Its been fun to watch the money roll into ActBlue today since Kos issued the initial $100K challenge. I was myself a part of that and in putting together my last list of donations I had an idea.......
My last donations will going to candidates in rural districts. I think this a great idea, particularly for those that aren't able to donate that much.
I know there are A LOT of people here who have $5, $20, or $50 lying around, desperately wanting to send it to a candidate but they don't. I know I was one of these people at one point, and I think the reason that I held back from donating is the same reason that many of you do.
I would look at a candidate that I liked, and then I would realize that I was about to donate $20 to a guy who had hundreds of thousands in the bank. It just didn't feel like I would make a difference. This is completely false, I know now that every penny makes a difference in every race.
But I also know it makes an even bigger dent in some races than in others, those races being the rural ones. Places like rural North Carolina and Nebraska simply cost a lot less to run a campaign. I realized that my $20 would buy a couple of radio spots in these races, or if I could muster up $100 it'd be worth an entire TV spot.
So that is where my last donations are going tonight, and that is where I challenge you other small-contribution donors to send yours as well!
I have put my top 5 low money races with the amount contributed thus far via ActBlue. This is a HIGHLY incomplete list so please post your favorite rural candidates in the comments and I will add them as quickly as possible. C'mon my fellow poor people, and rich people too, if you'd care to join ;), LETS DO SOME DAMAGE!
Scott Kleeb (NE-03) $18,867.84
Larry Kissell (NC-08) $149,842.51
Paul Hodes (NH-02) $62,165.40
Gary Trauner(WY-AL) $247,563.70
Larry Grant (ID-01) $68,175.77