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Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Help ActBlue Pick Its Next Four States
Posted by DavidNYCAs we've mentioned before, the indispensible ActBlue is moving into state races. ActBlue already covers all federal races, but that's comparatively easy - you're talking about one legal regime for all 535 House & Senate candidates. For the states, of course, you've got to deal with fifty different sets of campaign finance laws. It's a major hassle, and ActBlue expects, at least in the early going, that it will cost around $10,000 to set up each state.
What that means, though, is that every candidate for state office - Governor, Attorney General, state legislatures - will be able to raise money through ActBlue. One state has already been launched, Virginia, which holds all of its state races this year, so you can see why it was made a priority. ActBlue needs your help now to decide which four states it should expand into next.
To do that, they are conducting a poll, which you can find here.
IMPORTANT: Please do NOT simply vote for your home state! This is NOT a popularity contest. You should vote for the state or states where you think an improved fundraising infrastructure will make the most meaningful difference in the near term. Some possible factors to consider: Does the state have a legislative body or bodies which the Democrats have a reasonable shot at taking control of - or have a very tenuous hold on right now? And are there important, competitive statewide races - and not just Governor, but Attorney General (think Spitzer in NY) and, importantly, Secretary of State (think - ugh - Blackwell in Ohio)?
In New York, for example, Eliot Spitzer is going to win the governorship with or without an assist from ActBlue. But the Dems are very close to taking back the State Senate here, and candidates in close races could definitely benefit from the increased exposure (and, obviously, increased fundraising ability) that ActBlue would provide. So I think I might vote for NY. But if you've concluded your home state is hopeless, you can do a little research on other good states before casting your vote. Here's one site that can help you out a bit.
So go ahead, vote - and vote wisely. I'm told the balloting ends Friday, so we should know the results right then (though ActBlue may not consider them binding).
UPDATE: New York ain't even on the list. Oh well. Back to the drawing board!
Posted at 08:21 PM in Activism, Netroots | Technorati
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