Can I explain something, folks?

In 2009, I was appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate for Colorado. Polls pegged my name recognition at a whopping 3%. Republicans called me the “accidental Senator.” Even a national political website greeted my new position with the headline: “WTF?!!.”

To say the least, I was not an obvious choice.

And it’s true, I had never run for office before. But during my time in education, I worked with incredible people from all over and saw America for what it was — its strengths, weaknesses, where we could do better, what our neighbors needed help with.

So I knew — with the right team — we could do some good in the Senate, fighting for the state we loved and the country that welcomed my and many others’ immigrant families. And thanks to folks like you, we’ve been here ever since working to expand opportunity for all.

But now we’re up for re-election and Mitch McConnell has already made me a top target. All Republicans have to do is flip one seat to retake the Senate majority, and it’s clear he has his sights set on Colorado. To make matters worse, we’re way behind our fundraising goal for the quarter.

We cannot afford to lose the Senate majority. Can I personally count on you to split a contribution of $5 or more between Jeanne and my campaign to help us reach our end-of-quarter fundraising goal so we can have the resources to fight back and protect this seat?

I’m counting on your grassroots donation to fuel our campaign. Thanks for chipping in today.

Michael