I’m a “cool nerd” and I’ve been crunching the numbers

many hands make light work [Pamela Pugh for Congress]( {NAME}, if you know me, you know I’m a little bit of a nerd. Okay, I try to brand myself as a “cool nerd,” but to be honest, I can geek out over a spreadsheet better than almost anyone else. So ahead of our first big quarterly fundraising deadline of 2024, I’ve been taking a look at the numbers. After some analysis, to be completely blunt – I need your help, {NAME}. Here’s why: From what we are hearing, our campaign fundraising is lagging a bit behind other competitors for this seat, and we need to play catch-up before Sunday’s end-of-quarter FEC campaign finance deadline. Here's what I've got in my spreadsheet: Our average online donation so far this year has been $33, a true grassroots amount. [This is of the utmost importance that we have a strong showing at this deadline. Can you pitch in our average online donation of $33 right now to help us hit our $25,000 EOQ online fundraising goal? I know more than 757 of our supporters will read this, and if they all pitch in, we’ll smash this goal right now! (That’s the math)!]( If you've stored your info with ActBlue Express, we'll process your contribution instantly: [DONATE $3]( [DONATE $33]( [DONATE $133]( [ANOTHER AMOUNT]( Now I want to be clear: it’s not the total number of donations where we are having an issue competing. Growing up, my family had a saying: “Many hands make light work,” and so far that’s been happening with our campaign fundraising… Thousands of Michiganders and folks around the country who believe in electing someone with my track record – a policy advocate for children, a public health expert, and a black woman with an advanced STEM degree to Congress – have stepped up to pitch in grassroots donations to our campaign so far this quarter. Our average online donation has been a truly people-powered figure: $33. The problem is, we’re running against corporate and special-interest-backed Democrats to secure the nomination for this toss-up seat that Democrats need to win to hold the house. While folks have been chipping in what they can for our campaign, some of my opponents have been working their insider connections and collecting big four-figure checks hand over fist. (If you can do some quick math, each one of those checks can be worth 30-100 of our average online donations). So, here’s what I need from you right now, {NAME}. What we have here is a “collective action problem.” [The majority of people reading this probably won’t take action, but if you and thousands of other supporters reading this stepped up and made one more $3, $33, $300, or even a $3,300 “max-out” contribution, we’d be able to catch up with our opponents by the deadline and post a very competitive fundraising number when everything goes public in early April. If enough of us build collective power, we can do this, {NAME}.]( Thank you for donating and helping me build a people-powered campaign at this deadline, Dr. Pamela Pugh --------------------------------------------------------------- I’m Dr. Pamela Pugh, and I’m a Saginaw native running for Congress in Michigan's 8th District. I've spent my career fighting to improve the lives of Michigan residents through public health initiatives, and as the Chief Public Health Advisor for Flint I played a pivotal role in standing alongside Flint residents during the water crisis. As a public servant, I currently serve as the President of the Michigan State Board of Education, a statewide elected position. I believe in standing up for the people and fighting for our democracy, our children, and our future. I've lived in Michigan's 8th District for my entire life and it will be the honor of a lifetime to represent my community in the House of Representatives. I'm relying on grassroots contributions to fuel my campaign to victory — [so please chip in what you can right now!]( Our email list is an important tool for us to reach Democrats and activists in Michigan and around the country. If you no longer wish to receive emails from us, please use [this link to unsubscribe.]( Pugh for Michigan 4580 State Street Saginaw, MI 48603 United States Unit 138 Paid for by Pugh for Michigan | Eric Welsby, Treasurer