One of you suggested raising at least 1K for every Democrat running for Senate against an incumbent. We’ve now done that for everyone in a race rated Likely Republican, Lean Republican, Toss-Up, or Leans Democrat. We hit a few Solid Republican races too (LA, TN, SD). I probably want to do WY because it’s an open seat. There are about seven others we haven’t hit yet.
Is that something people want to do, hit them all? And if there’s a Senate race you’d like us to hit, let me know in these comments with a blurb and I’ll do it. I’ll link back to this in future Senate posts and check on the comments here every few days to look for new requests.
I don’t say this lightly but we are in the middle of a fundraising revolution on the left. We’re getting towards a place where Democrats can run for major offices anywhere and know that they have the money to run a serious race. Thank you all for you help in moving us towards that place.
Joe Biden: Live Q&A
raven
And the man on the radio won’t leave me alone
He wants to take my money for something that I’ve never been shown
James E Powell
Arizona! The Maricopa County Democratic Party.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
anybody know what’s going on in MT? that race has kind of fallen off the radar.
DougJ
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
I’m definitely doing it again soon. We raised a ton already.
DougJ
@James E Powell:
I’ll toss that in tomorrow too.
Chetan Murthy
How about GOTV orgs? I donated to the Texas Organizing Project last cycle, and plan to do so again this year. This looks like a good list of orgs (but I’m not -yet- certain): https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12ZVh9BNkuNewVoOnDZ6pROPOp0zRfcBp8YuF-BmEzU4/edit#slide=id.g8a134a0d64_0_64
(the aggregator org is called “Walk the Walk”).
Baud
Wasn’t there a Juicer running in WY?
lashonharangue
@Chetan Murthy: Yes!! How about Voto Latino?
DougJ
@Baud:
Yeah, last time. We raised some money for him. I wish he was running again. Honestly, I think at some level raising money for good candidates who are super longshots might be the best thing people can do….it makes it easier to recruit good candidates down the road. And that’s maybe the most important thing you can do.
piratedan
@DougJ: you mean it’s like a “WE SEE YOU” list of good Dems doing the right thing in running against crazed brazen stupidity. I could get behind that.
I would even suggest maybe backing Dem orgs in deep red states to allow them the funds to do infrastructure and recruitment. We aren’t going to win in places like Alabama or West By God until we get those people money to build and organize and recruit candidates. Seems like there are roughly 10-15 states here that could qualify for that kind of attention.
Yutsano
We can leave out Arkansas and Nebraska. Arkansas ha no real opponent, and the Democratic nominee in Nebraska is problematic to say the least. So that’s two races we can write off. Otherwise yeah shooting for the moon is fine with me.
Geminid
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Local media including TV stations and newspapers like the Missoula Current, Great Falls Tribune, Montana Free Press etc. are covering the Montana Senate race between Bullock and Daines. Looks like it may go down to the wire.
piratedan
@Yutsano: maybe this is a case where since there is no candidate we think about fundraising for the stat committee kinda thang… I hate having to concede any race and if people don’t even have a choice, well…
feebog
If there is one race I would like to see emphasized, it’s Iowa. I thing Greenfield has an excellent shot and it is not an expensive market, so dollars go a lot further there. Greenfield wins and we win the Senate, period.
Nelle
@feebog: In Des Moines, we are sick of the campaign…during evening news, it’s only ads for Ernst and Greenfield, over and over, sometimes the same ad 2 or 3 times in the same 30 minutes. Axne and Finkenauer are both trying to retain their House seats and could use some cash, too.
HinTN
Tennessee, Congressional District #4, Dem is Chris Hale. He ran and lost in the 2018 primary and strongly endorsed the winner, who ultimately lost to the odious Scott DesJarlais. This time he won the primary and he’s campaigning EVERYWHERE
ETA: His slogan is Hale Yes
HinTN
@Nelle: I have written postcards for Greenfield through Flip the West. Hope she wins!
Yutsano
Maybe in Montana we could switch focus a bit. We can support Bullock but also Kathleen Williams for the lone House seat. I was looking at the primary support for both and honestly both Bullock and Williams have a chance here. Most of Montana’s population sits on the west side of the state, so that allows for some cheap media markets plus there could be focus on college towns. Williams is emphasising her deep roots in the state. She might have a decent shot.
Mike in NC
Ernst really needs to be bounced since she’s now parroting QAnon craziness.
Fair Economist
In view of the complaint about the IA airwaves already being saturated, how about donations for party-building or voter turnout in the hot states? Canvasing, rides to the polls, etc., probably aren’t saturated anywhere.
natem
@James E Powell:
Seeing the advances by Dems in AZ has me thinking about long term what might be. We all know the Democratic Party finds ways to snatch defeat from the jaws, etc., but Hear Me Out!
If we can get the WH back and make grounds on some state houses (looking at you Texas), I think the Dem party is in great shape over the next decade, if not longer. The GOP is an absolute hollowed out husk of a functioning national party, propped up by Kochs and Murdochs, appealing to a smaller and smaller base.
Yes, they’ve been known for turning out their base when they need to, and for effectively working the refs in the MSM, but this party is being taken over by the most bug-freaking crazies, and in time will crash under its own weight.
BUT we’ve gotta show up in November…
Mallard Filmore
I just saw this in the sidebar of Mock Paper Scissors. It has a nice picture of every state’s electoral votes.
https://www.electoral-vote.com/
Probably everyone here has already seen this.
Ripley
Anything anyone can do to get rid of Ernst is welcome. She’s a fucking blight on this state.
Uncle Cosmo
@Yutsano: Fabulous – someone finally mentions Kathleen Williams, after I’ve brought her up 5-6 times in Doogie-Jay’s blegs to deafening silence every damn time.
lowtechcyclist
…without having to rely on fat cats, like Steny Hoyer does.
That part’s the really important part. The way the party and candidates raised money before ActBlue limited what the party could do for the people because they were too dependent on the moneyed interests.
Being able to get funded from small contributions without having to spend one’s time chatting up the denizens of wine caves frees up Dems to really be Dems.
Chetan Murthy
@lashonharangue: Yep. Your comment is precisely what I hoped would happen: that others (like you) would bring up other orgs that we didn’t know of.
They say this election will be won on base turnout. And those orgs are the ones that are gonna do it. I’m donating to campaigns, but also to these orgs, b/c while the campaigns will buy teevee ads, these orgs will (hopefully) send the $$ on shoe-leather to get people registered and voting.
Richard Guhl
@Uncle Cosmo: Alaska and Montana are the moneyball states. Their quirky politics and cheap media markets make them both worth a play. And Trump is slightly underwater on approval in both. So, both the Senatorial and Congressional races are worth a shot.
catfishncod
I think Kathleen Williams is an excellent suggestion, and I suggest a few more targeted House races, for this reason:
It is possible for us to block use of the House of Representatives’ voting-by-states in favor of .45, simply by denying them a majority of R-dominated House delegations.
Some further moneyballing:
At the moment there are 26 states with majority GOP delegations; 22 with majority Dem delegations; and two ties. Many of those delegations are in rock hard ruby red states that won’t be budged, but a few can be pushed by just one or two seats flipping:
PA-01: PVI R+1; PA-10: PVI R+6 — either one would resolve PA’s tie in favor of the blue.
MI-06: PVI R+4; MI-03: PVI R+6; MI-07: PVI R+7 — any of these resolves MI’s tie in favor of the blue.
FL-18: PVI R+5; FL-15: PVI R+6 — either would flip FL’s delegation to majority blue.
WI-01: PVI R+5; WI-08: PVI R+7 — either one ties the Wisconsin delegation; both turn it blue.
AK-AL: PVI +9, but a state with strong independent vote. A slightly softer target than the PVI +11 MT-AL with a similar maverick potential.
Leumas
I don’t think the Oklahoma senate race is on anyone’s radar. Defeating Inhofe would be the longest of long shots. The Democrat, Abby Broyles, is the best candidate the Dems have had here in ages. She is young, energetic, and as good on the issues as is possible in Oklahoma. She needs campaign money. She is well known in the OKC media market, but a total stranger in the Tulsa media market, which is also Inhofe’s home base. She needs to be better known here. OKC is turning purple. In the 2018 governor’s election, the Democrat carried the OKC area, but Tulsa and the rural areas voted heavily Republican, and elected our mini-Trump as governor. To have any impact, a Democrat must keep the Tulsa market close, carry the OKC market, and let the rural red areas be red. Inhofe is a shrewd politician. He senses trouble for Republicans this year, and is airing TV ads for the first time I remember since the early 90s. Even if Broyles can only force Inhofe to spend his considerable war chest on his own, race, that could help victory in other races.
Cheryl Rofer
Geminid
@Leumas: Inhoff is a shrewd politician, but he is an insider, and this could be a bad year for insiders, and a good year for outsiders like Abby Broyles. A similar dynamic may affect the Cornyn/Hegar race in Texas.
Leumas
@Geminid: I sincerely hope so.
Uncle Cosmo
Which is precisely the point I’ve been making again & again & again: A win for Williams immediately flips the MT House delegation (of 1!) from red to blue – which would be of inestimable value if Orangecandyass, “Dis” Barr & their evil accomplices manage to wreak enough havoc to throw the election into the House – and every source I’ve seen says she’s def w/in striking distance.
BTW many thanx for the targeting info for other seats.
Mousebumples
My $ is largely all going to WisDems since they have a solid organization and leader in Ben Wikler.
However, thinking more of orgs and groups –
I also like giving money to help with preventing Republican gerrymandering since we’re in a redistricting cycle.
Thanks for organizing this!
stinger
@lowtechcyclist: I was just prepping a comment about this!
Dems can get elected by funding from a broad-based community, not from a few obscenely wealthy donors. Even if we don’t always win, I want to be on the side of the angels.
stinger
@Nelle: In IA District 2, Democrat Dave Loebsack is retiring after 7 terms. The Dem candidate, Rita Hart, is currently tied with or trailing the Republican candidate — and this district includes the ultra liberal university town of Iowa City. I think Hart could use some help.
mvr
@raven:before I scroll further and see who beat me to it:
mvr
@Yutsano: The D candidate for Rep in District 2, Kara Eastman, is likely to win. Her R opponent is acting desperate. In my District, District 1, Kate Boltz has a shot at beating Jeff Fortenberry [AKA “Fartenberry” in a bit of minor mischief that went viral and resulted in a former student of mine being charged (case dismissed iirc) with vandalism for taping googley eyes on a lawn sign and making the ‘o’ into an ‘a’ with another bit of tape. Followed by at least implied threats to a professor for liking a a photo by Fortenberry’s staff (there is tape). (BTW, his former staff was more responsive to constituents, even me, than the person who had the job when that happened.)] Might be worth doing a Kate Boltz fundraiser. I’ve been giving monthly and now and then randomly. She’s fighting the good fight in a place where it is a long shot but not an impossible shot.
NE-1 is Lincoln and a large countryside near and far from it; NE-2 is Omaha and suburbs and bits of countryside and (iirc) an airbase they try to add to keep it from being solid D. Omaha is in play for the Presidency as it was in 2008 when Obama won. (My favorite political memory was being in the campaign office that night calling black voters and every single on told me they voted.)
Still I live in a theocracy with a governor who has turned down funds to help people deal with our current crisis. And whose family bought the Cubs thereby ruining baseball for me.