For the 2021-22 cycle, we collectively made the decision to be more strategic with Balloon Juice fundraising. The “big” races were well-funded without us, and we learned in 2020 that rage-donating to long-shot Democrats attempting to unseat the most odious of Republicans was not the best use of our funds.
So we started focusing on boots on the ground in crucial swing states where our money could have the greatest effect. We funded voter turnout organizations, election protection efforts, ballot initiatives and registration drives aimed at combating voter suppression. In the 2022 cycle, we supported organizations in Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia. All of the target states went for Biden and retained their Democratic senators if they were on the ballot.
In addition, we focused about 15% or so of our donations on candidates in the Fall of 2022, targeting some Governors races and under-funded Congressional and Senate races, as well as some local races with national implications.
This cycle, we’ll be pursuing a similar plan and refining it a bit, as well.
In the short term (now) we’ll be focusing on voter registration and combating suppression efforts in our targeted swing states. As before, we’re concentrating on Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin and Michigan as our top priorities. We’ve also got our eye on North Carolina and Pennsylvania. We may do less (if anything) in Georgia this year, insofar as there is no Senate seat at play and no competitive house seats.
Let’s start with what are arguably our top “bang for the buck” states: states that we need to hold for President Biden, and that have competitive Senate and House races (and in some cases, closely divided state legislatures). This post will focus on Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Arizona. Arizona has 11 electoral votes and an open Senate seat with a promising candidate, Ruben Gallego. Gallego, as a bonus, is an actual Democrat! His likely opponent is the ridiculous and dangerous Kari Lake. In addition, the Arizona legislature is closely divided. Republicans hold a two-vote margin in both chambers.
Last time around, we funded voter registration and turnout efforts by Worker Power in Maricopa County and Four Directions in Indian country. We’re already in touch with Worker Power to help with voter registration this Spring and to help field turnout teams in Pima County (Tucson, and Arizona’s bluest major County) in the Fall. And of course, we are already in touch with Four Directions, as well.
Worker Power’s new partisan voter registration effort starts on March 11th in Maricopa county in key legislative districts in AZ ( LD-2 and LD-4). Our donations there would expand their voter registration efforts in these key areas.
In addition, according to the Cook Political report, there are two vulnerable Republican Congressional incumbents in the areas that are being targeted by Worker Power: Schweikert in AZ-01 (R+2 District) who was nearly knocked-off in 2022 by a young first-time candidate, and the first termer Juan Ciscomani in AZ-06 (R+3 District). Further, the state legislature is in play, with the Republicans holding very narrow leads in both chambers.
Nevada. The Democrats have earned Nevada’s 6 electoral votes in the last four Presidential elections, but by razor thin margins, and we’ll be supporting Four Directions in Nevada with the Native vote again this year.
The population churn in much of the state means the job of identifying, registering and turning out new resident voters is never-ending. In addition, Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen is considered by the Republicans to be one of their best chances for a pick up. In addition, two of the state’s three Democratic Representatives are considered vulnerable by the Cook Political Report, including Susie Lee, who we are proud to have supported last cycle.
We’re also fortunate to have a contact in the state who is from an old Nevada political family with a thriving political consulting practice to guide us. We’re looking at efforts to turn out younger and Latino voters in the state to supplement the extraordinary registration and GOTV efforts of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Wisconsin. Wisconsin, with it’s 10 electoral votes, was one of the Obama-to-Trump states in 2016 that Biden carried narrowly in 2020. Wisconsin has been the poster child for the effectiveness of gerrymandering and voter suppression. But now that we have a Democratic majority on the Supreme Court, and much fairer maps, there are signs that some version of the Michigan Miracle may play out here, allowing the Badger State to join the sane neighbors (except Iowa) that surround it.
First we had the Democratic blow-out in the special election for the State Supreme Court, with the wild over-performance of Dane County (Madison) that we want to help repeat this cycle. Then the state Supreme Court struck down the Republican legislature’s heavily gerrymandered maps in December, followed by Governor Evers signing into law the establishment of new and fair districts. As a result, the current Republican Assembly Speaker, Robin Vos, lamented that “the legislature will be up for grabs.” So sad! Damn right, it will be up for grabs, Robin!
Republicans are planning on coming after Senator Tammy Baldwin hard, with the odious, right-wing businessman Eric Hovde to be her likely opponent. The Republican National Senatorial Committee has signaled its intent to make this race a top priority, assuming Trump hasn’t stolen all their money. In addition, Congressional District 3 (Republican Van Orden) is considered a possible pick up for us. All of this makes the state a very worthwhile and strategic investment.
Last cycle in Wisconsin we worked with Voces de la Frontera and Four Directions. We’ll be supporting Four Directions in Wisconsin again this year, but Voces appears to have changed its focus to be more on immigrant services, so this year we’re looking at possible new opportunities. These include a start-up organization with a similar mission to register the formerly incarcerated (like VAAC in Michigan), and a union-led organization gearing up for a registration drive.
Summary. We’re going to do our best to make a difference in the outcome in November. So look for lots of fundraising action between now and then. If that’s not your thing, feel free to skip the fundraising posts. I have been making the fundraising posts for Montana open threads, and it’s been nice to have the regular blog conversations mixed in. We plan to continue that.
As you may have guessed from the information above, we’re about to jump right in on funding Worker Power boots on the ground – they are getting started on the ground this Monday, March 11. Apparently Arizona is brutal in the summer months, so they do their voter registration in the Spring!
Stay tuned for a follow up post on some of the other states we’ll be targeting.
Fundraising for vulnerable candidates most likely won’t start until fall when there will be clarity about which candidates need a boost.
We’d love to have your feedback, if you have any to share.
frosty
This is great, WG! Nice work
H.E.Wolf
Thanks for this excellent round-up, with tons of detail on past and future fundraising plans, and clear descriptions of the scenarios in each of these 3 states.
To quote the indomitable Edith Childs of South Carolina, I’m fired up and ready to go!
Old School
With the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, I’d be surprised if Voces is going to be less active this year.
As a reminder, Voces de la Frontera is the 501(c)(3) immigrants rights organization. Voces Action is the political 501(c)(4) entity.
Mousebumples
Excited about Wisconsin fundraising (lol no surprise), and I appreciate the overall update for these great organizations across important swing states.
I’ll be doing postcarding this Fall (and sometimes before then, as time and opportunity allow).
Related FYI for people who remember the Wisconsin State Senate race that overlapped with the WI SC race – the Dem candidate we supported (Jodi Habush Sinykin, who massively over performed in a very red, gerrymandered district – but still fell short) is considering another run under the new maps. Still a red district, but I believe much closer to a toss-up (R+3 or 4 vs R+15 or something). Definitely a margin a good ground game can help with, especially since her likely opponent hasn’t had a competitive election in years/ever.
Thanks, WaterGirl!
WaterGirl
@Old School: Regarding Voces, I didn’t say less active, I said more focused on the immigrant services than political action.
Our contacts at Voces have moved on, but if the folks at Voces contact me, I am certainly open to talking with them about their plans.
WaterGirl
@Mousebumples: I still have the spreadsheets for Wisconsin, so we’ll be able to write postcards this year using those addresses.
We don’t address the postcards with actual names, so those addresses spreadsheets will still work great.
Mousebumples, since the maps have changed, we’ll need new addresses for the new Jodi district. Let’s talk about that offline.
TBone
Speaking of fundraising, Nikki has come over to the dark side of Brandon? Hmmm…
https://twitter.com/sweetser_kyle/status/1765465376874233954
Whatever works?
Geminid
@WaterGirl: You may have gotten the name of the AZ03 Republican wrong. I think its Rep. John Ciscomani. The district is near Tuscon.
Mousebumples
@WaterGirl: Sounds like a plan!
japa21
I would say the new Wisconsin maps are fairer, not yet totally fair. But close enough that major gains can be made. I know there is a lot of talk about those districts that went Biden but also GOP for the House as being major targets.
Personally, I think any district rated R+5 or less should be considered vulnerable and worth going for.
And definitely, NC should be considered. I don’t know if there has been any outreach to the young head of the Democratic Party there as to outside agencies she thinks it would be helpful for us to support.
Mousebumples
@TBone: I think I read that it’s a rebranding of a PAC that was Biden voters for Haley, to try to hold down Trump’s margin in primaries.
I liked Biden’s campaign statement welcoming Haley voters to his team, if they want to vote against Trump to protect democracy. (after she dropped out yesterday)
TBone
I get the fundraising emails, will be contributing when I can. I like to buy direct from campaign but will diversify this year.
https://voteractionproject.org/who-we-are/
TBone
@Mousebumples: it’s a good idea, one of many in the arsenal. Give ’em all we’ve got, I say! Bernie Sanders is being impressive in his efforts to help President Biden. I say hale and hardy welcome! Bernie spent an hour reviewing FDR speeches plus with OHJB.
WaterGirl
@TBone: As I understand it, this is coming from Nikki supporters, not from Nikki herself.
WaterGirl
@Geminid: Or I have the district number wrong! I’ll check on that and correct it later. thanks
edit: spelling of Juan Ciscomani has been corrected.
edit 2: At least Juan is what came up when I googled. If that should be John, someone can let me know.
Almost Retired
This is great. Can’t wait. And as to Arizona…….
Let’s say you – a hypothetical you, of course – are an academic in a ruby red coal mining state. This state is solidly pro-Trump and likely to send its Governor Buford T. Justice to the Senate, resulting in a net loss to the Democrats of – to be honest – half a seat. As a Democrat, your vote in this state matters about as much as it would in Vladivostok.
But let’s say you have recently traded the harsh Appalachian winters for the seasonal warmth of other suns; specifically, a moderately liberal college town in purplish Arizona where you can openly wear tie-dyed overalls in public without fear of grievous bodily injury. A state where your vote matters very much for retaining the Presidency and Senate and flipping the house.
Can you vote in Arizona in November 2024? Thank you for asking. Yes, you can IF you are a U.S. citizen and a “resident” of Arizona at least 29 days before the election. This would mean hypothetically one would need to arrive back in Arizona by October 7, 2024, if you would allow me to do the math. I’m just sayin’…
TBone
@WaterGirl: that makes more sense, she’s just another fascist in a skirt.
WaterGirl
@japa21: Yes, we’ll be talking about North Carolina in the next update!
If we shared all our information at once, it would be so much that no one would read it.
dm
Consider backing Dem Secretaries of State, and Dem AGs in swing states, too.
Kristine
This all looks great, WaterGirl. I’m still stunned by how much money we raise here.
I’m in for postcard-writing.
JML
I think these three states are very smart choices as battleground states where early investment (especially in organizing) can really make a difference. The opportunities to make in-roads on the legislatures in both AZ and WI could be incredibly impactful.
WaterGirl
@dm:
Like we did with our “election protection” fundraiser in the fall of 2022, where we supported governors, secretaries of state and attorneys general whose races were close in swing states.
We haven’t looked at all yet at the details of who is running for those offices in swing states this time around.
Or maybe you are suggesting that we look more broadly at those offices in states that aren’t swing states?
hedgehog mobile
Excellent plan. I think targeted fundraising is more effective than throwing money at the national party (looking at you, DSCC). In for postcards and letters too.
TBone
There are lots of good ideas herein, scroll down to the Get Smart and Win Races! sections:
https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-carry-water-36-659
Just trying to diversify, always a good idea in my book.
TBone
@TBone: I just texted using ResistBot, for instance. It’s what I could do, today.
Another Scott
Yes! It’s always good to work where our effort makes a difference.
I hope that we can also keep our eyes on things that might be “black swan” events. I keep remembering that the 1980 election night was surprising not because Carter lost but because the GQP flipped 12 Senate seats.
“Yeah, we have a tough map, etc., etc.” But things don’t change until they do.
Like you, I’m not advocating setting money on fire for well-funded candidates. But if there’s something that helps in an apparently close Senate or House or state race, I hope that we can quickly jump in (the way we did in the Virginia races). StatesProject.org is a big fan of supporting state and local races.
Thanks for all you do, WG and everyone.
Cheers,
Scott.
bbleh
Will look forward to thoughts re PA; hoping to relocate there in spring from the mountainous religiostic tribal region per 16 supra and will have time, resources and motivation for considerable mischief-making.
In the meantime, many blessings on all the pets and plants of WG and others for truly amazing efforts. And the “bang for the buck” principle is exactly correct IMO: the outcomes are binary, and the metric should be whatever most increases the probability of turning an L into a W. (I’ll leave to others the relative importance of various races, save that the White House is clearly paramount; if we lose that, the rest likely won’t matter much.)
Matt McIrvin
This kind of strategic political fundraising is, I think, the most socially valuable thing Balloon Juice has ever done. I think we swung some races in 2020 and 2022. Just the funding for Four Directions alone.
Motivated Seller
Excellent write-up. Thanks for giving us a chance to see how what’s coming.
dm
@WaterGirl: That’s right. I had forgotten that you did that (I’ve been doing monthly donations to the Dem Sec. of State Assn & the Dem AG Assn for years, so I hadn’t picked up on the Balloon Juice effort).
Hoodie
There are some key races in NC beyond the Stein/Robinson matchup. In fact, Josh probably has the best odds of the statewide races given what a nutjob Robinson is. Jeff Jackson, former congressman who was gerrymandered out of a winnable district, is also running for AG and it would be great if he could beat the godawful Dan Bishop. AG is also a stepping stone for the governor’s office. There is also one race for the state Supreme Court that’s important in a multi-year plan to regain control and reverse the gerrymandering allowed by the current GOP crew. We tend not to focus on state legislative races, but Dems only need a few seats to end the GOP supermajority in the NC legislature and give the governor veto power. There are enough competitive house and senate districts to make that happen. One of our local legislators recent told a group of us that it takes about 2.5 million to run a legislative race in NC, so they can use help.
Geminid
@WaterGirl: It’s probably Juan like you have it. He’s a freshman identified with former Governor Ducey’s wing of Arizona’s Republican party.
Geminid
@Hoodie: There’s also North Carolina District 105, where Democrat Nicole Sidman will face off with treacherous Trisha Cotham. A Charlotte Observer article said the Mecklenberg County district leans R, while WFAE says that the newly-drawn district is a tossup, and includes Mint Hill, Matthews and south Charlotte.
Omnes Omnibus
Also, any money sent to WisDems will not be wasted.
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Thank you so much WG! I really appreciate the research, guidance, and opportunity for effective focused giving that BJ provides. I get inundated (as I am sure most jackals are who have contributed $) with donation requests and it is very satisfying to give to effective organizations, especially GOTV.
Anoniminous
In a very real sense the Black Swan Event has already happened. Dobbs has changed the political calculus. Senators who won by less than 5% in 2018 should be considered vulnerable meaning Ohio and Florida are pick-up opportunities. Dems will almost certainly lose West Virginia but hold everywhere else. Same situation in the House. Any Republican seat won by 5% or less should be considered a pick-up opportunity. That’s roughly 30 seats. If suburban women continue to shift from R to D even projected solid R House seats could switch. If they swing by 7% we could see a rout in the Senate as well.
A lot of IFs but that’s what Black Swans are all about
wonkie
What about Montana and Tester? Don’t we need to win that Senate race?
piratedan
@WaterGirl: it’s Juan. If you see John, its likely GOP stuff trying to make him more palatable to anglo voters (for some of whom, that kind of stuff matters). Ciscomani is a tool of the GOP, he’ll follow in lockstep with what the party tells him to do. He won two years ago because he had no track record as he was a Ducey flunky. Now he has two years of GOP partisan stink on him.
The note that both houses of the statehouse is well noted. We had AG Mayes elected by less than 500 votes statewide, so these registration efforts matter. For AZ, I would also see if it makes sense to find some radio outreach efforts as well, as a fair number of latino voters work for a living and the radio appears to be a primary source of communication and we all have an idea on how big the GOP presence has on radio, but pushback there would help the stem those voters potentially swayed by bombardment of fascist messaging.
FastEdD
Yes, directions for fundraising are appreciated. I can’t knock on doors like I used to because of geezerhood, but effective donations are of great interest. 200 fundraising emails a day in my inbox are all deleted, but give me a something that affords good bang for the buck, count me in. Thank you! Ed.
Hoodie
@Geminid: One of our local state reps said that a chronic problem for NC dems has been low turnout in Mecklenburg County (Charlotte area), so it might be a good thing to help the local party there. She also mentioned that, while it would be nice to unseat Cotham, her district was made more GOP friendly as a payoff for her changing sides, so it might not be at the top of the list of opportunities for a gain in seats. She mentioned a couple of seats in the Triangle and another Charlotte area district that might have better odds. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the specifics because they’re not in my district, but I imagine the state party is directing resources at races it thinks they can win.
Almost Retired
@wonkie: Look at the sidebar. Balloon Juice raised a lot of money last week and before to get Four Directions established in Montana to turn out the native vote. The native vote has been Tester’s margin of victory.
Kristine
@Anoniminous: I know hope isn’t a plan but I so hope you’re right.
Hoodie
@Anoniminous: Dobbs is important but we shouldn’t rely on that alone. One of our local pols told our local precinct group that their focus groups indicate that a lot of people think that neither party does anything for them, but particularly noted that these folks think Dems focus too much on social issues. I found that particularly interesting seeing that the GOP seems to be big on culture war, but this gets interpreted weirdly by some voters, who only see the Dem reaction to these culture war aggressions (e.g., speaking out to protect LGBTQ+ people from right wing persecution). It’s kind of like the ref who flags the wrong guy because he’s responding to something the other guy did. There has to be an effective economic message, too. It will be important to make at least a small dent in the stupid impression that the GOP is better on economic issues. This probably would mean something other than simply cheerleading about the stock market, unemployment, etc., because most of this is centered around prices. I don’t think you can explain that away by saying prices are not going to return to pre-pandemic levels. A more effective approach might be to talk about economic fairness and stability, e.g., yeah, things aren’t perfect, but the GOP will make your life worse and only reward the wealthy and Trump could blow everything to hell because he’s crazy as a shithouse rat.
geg6
@Almost Retired:
Never been to West Virginia, have you?
Eunicecycle
@Anoniminous: just a small correction. In Ohio our wonderful Democrat Sherrod Brown is up for re-election so it’s not a pickup opportunity.
WaterGirl
@wonkie: We just raised $51,000 for Montana, with a $30,000 match through Four Directions.
That’s $81,000 for the Montana native vote, which helps Tester. The Native vote in Montana is more than the usual margin of victory in AZ.
Did you miss it? :-)
WaterGirl
@piratedan: Interesting thought about radio.
The thing is that Latinos don’t all vote the same. Do we have any idea how radio would be reaching the Latinos who are disposed to vote Democrat and not Republican?
Omnes Omnibus
Not aimed just at you, but can we all quit assuming that when someone mentions that a thing is important in the upcoming election that they mean it is the only factor? Or do we need to start adding “including, but not limited to” to all of our discussions as well as “and a fanatical devotion to the Pope?” Sorry, but that just irritated me. I’ll be good now.
WaterGirl
@FastEdD: Remember, all Balloon Juice thermometers are set to NOT share your information with the organization you are giving to, unless you click to say you want to share it.
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: Well, to be legalistic about it, all disclaimers should be included. //
Madeleine
Thanks for all the information and analysis for this year’s fundraising. I look forward to your upcoming posts. You/we have a proven strategy at this point. Let’s go!
Omnes Omnibus
@japa21: Okay, I fucking repudiate the broccoli mandate! Are you HAPPY now?
japa21
@Omnes Omnibus: Yes.
ETA: I do agree with the original statement. Just like I no longer get upset when somebody makes a generalized statement against boomers without a disclaimer exempting all us oldies on BJ.
Matt McIrvin
@Hoodie: To people who are temperamentally socially conservative, the Republican culture war positions are mostly just restoring the world to what they think of as “normal”; the Democratic positions are the “weird” ones. So they probably wouldn’t regard conservative culture warring as culture warring, just as good old common sense.
Except: they may not realize how extreme the Republican positions are, until they start going after things like the Pill, which they probably will sooner or later. That’s when we get to “leopard eating MY face”.
Argiope
@Eunicecycle: Just magnifying this post. Brown is a pro-union Dem who has hung on in Ohio despite a rightward shift over the past decade and we really need to re-elect him. Not sure what his current fundraising is looking like.
H.E.Wolf
You’re right! Sherrod Brown is an excellent Democratic Senator. His fundraising is looking good, per 2 seconds with Google.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/02/07/campaign-finance-reports-show-ohio-u-s-sen-sherrod-brown-far-out-raising-republican-candidates/
FelonyGovt
Thanks so much for all your work, WG. I feel really good about all this, will participate with $$$ as I can. I will be postcarding with my local angry old ladies postcard group but I’m game to do more thru BJ. I’m also willing to do research as needed.
Again, I’m particularly interested in Arizona. And I’m headed there next week! (Baseball spring training, a bucket list item of mine for years)
Hoodie
@Omnes Omnibus: Got it, but it the relative energy that is put into issues can matter, as there’s only so much time and resources. That’s what the focus group info was pointing at. Dobbs has been out there for a while and there is evidence that at least some of the electorate tends to discount an issue if they hear about it for a while. I recall the Cory Gardner Senate race a while back where the Dem candidate really emphasized reproductive rights and ended up losing because Gardner was able to dodge it. Kari Lake (of all people) is trying something similar, trying to soft pedal the issue. Dobbs does kind of speak for itself and there is some ground to be made on things like IVF. However, some are already getting a bit hazy about its origins and I’m not sure a lot more effort should be expended in getting them to focus on that. The people who care about Dobbs probably already get it, so you shouldn’t have to spend a lot of time on it. No Dem should shy away from bringing it up, but too much time spent on it could be counterproductive.
FelonyGovt
Or IVF. Although that’s something that affects the wealthy because it’s so expensive.
Omnes Omnibus
@Hoodie: That’s fair.
Matt McIrvin
@FelonyGovt: That was a classic example–going after IVF specifically affects bougie people who probably thought Republicans’ punitive shit would never touch them.
piratedan
@WaterGirl: my thought would be to encourage ad buys on most of the hispanic centric language stations in AZ. Just connecting dots between the dots that the GOP has essentially attempted to co-op Hispanic TV networks (Univision) that used to be somewhat neutral to introduce their slant into the news. Studies that I have read have shown that a significant portion of hispanic peeps working in the trades get their info thu the radio, as such, if there’s a way to get the message out thru those means….
WaterGirl
@Argiope: Ohio isn’t one of our key states, but as we get closer to November, if Sherrod Brown looks like he is in trouble, I can’t imagine that we wouldn’t do a flash fundraiser for him.
i mean, we raised $10k in a day when the governor of Maine was in trouble, and Maine wasn’t one of our key states last time around.
Hoodie
@Matt McIrvin: Mostly, people dislike controversy and conflict, so they react to the second punch, in this case Dems rising to the defense of a persecuted group. They often are not paying attention when the first punch is landed and initially think that the second punch is the first punch, then an overreaction to the first punch. It can take quite a while for them to realize the people throwing the first punch are nuts. Republicans are masters at this game, call it the Conrad Dobler school of politics.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: What baseball team are you playing on? :-)
We might just take you up on your offer of research!
BenInNM
@WaterGirl: In addition to all the other praises for your work, this feature is wonderful! I used to have about 20-30 fundraising emails a day and now after diligently unsubscribing I maybe get 1 or 2 and these are mostly from mailing lists and it is easy to unsubscribe. And going through the unsubscribe process seems to actually work! Although I will say unsubscribing from the PC is a lot easier than on the phone.
Thanks again for all the work you do!
WaterGirl
@piratedan: Am I right, though, that radio efforts might be reaching Hispanic people who tend to vote R, as well as Hispanic people who might be wiling to vote D?
If you addressed that question, I missed it.
FelonyGovt
@WaterGirl: The South Bay Geezers. 😀 Actually, I never played baseball or softball. I’m way too uncoordinated.
piratedan
@WaterGirl: aye, the idea is to not leave that medium to only the GOP….
schrodingers_cat
What about Jared Golden is he endangered? Mainers, what is your opinion?
louc
Maybe not for this cycle, but Nikki Fried is starting to clean house in Florida…
Jesse
Thank you, WG. This is eminently reasonable and practical. I appreciate your qualification “has national implications” when it comes to state and possibly local elections. It’s a reasonable reminder that we can’t do everything, and to ask ourselves whether every single race is equal to every other. In one sense, yes, of course. But at the same time, I’m not so sure. Some races are real long shots. And we should accept that.
fWIW I contribute to Colin Allred, SherrodBrown, and a couple others. I also contribute to those who probably don’t need the money, like Joe Biden, Kelly Morrison (likely Dean Phillips replacement). For me personally, it’s important. No judgement on those who disagree.
sab
@WaterGirl: Don’t forget Emilia Sykes, who is not in a safe district like Tim Ryan was.
Omnes Omnibus
@Jesse:
I want to echo what you said. Thank you, WG for organizing all of this and thank JGC for creating a space that allows this to be done. As I have for the past few years, I will be focusing my efforts and money on Wisconsin (where I think it does make a difference). As a result, I will probably participate in only a few of these fundraisers, but I really encourage everyone who lives in a very blue area and has some spare change rattling around to give what you can.
bbleh
@Omnes Omnibus: I know! There can be a Disclaimers page that will run 3 or 4 screens in 8-point type that applies to ALL comments UNLESS the writer opts out, and EVERY time someone logs in to comment they have to click the “agree” or “opt out” button AND the confirmatory button in the pop-up, and likewise EVERY time anyone READS the site they have to click the “I understand” button (and a separate “I understand” button if any of the commenters have opted out of the disclaimer provisions). Ooh, and a different page and protocol for EU IP addresses.
Kathleen
@sab: Greg Landsman in OH#1 also. Hamilton County is blue but part of his district is in Warren County. We can’t afford to lose Sykes, Shontel Brown or Landsman. I’m assuming Joyce Beatty is solid and not sure if Marcy Kaptur is running again.
Fair Economist
I think this plan sounds great and that you are doing a great job.
lowtechcyclist
Thank you for all you’re doing, WG, to plan these fundraising efforts!
Looking forward to donating and postcard writing!
PBK
Going to chime in here after reading Cole’s post about fundraising. I am amazed at the money this place raises and appreciate the postcard writing posts as well. It’s motivating and encouraging and I’d like to give a big thank you to everyone. Thank you Blogmaster for this place. Thank you WaterGirl for all your organizing.
WaterGirl
@Kathleen: I promise we won’t forget the representatives we helped get in office in 2022. If they need our help, we’ll be there.
WaterGirl
I didn’t want to fill up the thread thanking you guys for your kind words, so I’ll just say it here. Your kind words are much appreciated!
Geminid
@Hoodie: My guess is that Nicole Sidman, Cotham’s opponent, will attract tons of money because of all the animus towards Cotham. The “negative partisanship” dynamic seems especially potent when it comes to fundraising. So Sidman probably won’t need extra help.
way2blue
I will always donate to indigenous voter drives & ‘get out the vote’ efforts. If I remember correctly, they were definitely effective in swing states.
WaterGirl
@way2blue: Yes they were!
I would say our track record is pretty darn good.
edit: If it was any better, I would start to worry that we were funding races that were going to win anyway. Except that I wanted all of our candidates to win in 2022, I was really pleased with our win/loss ratio.
Lyrebird
@WaterGirl:
Hey WG!
I think we should consider going all in for Allred, and also, I don’t know what valued commenter Michael Bersin thinks, but it seems like Missouri is a place where a little support could go a LONG way!
Kunce’s campaign game is way better this time around, Hawley is a traitor whose Repub. mentor regrets having promoted him, and the Kunce people have put out some polls where Kunce is within the margin of error of Hawley.
They’ve got a referendum or something going on for reproductive health care rights, the state lege just backed off from their gunz everywhere stance a little because of a tragic shooting in KC, and yes Kunce is a veteran!
This last bit may come off wrong, and I don’t want to start a whole mess, but from what I’ve read, you have a very strong dislike of people using claims of antisemitism to turn around and do some other form of nastiness, and Hawley displayed his WHOLE white supremacist ass in the hearings with Secy Mayorkas. Just adds on to Hawley’s general awfulness.
Jason Kander put out an op-ed saying he thinks Lucas Kunce can win. I have no idea who’s who with boots on the ground. THere’s interesting stuff going on in St Louis, but anyhow, I hope you will consider the Kunce Senate campaign as a possibility.
Manyakitty
@H.E.Wolf: yes! And if I may drop a raw link here for my excellent representative Emilia Sykes: https://www.emiliasykesforcongress.com/
I just donated. Keep her in mind. (First, my Rep was Marcia Fudge. Shontel Brown replaced her, then she got redistricted and Emilia Sykes stepped up.
Manyakitty
@sab: sharing this again, just because:
https://www.emiliasykesforcongress.com/
Manyakitty
@WaterGirl: late to the party, but this is a BIG Biden deal. This little corner of this Internet is making a measurable difference.
Thank you (AND JGC) for bringing it all together.
Jackals rule
WaterGirl
@Lyrebird: We won’t start supporting individual candidates until we are closer to the election.
But, generally speaking, if there is a good Senate candidate in any state that is close and doesn’t have a huge pile of cash, then we would definitely think about it.
Lyrebird
@WaterGirl: THanks for reading & noting, and I hope some people who still live in MO can nominate some great boots on the ground orgs!
PatrickG
I wish to file a complaint about this fundraising post (and yes, I DID read John’s later post, but this matters):
You mentioned the Senate race in Arizona without taking a moment to revel in the absence of Sinema. I feel cheated of necessary endorphins, and demand to speak to your manager! I need at least thirty solid days of reminders of that good news!
P.S. Thanks for taking the time to write up the approach!
PatrickG
And none of the commenters are celebrating Sinema’s absence either! What happened to my beloved Balloon-Juice?!
primalscream.jpg
WaterGirl
@PatrickG: The Sinema celebrations were so yesterday! Today we are bitching about Katie Porter turning into a big whiner after losing, and claiming the elections was rigged. Fuck her for that.
Do try to keep up! :-)
PatrickG
@WaterGirl: FOUR MORE DAYS! FOUR MORE DAYS!
ETA: All caps! Reminds me I should email my complaint to John. ;)
Just Visiting
I’ve been hoping you’d do this again! Thanks so much for doing the legwork on finding high-impact places to put our political donations.
H.E.Wolf
Emilia Sykes is awesome! Thanks for adding her campaign link. She’s one of the people I hope will eventually rise to higher office. Meanwhile, congratulations on having such a good US Rep.