Friday is the end of another campaign finance reporting period for congressional candidates, and will be life-or-death for many Democratic candidates trying to attract the support they need for their stretch run. A weak report will cause a lot of candidates to fall off the radar of the folks who can make national money things happen.
You should put your money where your keyboard is and contribute by Friday. And here are a couple of thoughts on how to spread your contributions around.
Larry Kissell in North Carolina 8. Larry is running against Robin Hayes in a district that has probably suffered more textile job losses than any district in the country. Robin promised to vote against CAFTA, and then voted for it. Larry's polling shows that he's got a real shot if he can raise some pretty serious money.
Here's Larry's problem: He's a teacher in Biscoe, North Carolina. You haven't heard of Biscoe? According to the 2000 Census, Biscoe has a population of 1700, with a median household income of $35,667.
I think Congress could use the perspective of a teacher from a small town. But once Larry calls all the way through his Christmas card list, it's not going to add up to anything like the money he needs for a serious congressional race. Larry could use your help.
And put in a good word for Larry for the netroots endorsement.
Baron Hill in Indiana 9. Baron was the only incumbent Democrat outside of Texas (mid-decade redistricting, remember?) to lose in 2004. Baron barely lost in 2004 and he's actually been ahead in polls to get his old seat back. Baron's on everyone's list of top-tier candidates, so he does not qualify for the netroots endorsement. Also, Baron's a good deal more conservative than most folks here. He was a Blue Dog before and he'll be a Blue Dog again if he wins this year.
Baron didn't lose in 2004 because he was a lazy candidate. He lost because he voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment. I remember it distinctly because I was standing right beside him when he voted. I'm sure I was visibly surprised, because Baron was in a tough race at the time. I can't remember what he said and what I said, but I remember distinctly that he knew exactly the risk he was taking. That takes guts. I think we should reward gutsy candidates.
Me in North Carolina 13. Yes, this year I am again my own favorite candidate. So how unselfish did you really expect me to be?