Friend – you might wonder why I’m dropping into your inbox, with just hours until our first big (and public) FEC fundraising deadline, with a photo of me holding an old sweatshirt peppered with burn holes. Well, that sweatshirt has a lot to do with why I'm running for Iowa's Senate seat to defeat Chuck Grassley – and why our end-of-quarter fundraising push is so important – so I hope you’ll allow me a moment to explain.

You see, my parents couldn’t give me a trust fund or debt-free college experience, but they gave me something worth a heck of a lot more: They taught me about seeing work to be done and doing it. About treating people with respect. And to never think you’re better than anyone else, no matter what you do or where you go.

I come from a working class family, and working class families are who I’ve been fighting for my whole career in public service – because far too often, it’s the big guys with the fat wallets that get what they want from our government, when it should be the other way around.

When I was elected to Congress, I took this sweatshirt that my dad wore while welding as a union pipefitter with me on my very first day, to remind myself every day why I was there and who I was fighting for.

I’m in this fight for working families like the one I come from – because Sen. Grassley has stopped showing up for us and representing our interests.

If you believe Iowans need a stronger voice – if you’re with me to flip Iowa blue and protect our Democratic Senate majority – then I’m asking you to pitch in a grassroots contribution so we can hit our biggest fundraising goal before our first end-of-quarter FEC deadline. Political pundits will be using these public fundraising numbers to judge the strength of our campaign, so please give whatever you can before midnight tonight to fuel our fight for working families, defeat Sen. Grassley and win in Iowa.

I'm so grateful for your support.

Abby