Barry Welsh’s Fifty State Strategy page – which tracked candidates for every single House race in the nation – was an invaluable resource this past campaign season. Barry was busy running for Congress, and yet he realized he was part of a much bigger movement. Maintaining this page (which he did with the help of several folks, including SSPer Benawu) was something Barry didn’t have to do, but he did anyway.
And while you might think this project was a time-waster, Barry did nearly ten points better than the last Dem who ran in this ultra-Republican district. Not too shabby for a guy no one had ever heard of, running in a race that was on no one’s radar outside of the netroots. But of course, making an improvement like that costs money, no matter how frugal you are, and Barry wound up with around $3,800 in debt he didn’t expect.
So let’s join with Markos here and do Barry Welsh a solid – let’s help him retire that campaign debt. Kossacks have already made a big dent, but we can chip in some more. Look at it this way: If you’re an elections junkie like me, you would have PAID for a resource like the Fifty State page – at least $10, probably more like $20, if not more. So if you can help Barry out now, consider it payment for extremely valuable services rendered. He deserves it.
(And on a related note, the Swing State Project is helping to carry on the spirit of the Fifty State Strategy page with our 2008 Race Tracker wiki. Go check it out!)
Hi David,
Working on the 50 State page was a hell of a time consuming project but well worth the effort.
Been a bit busy getting the wife re-elected to the Victorian State House here down under but now that is over I will update the 50 State Page and keep working on the 2008 Wiki!
Dunno what will happen to the 50 State page, I must drop Barry an email to discuss.