This is an honest email about what Trump resuming in-person fundraising means for this race:

We can't hold any illusions about the state of the race going into this final stretch of the campaign.

FIRST: We outraised Trump and the RNC in Q2, proving that grassroots strength and momentum are on our side heading into the most important election of our lifetimes. THEN: We learned that we didn't just outraise Trump and the RNC in Q2 -- we reduced their cash-on-hand advantage by a whopping 72%: NOW: Trump is panicking that his cash-on-hand advantage is almost gone. He's holding fundraisers at a furious clip, even restarting in-person fundraisers in the middle of a pandemic: Pat, I'll be honest: Trump restarting in-person fundraisers could change the game. We were able to put a sizable dent in Trump and the RNC's cash-on-hand advantage -- one of Trump's biggest assets going into this race. But if Trump is starting to fundraise in person while Joe Biden and Democrats observe limits on in-person gatherings and social distancing, then we need to make sure we can continue keeping pace. And that means ramping up what money we can bring in online, especially from this grassroots team through emails like this one. We don't have a gift from you on file from last quarter, Pat. Will you help us keep pace in this important moment by contributing $7 today? Together, we can ensure Trump doesn't pull away from us in fundraising and ensure we're in the strongest position possible to elect Joe Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot. DONATE: $7 DONATE: $10 DONATE: $25 DONATE: $50 DONATE: $100 Donate another amount We can't hold any illusions about the state of the race going into this final stretch of the campaign. In Joe Biden, Democrats have a better candidate, with a winning message and a history of strong leadership, empathy, and compassion -- qualities that won't just be instrumental to winning the top of the ticket, but critical House, Senate, and local races, too. But Trump has his own advantages: He's an incumbent president, and he's had a three-year head start on campaigning and fundraising. At one point, his cash-on-hand advantage was in the hundreds of millions of dollars, money that had the potential to overwhelm even our smartest efforts to out-organize or out-message him. That's what makes this moment so critical, Pat: We can't afford to lose out on any of the progress we've made eating into Trump's cash-on-hand advantage. We cannot let our foot off the gas, especially as Trump is starting fundraising in-person again, which is why I'll ask you one more time: Donate $7, or whatever you can afford, today. I know some folks can't afford to give right now, and that's OK -- I'm confident that if every member of this team who can chip in does, we'll be exactly where we need to be to keep pace with Trump and his Republican allies' accelerated fundraising. With gratitude, Tom Tom Perez Chair Democratic National Committee P.S. We're in a position to keep pace with Trump's money machine as he starts holding in-person fundraisers again, but it won't be easy. Frankly, there's no way we can do it without grassroots Democrats like you. But I know that if this team can dig a little deeper, we won't just keep pace -- we can completely take out what was once one of Trump's biggest advantages in this race If you can, contribute $7 today to make it happen. If you no longer wish to receive emails from the DNC, submit this form to unsubscribe. If you'd only like to receive our most important messages, sign up to receive less email. If you're ready to elect Democrats in all 50 states, make a contribution today. Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not tax deductible. Paid for by the Democratic National Committee, www.Democrats.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.