Last week nearly 150 DailyKos Readers joined a little cause that has grown so much.
A little known Special Election in a tiny Blue District in a Very Red State is up for grabs, and completely winnable! Except the State money to help Democrats get elected was all used up for the 2006 General elections, and there is none for one seat in the Florida House of Representatives.
With two weeks to go until Election Day, the Campaign needs money for two mailings and a couple of TV ads. Total cost, about $20,000. VERY INEXPENSIVE by any standards.
So far, they are 1/3 of the way there, thanks to DKOS Family!
Read on for more of the story, and how you can help:
The original story was reported on Florida Kossacks Blog by two wonderful gentlemen on "Turning Florida Blue".
Liz Campbell is a 22 year Veteran, a retired Navy Chief, two weeks away from an election that can help Florida Gain another Democratic seat in the State House. The 2006 elections wiped out the FDP's campaign chest, and Liz has been scraping by on literally pennies, trying to win this seat. Every dime of the money contributed has been by working folk like us. There is no big PAC or 527, no cash cow party war chest to dig into.
When Liz won the primary last week, she only had $500 left in her account and three weeks until the General Election. She has such a great grass roots support base built up, that volunteers have turned out in droves in this cash strapped Hurricane Alley to pitch in with canvassing, and phone banking. Along with the grace of those able to give, the voters in her District have carried her to this point.
LET ME TELL YOU WHAT YOU GUYS DID FOR HER THIS WEEKEND.
After posting my desperate plea for any help (with Tally and GatorDem as the saints who came up with the idea to try something new), DailyKos readers and family came to the rescue!
After a little glitch with the bandwidth on Liz's site, YOU GUYS AND GALS pitched in and donated $4850. The story made such a buzz that local Democrats reading about Liz's plight, were calling all day, and Liz collected another $1600 from concerned locals.
It may not seem like much to any other campaign, but with that money, we can get out a mass mailing to all the registered Dem. Voters to request an absentee ballot (paper trail) and Vote for Liz! This is a HUGE thing you all have done! I'd like to say that's all we need to do, it isn't. But it's a huge dent. WE STILL NEED ABOUT $12,000 MORE TO WIN THIS! The republican war chest is six times this amount, but we have the numbers, and the grass root base!
Liz was floored by the response, and humbled by everyones well wishes, and contributions. Money came from New Hampshire, Washington State, Philly and all over! What meant so much was the generosity. There was a disabled musician who didn't have it to spare, but gave $10, widows, veterans, Executives, teachers, lawyers and even a 17 year old student gave.
THIS DKOS FAMILY STEPPED TO THE PLATE WHEN IT WAS CRUNCH TIME. THANK YOU!
While the Republican opponent will dump a ton of money into the race, it won't do a lick of good for him. If we can reach the core voters and GOTV in this tiny Blue area of a rather large Red State, Liz Campbell will be swearing in and we will have ONE MORE DEMOCRAT in the Florida House on Feburary 28th!
If you've given already, God Bless you. Please hit the RECOMMEND button to the right of this page and leave another comment. If you are just reading this story for the first time, please help with what you can and DONATE NOW.
If you can't afford to make a contribution, please add a comment as your encouragement and support pushes Liz and the volunteers to strive all the harder.
AS WE SAID BEFORE, WE ARE SO HUMBLED BY THE SUPPORT FROM THIS GREAT GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION CALLED DAILYKOS!
Stay tuned for frequent updates, and watch your help turn Florida Blue!