Friend: Each and every day, it is not lost on me that I'm in what will undoubtedly be the most expensive 2022 race for the U.S. Senate – a race that can decide the Senate majority and will be anything but easy.

But I know a thing or two about persevering, and winning, even if the odds are stacked against me. 

I've overcome plenty of adversity in my life, friend. There is nothing easy about growing up as a poor, Black girl in the segregated South. But my family's faith, and faith in opportunity, taught me perseverance. It was my family, particularly my mother's words of "Never tire of doing good, Val" that pushed me to where I am.

I carry the spirit of her words with me even today – as I reflect about my career of service to Floridians and my path to being a candidate for U.S. Senate.

There was nothing easy about being a first-generation college graduate – nor was it easy working my way up the ranks of the Orlando Police Department. For 27 years, I served when it wasn't exactly ordinary to see a woman on the force, let alone a Black woman. But I never tired, and eventually, I became the first woman to lead my department as chief of police. 

And friend, I know firsthand there's nothing easy about winning elections in Florida. My first run for Congress was one of my toughest fights – but even in defeat, I never tired because I knew I could do good for my community. And it certainly wasn't easy to hold a lawless president – a habitual offender – to account. But I served as an impeachment manager, prosecuting Donald Trump in the Senate, because no one should be above the law. 

My road to this moment was not easy, and I'm not sure that a little Black girl, the daughter of a maid and a janitor growing up in the South in the '60s, could have had a story so filled with opportunities like these anywhere else but in America. And I am determined to meet this moment, to win, to never tire of doing good, so that anyone can have a story of opportunity.

This may be my toughest challenge yet, which is why I'm urging you – every last person reading this email – to chip in whatever they can to ensure I have the resources to defeat Marco Rubio and win in Florida: Please, will you split a donation of $5 or more between my campaign and Senator Shaheen to help me flip Florida blue and defend our Democratic Senate majority? Every dollar you give increases our ability to compete and win this tough battleground race. 

With so much gratitude for all you do,

–Val Demings