Hi John,

I'm writing to you from my home in Cedar Rapids where I just wrapped up a call with my team ahead of our most important – and public – FEC filing deadline tomorrow. I'm reaching out to you personally to ask that you make your very first contribution by donating $5. This is the most important fundraising deadline for our campaign yet, so I promise your $5 will make a meaningful impact in our race to defeat Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). I hope you'll allow me a moment to explain.

Right now, polling from the Des Moines Register shows Sen. Grassley has a record-low approval rating with Iowa voters. He's vulnerable, and Republicans know that he's on thin ice. It's probably why the Senate Republican campaign arm has been actively attacking me, and they have nearly $44 million in the bank to go on attacking me and protecting their Trump-endorsed incumbent. I want you to hear this from me: I have every intention of winning this race, but I cannot do it without an unprecedented movement made up of people like you donating $5, $10 or $20 at a time. Your hard-earned dollars build up this movement. 

$44 million in Republican money is a lot to compete with. The full backing of Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump is a lot to compete with. But we can compete and win if we build up the strongest grassroots movement possible! That's why, ahead of our major public FEC reporting deadline, it's so important that you make your first contribution of $5 or whatever you can spare to defeat Sen. Grassley. The best link to donate is right here: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/abby-finkenauer-email

I am not someone who backs down from a challenge, and I've gone up against people like Sen. Grassley before: I won an election against a man double my age, flipped a House seat blue and became the youngest woman to pass legislation through the House. Still, as a young woman in public service, I can't count the number of times I've been underestimated or counted out.

The pundits and so-called experts will say what they want to say, but at the end of the day, I know that with lots of hard work and unwavering grassroots support, we will flip this Senate seat blue.

This is personal. Right now, working families in communities across Iowa are being failed by a senator who has left them behind. Those families are my family. Dad was a union pipefitter-welder, and Mom worked for the Dubuque public school system. They inspired me to show up for my community, which is exactly why I'm running to defeat Sen. Grassley. It's time to lift up the voices of Iowa's working families in the Senate. 

John, I appreciate you sticking with me as I write about what this race means to me. I'm going to bring this email to a close. But before I do, I've got to press the importance of building up a grassroots movement again. When you chip in $5, along with hundreds of other people, it adds up to something powerful. It adds up to a campaign that can compete and win. So please, will you make your first donation to help me win in Iowa and defeat Sen. Grassley? Here's that link again: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/abby-finkenauer-email

With so much gratitude,

Abby