Hello,

I was a three-star admiral, but when Donald Trump was elected, I voted with my feet and retired after 36 years in the U.S. Navy. Life is about choices, and I was not going to work for a demagogue such as Trump.

Because here’s something you won’t hear anyone on Fox ‘Entertainment’ News admit: Donald J. Trump was – and still is – a national security threat.

Trump wanted to withdraw from NATO, cozied up to our enemies, and alienated our allies. He attacked our democracy and incited an armed insurrection on our Capitol. He tried to hold military aid to Ukraine hostage, and who knows what kind of kompromat Russia has on him...

Twice Donald Trump was impeached. And twice Chuck Grassley stood by his side. It’s time for my opponent Senator Chuck Grassley to stand on a bit of principle and finally repudiate any affiliation with Donald Trump. If you don't stand against him, then you stand with him.

I’m running for Senate because Republicans like Chuck Grassley are still acting like Trump’s lap dogs. They’ll do nothing to confront the climate crisis, take on Big Pharma and the NRA, or rein in Wall Street. And when I defeat Chuck Grassley, Iowa will be represented by the most senior military person ever-elected to the U.S. Senate. That sounds fitting right about now.

A brand-new poll from the gold-standard Des Moines Register shows I'm only THREE points behind Chuck Grassley. He can be beaten. His approval ratings are lower than they’ve ever been. But even McConnell is now running TV ads attacking me with lies, so if I’m going to win, I need grassroots donors like you to give now.

We’re facing our most critical fundraising deadline yet, and right now we’re still very short of our goal and what we need to defeat Grassley and turn Iowa blue.

Please, may I count on you to give $5 or more right now – every dollar you can afford – to help me defeat Chuck Grassley, turn Iowa blue, and protect our Democratic majority in the Senate?

Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Tucker Carlson, and Ted Cruz have already come to campaign for Grassley in Iowa. And Trump is about to come back yet again!

But they have a big problem with this admiral. Everything the far-right thinks they ‘own’ – patriotism, service, and blue-collar ethics – are empty rhetoric against me.

Thank you so much for being such a critical part of this campaign,

Mike Franken, U.S. Navy (ret.)