This is a good sign that Senate Democrats are gearing up for 2014 early:
http://thehill.com/...
Four Democratic senators who are up for reelection in 2014 have joined forces on fundraising.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) created a joint fundraising committee last week called Senate Victory 2014, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Hagan is the most vulnerable senator in the group, and could face a tough reelection fight if a strong Republican challenger emerges, according to a recent poll.
Hagan is also the strongest fundraiser of the four, ending the last reporting period with more than $1.3 million in the bank. - The Hill, 1/28/13
This is actually a great idea. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D. WI) and Elizabeth Warren (D. MA) joined forces to help fundraise for one another's campaigns. Udall and Shaheen hail from swing states and Merkley will certainly be a top target for Karl Rove, the Koch Brothers and GOP Super PACs because he is an unapologetic progressive.
Plus as I pointed out a few weeks ago that Hagan is going to need all the fundraising help she can get because of Art Pope and his right wing buddies pouring in money to last year's election to buy both the governor's race and the state legislation for the GOP:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Mr. McCrory first ran for governor in 2008 but was beaten by Ms. Perdue, then the lieutenant governor, who became the state’s first female governor. As a mayor on the moderate side of his party, Mr. McCrory had bipartisan support and was perhaps best known for revitalizing Charlotte with projects like a light-rail system and the Nascar museum.
His large transition team is being studied for signs of whether he will turn more conservative. It is heavy with Republican politicians and business leaders, including former members of President George W. Bush’s administration and former governors. The most controversial figures on the team are the billionaire businessman Art Pope and some of his allies who are connected to the John William Pope Foundation. The group, which is dedicated to conservative and free-market ideas, has given millions of dollars to libertarian and conservative groups, including the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation and Americans for Prosperity. - New York Times, 12/11/12
Art Pope will have the biggest influence over Governor Pat McCrory and the GOP legislator's agenda:
Gov.-elect Pat McCrory expanded his cabinet selections by three on Thursday, and named a trio of key staffers that includes controversial political financier Art Pope.
Pope – whose network of organizations promotes a limited-government agenda – will be the new governor’s top budget-writer. A multimillionaire, he will take a leave from his retail chain store business, as well as from his family foundation and all public and nonprofit boards he serves on in order to take the job without pay. - Charlotte News Observer, 12/21/12
Hagan will also have help from the Democracy Initiative, a coalition made of organized labor, progressive organizations and environmental groups, who are aimed at getting money out of politics and fighting North Carolina GOP legislators from passing voter ID laws aimed at disenfranchising voters:
On money in politics, Nick Nyhart of Public Campaign, a pro-campaign-finance-reform advocacy group, singled out Kentucky, New York, and North Carolina as potential targets for campaign finance fights. In a recent interview, Nyhart said the Kentucky battle would likely involve trying to oust Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Public Enemy No. 1 for campaign finance reform, who faces reelection in 2014. In New York, Nyhart said, activists are pressuring state lawmakers, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, to pass a statewide public financing bill in 2013. And in North Carolina, the fight is more about countering the influence of a single powerful donor, the conservative millionaire Art Pope, whose largesse helped install a Republican governor and turn the state legislature entirely red. - Mother Jones, 1/9/13
So it's great to see Democrats looking out for each other. Feel free to donate to any of these Senators up for re-election:
https://secure.actblue.com/...
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