Former Housing Secretary Julian Castro speaks at the Democratic presidential debate in Houston, Texas, September 12, 2019. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Way back on January 10, 1987, evangelical television viewers witnessed a rather infamous request for money:

Oral Roberts needs about $4.5 million in “quick money” from followers or God won’t let him live past March, the evangelist says. “I’m asking you to help me extend my life,” Roberts told his television audience Sunday. “We’re at the point where God could call Oral Roberts home.” Speaking from the clinical laboratory at his City of Faith Medical and Research Center, Roberts asked viewers to send $100 immediately and pledge additional amounts for February and March. The evangelist, who will be 69 on Jan. 24, said God told him that raising the possibility of his death was necessary to get the attention of his followers.

Oral Roberts did hit his fundraising mark, and — perhaps because God was pleased with his fundraising, or perhaps coincidentally — lived to age 91, passing away in 2009.

Earlier this year, Cory Booker said that if his campaign didn’t raise $2 million in ten days, he might not be in the race much longer. Booker hit the threshold. Now, Julian Castro is making a variation of the same pitch: donate now, or the God of Campaign Expenses will call Julian Castro home!

The fundraising tactic is a last-ditch effort for a candidate who has struggled to raise money for much of his campaign; he entered the fourth quarter of 2019 with less than $700,000 in the bank. In the email, the former Housing and Urban Development secretary writes that the donations are needed to help him qualify for November’s Democratic debate, something he has failed to do so far. “I’m asking you to fight for me like never before,” Castro says in the email. “If I don’t meet this deadline, I won’t have the resources to keep my campaign running. I’m counting on your $5 in this critical moment.”

In related news, National Review could really use your support, but as far as we know, God isn’t threatening to off anyone if you don’t give enough.