It's official, John:

I am now the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, and the race to take on Ron Johnson starts now.

In order to flip this seat in November, I'm relying on an unprecedented grassroots movement to defeat Ron Johnson.

I cannot do this alone.

Wisconsin's Senate race is one of the most important races in the entire country this year. Because defending the Democratic Senate majority depends on what happens in Wisconsin.

So I'm asking you directly:

Can you please split $5 between my campaign for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin and Voter Protection Project? Every contribution – no matter how large or small – will ensure our campaign has the resources to flip this seat.

I was born and raised in Milwaukee. I don’t come from a wealthy or well-connected family. But I do come from a proud union family.

My mom was a Milwaukee school teacher for 30 years, and my dad worked 3rd shift at the General Motors plant. Those jobs were my family's ticket to the middle class.

My parents spent their days organizing for better wages and advancing workers' rights. Their example showed me the importance of coming together around shared values and fighting for opportunity for everyone.

The current system isn't working for people in Wisconsin and across the country. Hard work just isn't paying off like it used to. People are working longer and longer for less and less while big corporations and CEOs bring in larger profits than ever before.

That's why we can't settle for what is – we have to reach for what can be.

Now that we are up against Ron Johnson, we will be facing some very powerful special interest groups and right-wing super PACs that want to stop our campaign.

They will pour tens of millions of dollars into negative ads to try to defeat me and prop up Ron Johnson. The truth is that they will stop at nothing to defend this seat.

So we need to be ready for whatever they will throw our way, which means I am relying on lots of people making contributions to help flip Wisconsin's Senate seat and defend the Senate majority.

Can you please split $5 between my campaign for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin and Voter Protection Project? We'll put your contribution immediately to work to win this race.

As long as we are in this together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.

Thank you for adding your contribution today.

All my best,

Mandela Barnes