This is urgent, friend: I'm just a few points behind Marco Rubio in a race that experts are saying could help decide Senate control – but I'm falling short of my critical midnight fundraising goal at the worst possible moment:

With your help, this team is closing the polling gap with Rubio – but unfortunately we still don't have enough to compete with the GOP's deep pockets. I know our grassroots movement has what it takes to pull ahead and flip Florida blue, but I need to meet this fundraising goal by our midnight deadline to have a shot.

Florida's last Senate election was decided by just 0.12 points – only 10,033 votes – and this race is bound to be just as close. Do you know what that means, friend? Every single dollar is going to make a huge impact on our efforts to win in Florida. I can't afford to cut a single hour of canvassing or phone banking, because every voter I fail to reach could cost me this election.

It's urgent, friend: Marco Rubio is breaking fundraising records – and national Republicans have already poured $10 million into this race to keep Democrats like me from winning in Florida again.

This is a make-or-break moment for my campaign, so I'm counting on grassroots supporters like you to help me close this fundraising gap, pull ahead in the polls and defeat Marco Rubio. It's the only way to defend the Senate majority and defend our democracy from the GOP.

Please, friend, split $5 right now between my campaign and Gary Peters' to help me close this critical fundraising gap before the MIDNIGHT deadline. In a race this close, every dollar counts, so I need you to contribute whatever you can to help me defeat Rubio.

Thank you,

Val Demings