Friend, I apologize for being so blunt, but I just read a text from my finance director with awful news: I fell just $9,561 short of my most crucial End of Month fundraising goal.

When I miss my important goals, I risk my chance of winning in Florida – particularly since Marco Rubio and the GOP are raising millions to defeat me.

So here’s what I’m seeing, friend: Marco Rubio and the Republican establishment are going to keep raising huge sums of money. They're already attacking me, and they'll keep attacking me. That's why I cannot lose any ground – not when Florida's last Senate race was decided by only 10,033 votes. So I asked my team to pull your supporter record, and here's what I saw:

Friend, can I count on you to chip in $5, $25 or more to make up this fundraising shortfall, flip Florida blue and defeat Marco Rubio? Every dollar goes directly to defending our Senate majority.

I'm not exaggerating when I say 2022 is a tipping point that could determine our country's future. Voting rights. Pandemic recovery. These and other vital issues hinge on expanding our Senate majority – and Roll Call is reporting that Florida is one of the states that will determine Senate control next year.

With Marco Rubio having a record fundraising quarter while we're falling short of our grassroots goals, I'm worried we'll have to make some difficult decisions like pulling back ads or our voter registration efforts. I know engaged supporters like you don't want to see that happen. 

But we're looking at a pretty hefty deficit of $9,561. Will you please rush a few dollars right now to help us close this shortfall and defend our Democratic Senate majority?

Thank you for joining in this fight. 

Congresswoman Val Demings