As your official Democratic nominee for Florida's U.S. Senate seat, I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my roots.

I was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1957, the youngest of seven children. My mother was a maid and my father was a janitor, and I'll be honest, money was tight at times. But still, that didn't stop my parents from working hard to give me the world. 

This photo is from my first trip to Washington, D.C., so many years ago, when I visited the city on a class trip. The trip was expensive – more than I thought we could afford – but my dad took out an advance on his next paycheck so he could send me to the nation's capital.

After this trip, everything was different. I began to consider a career in service and, after graduating college (the first in my family to do so!), I made the decision to enter the police academy at a time when so few police officers were Black and female. 

After a few years on the force in Orlando, I was elected as chief of police – the first woman ever to fill that rank on the Orlando Police Department! I served as a law enforcement officer for nearly 30 years, and my work even allowed me to meet President Obama! 

But after so many decades spent protecting and serving the people of Orlando, I knew that my career in service was nowhere near finished. That's when I decided to run for Congress in 2016 and succeeded in flipping my seat blue. Since then, I've proudly served as congresswoman for Florida's 10th Congressional District. 

As congresswoman, I've gotten the chance to directly fight for Florida's working families and bring law and order back to the House of Representatives. I even got the opportunity to serve as an impeachment case manager in Donald Trump's first impeachment. 

But ultimately, I knew that as long as MAGA Republicans like Marco Rubio were in power, progress and equality would always be in danger. That's when I made the decision to file for the U.S. Senate – because I knew that I could be the one to finally defeat Rubio and flip his seat blue. 

But, friend, I can't continue my journey and retire Marco Rubio without YOUR support. TWO recent polls have us TIED in the race that will determine Senate control, and I'm relying on this tremendous grassroots community to help me finally surge ahead in the polls. 

Right now I'm falling short of my must-hit, $50,000 midnight fundraising deadline, so I have to ask: Will you rush $5 to my campaign for Senate now so I can defeat Marco Rubio, defend our Senate majority and flip Florida blue?

Thank you for taking a moment to hear my story.

Val Demings