Blog de Dunlap: I’m the only Democrat in our competitive U.S. Senate race who does this.

Hey Danielle, it's Katie Porter. You might know me as "the woman with the whiteboard."

I'm also the only Democrat in California's competitive U.S. Senate race who has never taken a dime of corporate PAC money and refuses contributions from federal lobbyists. Here's a story behind that pledge:

A few years ago I attended a reception for newly elected Members in DC. A lobbyist came up to me and said "I guess you're one of the Members we'll never see." I asked him what he meant. He said it was because I was one of the newly elected Members who was bucking tradition and refusing corporate PAC money.

Since that day, I've said clearly — if lobbyists want to see me, they can see me. But they better bring their good ideas, not their checkbooks. For example, there are lobbyists for organizations like Planned Parenthood who I'm happy to work with and learn from. But no matter who they are lobbying for, I won't be swayed by their checks.

Elizabeth Warren and I are some of the very few Members who refuse lobbyist donations. In fact, there are just 11 of us in the U.S. House. That means we rely on your grassroots support to tackle corruption in Washington together. Can you split a donation between our grassroots-powered campaigns today?

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Americans deserve to know that their Senators work for them — not special interests. Whether it's using my whiteboard to hold Wall Street CEOs accountable or passing legislation to prevent Big Pharma from price-gouging, I'm proud to fight for working people and reflect this principle in my campaign's financing. In addition to rejecting federal lobbyist money, I also don't accept a dime from corporate PACs, Big Oil, Big Pharma, and Big Bank CEOs.

I'm running in a tough primary to serve as California's next Senator, and Election Day for us is just over three months away. In moments like this when campaigning gets competitive, I don't call up corporate interests who want to trade large checks for political favors. I send emails like this one to grassroots supporters like you.

Elizabeth fundraises for her campaign the same way: Through grassroots support. She has been a mentor to me ever since she was my law processor in the early 2000s, and she taught me early on that nobody gets elected alone.

So that's why I'm reaching out, Danielle. Are you able to split a donation to support my campaign for Senate and Elizabeth's re-election campaign so we can fight together in the Senate?

Thanks for everything,

Katie Porter