Jason,
Two weeks ago we changed forever.
A man driven by hatred and racism drove 650 miles to El Paso to wreak terror on a community which has welcomed our whole team with such open hearts.
None of us will ever forget the volunteers sheltering in place. We won't forget the way our team came together. And we won't forget watching El Paso show us the best of America, the best of humanity, in the wake of unimaginable tragedy.
In Beto's speech yesterday, he talked about the kind of campaign he wants to run going forward. Now I want to chart out the state of the campaign: where we've been, where we are now, and where we're going. We paused fundraising and campaigning for two weeks so our campaign could focus on helping this community heal. Now we need your help to raise another $500,000 by the end of the month.
| Where we've been |
As soon as we knew what was happening, there was no question what we had to do. We turned our campaign's attention on the community here in El Paso and shifted our focus to how we can help. I'm so proud of this team's response — bringing food to victims and their families, donating blood, and raising money for the El Paso Community Fund. With your help, we raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the victims and survivors of the attack.
Another campaign or another candidate might have taken advantage or used this moment to raise money for a campaign — and some even did. Not Beto. Not this team. We canceled our campaign schedule, and put all our efforts into raising as much money as possible for El Paso.
Following the act of terror in El Paso, our teams across the country in states like New Hampshire, South Carolina and Iowa all stood in solidarity. In New Hampshire, Team Beto decided that inaction wasn't an option. So they started a hashtag— #RefuseToDoNothing—and lived those words.
They donated blood, protested, marched, attended vigils, made care packages — and, most importantly, supported each other. They made it clear in their community that we will rise above hate.
| Where we are now |
Just yesterday, I got an update on the campaign's finances. Taking two weeks off of fundraising was the right thing to do for El Paso, for Beto, and for this campaign. But it means we lost out on a lot of time.
We've just suffered several of our lowest fundraising days of the campaign. Now that we're picking back up, we need your help fast.
I wish fundraising weren't so important, but it is. We have the resources we need to be in this for the long haul, but if we don't raise more this quarter, we'll have no choice but to make tough adjustments to our financial plan.
| Where we're going |
Beto said yesterday that he's changed his perspective on this race. This campaign has changed too.
Moving forward, we're going to be working with a fire under us. We know better than most how urgent and important this work is. We are going to be as clear and as strong as possible in drawing our contrasts with Donald Trump.
We have what we need to win: the candidate, the team, and the strategy. And of course, our most critical asset is you. We have the best supporters who are engaged, energized, and ready to put in the work.
We're already qualified for the fall debates because of all your amazing grassroots donations. But we can't just rely on those debates to get our message out. We need to build a much bigger, more widespread campaign.
And to do that, we're going to need some serious help to raise another $500,000 before the end of the month. Can you make a $10 donation right now to help us hit that goal?
Yesterday marked a new beginning for us, for this campaign, and for our country. I'm so fired up about the next few months, and so glad to be in this with you.
Thank you,
Jen O'Malley Dillon
Campaign Manager
Beto for America
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