Hi, friend. It's Val Demings. 

I don't get downtime that often, but when I do, my husband, Jerry, and I like to go through our old photo albums. We laugh at the horribly out-of-style outfits, get teary at how little our three sons once were and take a moment to acknowledge where we started versus where we are now.

Friend, only in America could our family have achieved this level of opportunity. I'm the Black daughter of a maid and a janitor who grew up in the 1960s South, and I have a real chance at becoming Florida’s next senator.

I owe a large part of my success to Jerry, who has been my partner in crime fighting for more than three decades – but I also owe immense gratitude to grassroots supporters like you.

Thanks to this massive grassroots team, we've been able to outraise Rubio every single quarter and make this race competitive. But we're in danger of falling short of our midnight fundraising goal – and we're running out of time to close the gap. 

If I'm honest, I'm worried that missing this goal means losing our momentum to flip Florida blue – because I'm already being outspent in key areas of the state and the latest polling has us slipping. 

So please – to help me close the 1-point gap in the polls and defeat my anti-choice, pro-Trump opponent, Marco Rubio – will you donate $5 to my campaign for Senate now? Here's the best link: https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/vd_senate-fr-email-octobermatch

Thank you for making history with me.

Val Demings