The middle period of a drive is the most difficult part. You’re past the initial rush of contributions (thank you!). But it’s before you start approaching the finish line, at which point the pace starts picking up again. The middle period is where we are right now — but we’re now getting close to a big, big milestone, because over the last 53 hours, TPM readers have contributed just over $44,000. Which is friggin’ amazing! Now we’re coming up on the last big milestone ($400,000) before we hit our goal of $500,000. We think we can get there this weekend. We’re now just over $378,000. If you want to help nudge us toward the big four-zero-zero, just click right here.

The Times-Siena poll has been among the least friendly to Democrats through this political cycle and the previous one as well. It’s always important to remember: that doesn’t mean it’s “wrong” or “biased.” In every election you have a range of pollsters making slightly different assumptions about the electorate. You only know which assumptions are right, or most predictive, when you get the election results. Today Times-Siena released a new poll showing Harris up 50-46 over Donald Trump in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Same result in each.

I want to urge you not to let the week come to an end without making your contribution to the TPM Journalism Fund. 

We come to you in a bit of a different posture this year. Compared to past years, TPM isn’t just stable financially but in a stronger position than perhaps we’ve ever been. It’s a product of a prudent business strategy applied consistently over time. No tricks, no magic, no secret sauce, except the longstanding relationship we have with you that has given us the luxury of time. Time to retool, rejigger, experiment, fail, and try again. The community you have helped us to build is the source of our hardiness in what remains an extremely difficult environment for many news publishers. 

So why give to TPM now if things are going well? The answer comes down to the enormous difference between running a news business while constantly having to bail water out of the bottom of the boat versus being able to focus on navigating toward an ambitious destination while avoiding bad weather and treacherous shoals. 

We don’t know what the next four months hold, let alone the next four years. But we do know that if your support lags now we’ll be left vulnerable in the rough weather and high seas we’ll inevitably encounter. But if you continue to give us the support you have in recent years, we can use that to build out a sturdier craft, which in turn lets us be more ambitious about where we sail it. 

Whether it’s confronting the grim reality of a Trump II presidency or working to shore up the foundational elements of democracy and protect them from future threats like Trump, there is a lot of work to be done. We want to do that work at a high enough level that the impacts in the world are real and tangible and extend beyond the confines of the TPM community. 

Asking for your support is a humbling thing to do. We don’t take your support for granted. In fact, we marvel at it. We are constantly evaluating and reevaluating how to earn and sustain that support not just because there are no guarantees but because you deserve our best effort. That, too, is foundational to this community.

Please, give what you can. If you’re in a financial position to give a little extra and take some of the load off of others, we’re asking you to take that on as part of your contribution to the TPM community. For everyone who has given so far, our deepest thanks.

One thing that gets a bit lost in all the helter-skelter of the last few days: Trump caved big time. Harris said he needed to show up on September 10th. And after three weeks of threats and whining he agreed.