Friend – Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-IA) just announced that he's running for reelection, and right now, we haven't hit our fundraising goal ahead of our campaign's first public FEC reporting deadline on Sept. 30. This deadline is our biggest fundraising moment so far – and it's also our only opportunity for a head start on Sen. Grassley.

That's why I'm personally reaching out to ask if you'll make a grassroots contribution so we can hit this goal, but before I do, I hope you’ll allow me a moment to explain why it’s so important.

You see, Sen. Grassley has been a politician through 13 different presidents – and after all that time, Iowans are asking: What has that meant for us? What has that meant for our communities? We have lost family farms. Jobs got shipped over seas. Rural areas have been slowly hollowed out as the investment in local communities he should have fought for never came. Meanwhile, as Sen. Grassley and his buddies have gotten richer, working families like the one I come from have been left behind.

Iowa voters have caught on to this failed record: 64% of them think it's time for someone new to serve our state in the Senate. It's time for better leadership, and while I was growing up, my parents always taught me that when I see work to be done to step up the plate and do it. That's why I'm running to defeat Sen. Grassley, but I can only win if we have the resources to compete.

Sen. Grassley just officially announced his reelection campaign a few days ago, so right now is our only opportunity to get a head start on fundraising. With the campaign arm of the Senate Republicans sitting on $25 million, we need to build up the kind of grassroots resources it takes to defeat a seven-term incumbent who's best buds with both Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell. But in my latest finance meeting, I learned we're still $100,000 short of what we need to raise before our FEC filing.

So I've got to ask: Will you rush a $5 donation right now so we can capitalize on this momentum and secure a head start in the fight to bring better, Democratic leadership to Iowa? We only have two days left to make up this gap and get one step closer to defeating Sen. Grassley and expanding our Senate majority.

Thank you for standing with me. My team and I will be in touch with an update soon.

– Abby