John, it's Val Demings, and I just made a really tough call.

I just got out of an emergency meeting with my team, and they told me this: Marco Rubio has spent $15.7 million on TV ads this year, and a recent poll shows me 1 point behind. The bottom line is that I need to counter GOP spending with ads of my own – immediately.

I talked through our options with my team, and I ended up making a really difficult decision: I approved a new ad buy to reach undecided voters over the next 4 days – even though we don't have the budget yet.

I had no other choice here John. Races in Florida are always decided by razor-thin margins, so running just one more round of ads could help me reach just enough voters to win. I can't afford to play it safe – not when Senate control is on the line and our race is this tight.

I know it's not ideal to spend the money before we raise it, but I have faith in this grassroots team. I took a gamble that we could raise $15,000 before midnight to cover the cost of our new ads – and now, I'm counting on your support.

Please, John: This race could decide which party wins Senate control, so I'm counting on every Democrat to help me close this budgeting gap. Can I count on you to donate $10 to split between my campaign and The Majority Rules right now to help me pay for my new ads, defeat Marco Rubio and flip Florida blue?

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

– Val Demings