I just spoke with
Virginia "Ginny" Schrader, and the news is spectacular. Between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, her campaign has raised $14K online. Some from Daily Kos, some from other sources. This is a blogosphere-wide phenomenon.
She also going to be our candidate heading into November. And more importantly, she hasn't been asked by any prominent local or state Dems to step aside for someone else. That doesn't mean that the party can't change its mind once it has analyzed the situation with a sober mind, but 1) Ginny has put her entire life on hold for this race, and isn't about to drop it, and 2) the money coming in tonight will act as insurance, helping put to rest the "she can't raise money" excuse they might otherwise deploy.
Despite her limited resources, Ginny has already assembled a staff of two full-timers and a host of full-time volunteers, and has been receiving the enthusiastic help of local Dean groups (including one across state lines in New Jersey). I'm not sure if the Philly for Dean people are helping out, but that was one of the best Dean groups in the country. Hopefully they'll lend a hand. Especially since, given the ridiculously expensive Philly media market, her campaign plans on running a heavy ground operation.
Her campaign has already done joint canvassing with the local Kerry effort, and ACT is active in the area. It's going to be a battleground district for the presidential race, and their heavy emphasis on the ground game should have positive repercussions up and down the ticket. Spectacular news indeed.
Update: I originally wrote that Ginny had five paid staffers. My mistake, I misheard. It's actually two, but the new cash already has them looking to beef up their staff.