Dear friend:

Here in battleground North Carolina, we face a defining moment just weeks from now. Its outcome will help determine the answers to the two most pressing political questions of our time: 

(1) Which party will control the U.S. Senate in 2021? 

(2) Which party will win the White House? 

The fate of our nation hangs in the balance. That’s why I’m urgently requesting your financial support for my U.S. Senate campaign before New Years Day.

The March 3rd primary to select the Democrat who can unseat U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis is pivotal not only because Tillis is vulnerable, but also because NC might swing either way in the presidential election. Our state can tip the balance in 2020 – but only if we choose the candidate who can drive turnout.

That candidate is me. In every poll so far (Emerson, Meredith, and Fox) I’m the frontrunner, against both my primary opponent and against Tillis in November.

There’s just one catch. I’m not just facing a primary opponent. I’m also facing Chuck Schumer, whose Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ignored the people’s voice with its unwise endorsement of my much less qualified opponent. So why am I leading despite my opponent’s flood of Schumer cash?

Because I’m the candidate who energizes voters of all colors. I’m a woman of color who has succeeded by working shoulder to shoulder with people of every color.

I’m the candidate who bridges the urban/rural divide. I grew up working our family’s farm, and have earned my living in major cities like Seattle and Raleigh. I’m a State Senator representing a rural and diverse district, where I champion rural economic development.

I’m the candidate who addresses young voters’ concerns. I don’t just believe in science, I’ve lived it, as an engineer at Boeing. I’ve fought for equality by sponsoring bills to extend hate crimes to include those targeting gender identity and sexual orientation, to repeal our state’s notorious ‘bathroom bill,’ for a $15 minimum wage, for equal pay for equal work, and more.

I’m the candidate who motivates people of faith to vote Democratic again. I’m an ordained clergywoman and church leader.

I’m the candidate who inspires women. With effort, guts, and brains I’ve worked my way up from picking cucumbers to an engineering career, and to my seat in the State Senate, while raising four children.

I’m the candidate who knows how to win elections. I’ve won every one I’ve ever run in, from school board to three state senate terms. My primary opponent has won only one (twenty years ago), but when the going got tough he passed on a reelection bid. Then he lost his 2010 primary bid for the U.S. Senate.

But it’s crunch time, and I need your financial support by December 31st. I ask for it not only for my campaign, but also for all of NC’s Democratic voters, who yearn for a real choice on March 3rd. I need your financial support now to reach those Democrats who don’t yet know about the choice I offer them, to drive them to the polls in March – and again in November.

Let’s let the voters, not Chuck Schumer, decide whom NC Democrats’ champion should be in November. Please donate generously by clicking here, and please do it now (or, at least, before January 1). As little as $20 will help; as much more that you can spare will help even more.

Thank you!

NC State Senator Erica D. Smith