Tag: Fundraising

Non-Presidential 1Q Fundraising Thread

(Mo’ Money. – promoted by DavidNYC)

UPDATE:

  • FL-22:

    • Ron Klein (D-inc.): $600K raised; $500K cash-on-hand

    Man is that ever a formidable amount.

  • NH-Sen:

    • Steve Marchand (D): $100K raised (~$85K for primary, 250 donors)
    Katrina Swett (D): $462K raised ($304K for primary); $443K cash-on-hand

    Glad to see Marchand come in with six figures. Swett, who is almost certainly my least favorite Senate challenger this cycle, undoubtedly got a lot of help from her father, Rep. Tom Lantos (CA-12). Can’t wait to see how many of her donors maxed out – and are from out of state. (Marchand’s money was half in-state.)

  • CT-05

    • Chris Murphy (D-inc.): $420K raised (via DCCC e-mail)

    Chris Murphy rode to what I consider the largest win in 2006 against a non-scandal-ridden, non-crazy opponent. That, combined with his prodigious fundraising, will probably mean the GOP will have a tough time scaring up a challenger for this fast-rising star.

  • IN-08

    • John Hostettler (R): -$216 raised; $9K cash-on-hand

    Ah, this is just too perfect. John Hostettler, whose well-known refusal to fundraise directly led to his 22-point thrashing last November, managed to raise negative $216 this quarter. No, that is not a typo. Somehow, I don’t think he’ll be seeking a rematch.

  • VA-02

    • Thelma Drake (R-inc.): $227K raised; $190K cash-on-hand

    Freshman Drake won in a 51-49 squeaker last year, despite her district’s heavy Republican tilt. Seems like she must be at least a little bit scared about her hold on the district. Unfortunately, we can’t compare these figures to the comparable period last cycle because she didn’t get into the race until late in 2004. (After self-hating gay Republican Ed Schrock was outed and quit the race.)

  • CA-11

    • Richard Pombo (R): -$825 raised; $35K cash-on-hand

    Wow, he managed to out-un-raise John Hostettler. Impressive. Anyhow, there’d been some soft talk about Pombo seeking a rematch. Numbers talk a lot louder, and what they’re saying is: bullshit.

P.S. I took a quick look at all the Senate candidates listed on ActBlue who are running this cycle. Only one candidate has raised a material amount of money via AB so far: Tim Johnson, with almost $60K and 1,000 donors. A few other candidates have very low four figures, and most have zero.

It’s that time of year again: the first fundraising reports for the 2008 election season are starting to trickle in.  Since the Presidential fundraising numbers are already well-covered by this point, let’s start logging fundraising totals for House and Senate candidates.

It may be early, but as Franken’s example proves, the campaign window keeps getting pushed back earlier and earlier each cycle.  If you’ve seen any other noteworthy numbers for House and Senate incumbents or challengers, please post them in the comments.

End-of-Quarter Blog Fundraising Asks

cross-posted from the new ActBlue Blog


On Monday I posted a tip for spicing up ActBlue fundraising pages by embedding video into ‘asks’. This is a very powerful fundraising tactic–especially when the asker and audience have an existing relationship.

Over at Calitics, a great community blog in California, they’ve taken that suggestion and run with it. I’ve included a screenshot of their pitch to the right (click on it to view a bigger version in a new window). Besides the video, Calitics? blogger Brian uses several of the principles of fundraising to make a really compelling plea for his candidates.  Some of the successful elements they have included:

  1. Create Urgency- The pitch is for end-of-quarter donations.  Brian clearly states that there?s a deadline before which donors need to fundraise.  And he timed his pitch just a couple of days away from the end of quarter.
  2. Be Specific- Rather than overloading their page with a dozen candidates, Brian stuck with three candidates that have a common theme.  The majority of ActBlue donors give to an entire page’s slate of candidates?remember that when choosing your slate of candidates.
  3. Make it Personal- Brian, a Calitics blogger, is asking his own blog readers to donate. They have an existing relationship and a degree of trust built up. Potential donors are more likely to give when asked by someone they know and the pitch is personal.  They?re less likely to donate when spammed by someone they don?t know.
  4. Think Longterm- The Calitics? ask offers the option of giveing once or of setting up a recurring contribution. Recurring donations are growing in popularity on ActBlue, with over 1000 users having chosen that option for a variety of candidates.   If a donor can?t contribute a lump sum amount at once, recurring contributions allow them to invest in the page in installments.

Most of these elements are included in their Calitics ActBlue fundraising page as well. To improve the impact, some ideas might be to include the text from the Calitics post next to the video on their ActBlue fundraising page itself or add the recurring contribution buttons below the embedded video. If that happened, their ActBlue fundraising page could be e-mailed around to additional friends or registered users of the Calitics blog extending the end-of-Quarter ask into a new medium.


One other thing that might help the effort is to set a goal, similar to what the bloggers at Raising Kaine have done (screen shot at left again, click to enlarge). They are shooting for $20,000 to all their endorsed candidates by the end of the state quarter on Saturday, giving a real sense of momentum to their efforts. Adding some text about that immediate goal on their fundraising page would be perfect to tie it together with their blog posts.

While it is early in the cycle, bloggers can build upon their early adopters to make effective asks in creative ways that fit their audience. What ideas might you add?

PA-4, 7, 8: A money chase from start to finish

The new Representatives from PA, elected with slim majorities, have a problem, but there’s a solution.

Problem:

We all know what’s happening with congress and fundraising.  It’s become a frequent news story: no sooner are members of the 110th Congress in office than they are required to raise millions for their reelection.  It’s just a question of math: raise as much as possible or you’ll lose, because your opponent will be doing the same thing.  I wrote about Jason Altmire’s experience (D, PA-4) earlier. 

This Tuesday, The Philadelphia Inquirer had a story on the problem Patrick Murphy (D, PA-8)faces:

There’s no such thing as a governing period now? It’s one campaign into the next.  It’s really two full-time jobs – being a congressman and being a candidate.

Jason Altmire and Patrick Murphy are just two vulnerable freshmen who need to raise money to stay in office, from day one.  To win the next election, they are already in full campaign mode, 24/7.  There’s a tension between having time for policy making and raising enough money.

Even though he won in 2006, Altmire was outspent almost 2 to 1.  Murphy raised $2.4 million, a huge sum, but Michael Fitzpatrick had over $3 million at his disposal and that race was decided by 0.6% of the vote (1,521 votes).  Clearly each had a strong message that worked with voters.  Still, with such slim majorities they would have a better chance of securing their reelection if they could spend the next 20 months legislating and communicating their work with constituents without the huge workload of raising several million dollars.

Meanwhile, the Inquirer highlighted another PA congressman’s dilemma.  Joe Sestak (D, PA-7) said:

I know fund-raising is important? but more important is outreach and getting people to know me.? Voters are like sailors.? They want you to look them in the eye, to grasp their concerns, to know you care.

As the paper points out, the former 3-star general knows how to lead and inspire, if he’s given the support and resources to do it.

Solution:

This morning the Philadelphia Daily News endorsed legislation for public financing of congressional elections introduced on Tuesday by a bicameral, bi-partisan team featuring Sens. Dick Durbin and Arlen Specter, and Reps John Tierney, Todd Platts and Raul Grijalva.

The Daily News, The Baltimore Sun, Adam B (on Daily Kos) and a host of other bloggers and journalists are endorsing public financing at the state and national level.  This is great news for the state of the nation, and we need to make sure the momentum grows.

Under public financing, the 2008 races could be spent talking to constituents door-to-door and at town hall meetings, instead of at high-dollar events with a handful of people who are already convinced to vote for them.  In fact, Durbin’s proposals encourage candidates to choose grassroots campaigning because they can qualify for public funds with small donations of $5 from average citizens.  Under public financing, Jason Altmire, Joe Sestak and Patrick Murphy would both have been given matching funds to level the playing field.  How many more voters could they reach in November 2008 with that kind of freedom?

ActBlue Launches a Blog

(It seems almost funny to say this to one of the most influential bulwarks of the netroots, but welcome to the blogosphere, ActBlue! – promoted by DavidNYC)

cross-posted at Daily Kos and MyDD

With as many friends as ActBlue has in the Democratic blogging community, it’s about time we joined the party with a blog of our own. So today we are launching our official ActBlue Blog where we look forward to bringing our donors, candidates, campaigns, fundraisiers, and bloggers interesting resources, analysis, tips, and other information to more effectively raise funds to elect Democrats!

Here’s just a sampling of things you can expect to see-

  • Case Studies on some of the most creative ways ActBlue has been used
  • Analysis on how and why people donate
  • State Reports that highlight successful state level campaigns
  • Tips & Tricks about ways to use ActBlue you may not have known about
  • Page of the Week where we will highlight our favorite fundraising strategies
  • Monthly ActBlue Zeitgeist to explore trends, patterns, and other cool stuff
  • Major Series where we will explore how we are most relevant to your efforts in fundraising

This week I’ll be cross-posting some content from our blog as a way to introduce it to our friends in the online community. Tomorrow we’ll be releasing our version of a case study on the Secretary of State Project (which I was a blogger for last year before being hired by ActBlue). Later in the week I’ll introduce you to successful state level fundraising efforts by blogging communities and local organizations.

Our posts will strive to be informative and useful while maintaining the Democratic grassroots values which have driven us for the last two and a half years. We encourage you to subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up to receive new posts via e-mail to keep up with our latest posts (both available at http://blog.actblue.com).

Much of the growth for ActBlue and the netroots in the next 2 years will be at the state level. Hopefully I’ll be able to work with you to enable more successes in the statehouse while we work to expand our DC majority. If you have thoughts or questions, please leave me a comment!

Louisiana Governor’s Race & State Legislative Races UPDATE: BLANCO OUT

John Breaux may run, even if Blanco decides to remain in the race.  Visit this website for more details, especially if you want Breaux to run:

http://www.johnbreau…

The Louisiana Democratic Party now has an account with ActBlue for their state legislative races.  Visit their fundraising page at this website:

https://secure.actbl…

Bobby Jindal, who plans to run for Governor in 2007, is ranked 432 out of 435 in terms of effectiveness in Congress.  Visit this website for more details:

http://www.congress….

Progressive reformer and grassroots activist Deborah Langhoff, who missed the runoff in the special election on 10 March by 89 votes, plans to run for LA-HD 94 this November.  Here is an excerpt from New Orleans City Business:

LCRM race role

In the March 10 legislative election in District 94, four pieces of mail attacking leading Democratic candidate Deborah Langhoff arrived the day before Election Day.

The mail was produced by the Louisiana Committee for a Republican Majority, a new organization dedicated to electing a Republican majority in the Louisiana Legislature this fall. LCRM is heavily funded by GOP donors Boysie Bollinger and Joe Canizaro and supported by Sen. David Vitter, R-Metairie.

The mailers “exposed” Langhoff’s liberalism and quoted her as saying “I loathe Bobby Jindal.” Langhoff said the “hit pieces” hurt her vote total and kept her out of the runoff. For that reason, Langhoff will not endorse marketing representative Jeb Bruneau nor attorney Nick Lorusso, the two Republican runoff candidates. She plans to run in the fall against whoever wins the general election March 31.

UPDATE: BLANCO OUT

WWL TV New Orleans writes the following:

Governor Kathleen Blanco has requested television time tonight for a gubernatorial address that will be carried live on Eyewitness News at 6 p.m.. Sources tell Eyewitness News that Blanco will announce she is not seeking re-election.

PA-4 and Clean Elections

This is my first posting on Swing Space Project.  I’m here not only because I care about the outcome of elections – I do – but because how we elect them matters, and what they stand for matters too.

And I’ll come right out and say it: while it’s exciting that a new wave of members of Congress just swept into office in 2007, I’m worried that the way campaign finance works and the rigors of fundraising will keep them-and their colleagues in Congress and in statehouses-from realizing their full potential as representatives.  So I’m here to voice my concern.  We need “clean elections,” or the full public financing of elections, as a way to restore faith in the political process and to make sure that a wide range of folks can run and win.

Jason Altmire in PA-04 was featured in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story on February 5th describing his fundraising prowess since November 7. 

Just three months after his victory over incumbent Melissa Hart, U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire is keeping a brisk fund-raising pace.

Sounds like he’s no slouch-and that’s critical if he wants to remain in his seat in a battleground district.

The Post-Gazette continues:

The freshman Democrat from McCandless collected more than $74,000 between the Nov. 7 election and the end of the year, according to campaign finance data released last week.

But note the juxtaposition, because then he said this:

I’d support and work hard to pass any bill that takes money out of politics.

And he did this:

Mr. Altmire signed onto the “Voters First Pledge” of the Public Campaign Action Fund, Common Cause (where I work), Public Citizen and other groups who argue that public financing of elections would allow politicians to spend less time raising money and more time tending to the concerns of constituents.

Altmire is far from the only one.  So many of the Democrats who ran and won seats in November campaigned on the issues of corruption and the need to restore transparency and trust in the government.  Meanwhile, Rahm Emanuel is giving all the freshmen the $1 million homework assignment: Rep. Tim Walz (MN-01) said Mr. Emanuel told him

Start raising money now… And here’s your goal. Have $1 million in the bank by the time this race gets ready next time.

So which are they supposed to do, legislate or fundraise?  And similarly, when they’re on the campaign trail, do they talk to voters or big donors?  The answer, eight hours out of 10, is the latter.  I don’t blame them – in fact, I trust Altmire when he says he wants to take money out of the process – but I’m fed up with this system where the Jason Altmires of the world (and the Patrick Murphys and the Tim Walzs and the Jerry McNerneys) have to raise boatloads of money instead of going in there and actually cleaning up.

Luckily there’s momentum to pass this sort of fundamental campaign finance reform for Congress, led by Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. John Tierney, but it’ll still take some pushing from the rest of us.  Just putting progressive-minded folks in office isn’t the last step – it’s making sure our system doesn’t prevent them from working towards the changes that they want, that all of us – not just the deep-pocketed donors – need.

This diary has been cross posted on CommonBlog.com

Fundraising for Freshman Democrats: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Hill published an article highlighting some of the fundraising efforts of freshmen Democrats in the House.  Apparently, many are doing quite well.  David Loebsack (IA-02) has raised about $71,000.  Kirsten Gillebrand (NY-20) has raised $65,000 in PAC money alone.  Earl Perlmutter (CO-07) has raised $79,000.  Charlie Wilson (OH-06) has raised $34,000.  Paul Hodes has raised $35,000.  Jason Altmire (PA-04) and Patrick Murphy (PA-08) have both raised $50,000 in PAC money alone.  Zack Space (OH-18) and Steven Kagen (WI-08) have both raised $35,000 in PAC money.

As far as simple financial numbers go, this is good news.  All of these candidates are vulnerable to some degree.  So, if all of these House members are already off to good starts, they may be able to force out potentially strong challenges early on.

But the article also has some worrying relevations.  For one thing, Nancy Boyda (KS-02) has raised only $13,000.  Considering the presidential vote in her district (Bush won it by 20 points), Boyda is probably one of our top five most vulnerable Democrats.  Plus, she will not have Sebelius’ coattails helping her and will instead have to contend with the Republican tide at the top of the ticket from the eventual Republican nominee and Senator Pat Roberts. Finally, she will possibly face a rematch against Jim Ryun. More over the flip…

However, the thing that is more disappointing to me than Boyda’s numbers (it’s early, give her some time) is where the other candidates are getting there money.  First, relying heavily on PAC money does not give the best image.  But beyond that, it’s a question of which PACs they’re getting donations from.

Both Gillebrand and Perlmutter have taken money from Altria, which represents the makers of Marlboro cigarettes. Loebsack and Perlmutter have received contributions from the American Bankers Association PAC while Perlmutter also has donations from Comcast and JP Morgan and Loebsack has donations from the American Association of Realtors.

It’s unsettling to see any elected officials taking money from cigarette makers.  It’s worse to see Democrats, liberal Democrats at that, doing that.  And while Comcast, et al. aren’t the scourge of Satan, I also don’t like the image of elected Democrats at their beg and call.

http://www.thehill.c…

My suggestion for anyone else who feels the way I do, is to donate through the Netroots and other liberal PACs like MoveOn and Democracy for America.  The more candidates and elected officials can get from the Netroots, the less they have to rely on PACs whose goals are sometimes/often/always contrary to the goals of progressives/working people/middle class/etc.

One should also note that Netroots heroes Jerry McNerney (CA-11), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), John Yarmuth (KY-03), Joe Sestak (PA-07), John Hall (NY-19), and Tim Walz (MN-01) are not mentioned in the article.  We need to act now to keep these people a)in Congress by making sure they have adequate resources to be re-elected and b)from becoming corrupted by negative interests.