you can spare to become a Founding Donor – so we can defeat Marco Rubio and defend our Democratic Senate majority?

I want you to think back to the days following Nov. 3 of last year. The days when all of us were glued to our TVs or cellphones as the final election results trickled in. Do you remember what you felt like when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were officially declared the winners? And then when Democrats won in Georgia and took back the Senate?  

I felt hope. Relief. Joy. For four long years we fought hard, mobilized and spoke out. Grassroots teams like this one donated whatever they could. And it worked. Now, we are in the midst of delivering a bold agenda for the American people. 

And the Republican Party? They have demonstrated time and again that they are in no rush to abandon their lies about the 2020 election – and that goes double for Marco Rubio. What sort of so-called leader votes against a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate Jan. 6's violent attack on the Capitol?

So here's what I'm asking, friend: Channel what you felt after we won last year. Channel that energy, carry it with you and fight alongside me to win this battleground Senate race and deliver even bigger and better progress for the American people. 

Winning will take a donation today – straight from the heart – to become a Founding Donor of this campaign. So can I count on you to make a contribution of $5 or more now to flip Florida blue and defend our Democratic Senate majority? 

Thank you,

Congresswoman Val Demings