John – you might be wondering why I'm dropping into your inbox with a photo of me in an old sweatshirt ahead of a major FEC fundraising deadline. Well, this sweatshirt has been through a lot – and it also has a lot to do with why I'm running for Senate to defeat Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) and expand our Democratic majority.

This is the sweatshirt my dad wore for years as a union pipefitter-welder. It was a good-paying job that gave us a solid quality of life while I grew up in Sherrill – a rural town in Dubuque County with more cows than people.

The sweatshirt is peppered with holes from sparks of his welding torch. It reminds me of Dad’s old t-shirts we’d wear to bed as kids when we missed him. See, he’d be gone months at a time on the road working 10-hour days to provide for our family.

These memories are instilled in me – they shaped who I am as an Iowan and also a public servant. They are things you cannot forget.

When I was elected to Congress, I brought my dad's old sweatshirt with me to Washington. I brought it not because I needed a reminder of where I came from and who I was fighting for, but because Washington did. To me, it represented the values my parents taught me: hard work, respect for others and service to your community. Their belief system is what led me to run for the U.S. Senate.

If you believe we need strong leaders in the Senate to fight for working families – if you’re with me to flip this seat blue and expand our Democratic Senate majority – then I’m asking you to make a grassroots contribution before our major $75,000 FEC deadline goal. Please give whatever you can to fuel our fight for working families, defeat Sen. Grassley and win in Iowa.

My opponent clearly has forgotten the place he’s supposed to represent and the people he’s supposed to serve. You see, after nearly half a century in Washington, Sen. Grassley left Iowa and the working families here behind, and it's time for change.

But to defeat him, to fight back against the GOP attacks we're already facing, to compete with the $44 million in the bank they have to protect Sen. Grassley and take back the Senate, I need your help.

It would mean the world if you could pitch in any amount right now to send me to the Senate to fight for working families. Every dollar you give will ensure we have the sources to defeat Sen. Grassley – and I promise you, nobody will work harder than I will to win this.

–Abby