Friend – This week, we reached a campaign milestone. We launched my very first TV ad to defeat Marco Rubio.

In a minute, I'm going to ask you to make a $5 donation to my campaign to keep my ad on the air – but first, give me a few seconds to explain why your gift right now is so important.

This ad will introduce this campaign to millions of Floridians who don't know me as well as you do – it talks about my 27 years in law enforcement and becoming the first woman to serve as Orlando's chief of police.

I'm just a few points behind in this race, and I need everyone from the Panhandle to the Keys to hear my story – but I'm falling $15,671 short of what I need to keep this ad on the air. I have to close this gap before midnight, so please: Will you donate $5 right now to help me reach my goal and share my story with more voters?

It's not typical for a Senate campaign in Florida to launch TV ads so early – in fact, political experts have already said that if you "go on TV in June, you're going to be out of money” in Florida. But so much is on the line here that we just can't afford to wait or get started too late.

The GOP certainly isn't. They’re spending more than $1 million in TV ads attacking me in June because they know that if we win in Florida, Democrats are virtually guaranteed to keep Senate control.

That's why I made the tough call to run my first ad this week. Because I know the stakes of this race, I know that every time I've asked this grassroots team to have my back you've come through. We've built the most historic grassroots fundraising campaign in Florida history, with more than 450,000 people already chipping in to help me take on Marco Rubio. And today, I'm personally calling on you again.

Please, if you're ready to defeat Marco Rubio and put me in the Senate, will you chip in $5 or more – any amount that you can spare – right now to fund our very first TV ad and make sure we can protect our Senate majority?

Thanks for your help,

Val Demings