John, it's Gabby Giffords. Eleven years ago, in the blink of an eye, my life changed forever: I was shot in the head while holding an event with constituents in a grocery store parking lot. Six people were killed that day, and 12 others were injured. 

For me, moving forward from this tragedy meant going back to my roots: Public service and making life better for my community. I found purpose and healing in dedicating my life to preventing shootings like the one that took the lives of my constituents – and nearly took mine – by founding Giffords PAC.

We've made real progress on gun violence prevention. I'll be the first to tell you, however, that there is so much more work we still must do. To pass real, comprehensive gun safety legislation, we need new leaders in Congress who will fight against the gun lobby and for meaningful change – which is exactly why Giffords PAC is endorsing Abby Finkenauer in her race against Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) for Iowa's Senate seat.

Sen. Grassley is a gun-lobby loyalist, but I know Abby has what it takes to defeat him. She was the youngest woman to flip a House seat from red to blue. Winning will take a grassroots movement, however. So today, I'm personally asking: Will you donate $5 or more to help Abby win and elect a gun safety champion to the U.S. Senate?

Abby is a passionate advocate for commonsense gun safety. Meanwhile, Sen. Grassley has accepted hundreds of thousands from the NRA in exchange for voting against critical gun violence prevention bills – even lifesaving commonsense background checks. He's been pushing his NRA-approved talking points in the Senate for far too long, but this year we finally have the chance to show him the door.

Nearly two-thirds of Iowans don't want to reelect Sen. Grassley to an eighth term, and election experts are calling this a "tough race" for him. Taking advantage of this unprecedented momentum is essential to expanding our Senate majority and passing gun safety legislation.

That's why today, I'm helping Abby raise another $15,000 before 11:59 p.m. so that she can compete with Sen. Grassley and the deep-pocketed gun lobby backing him. So please, will you stand with me today by making a donation to elect Abby, expand our Democratic Senate majority and pass gun violence prevention legislation?

Thank you for standing with me. Your support means the world.

– Gabby