Running for elected office, all it takes is dedication, enthusiasm, 28 hour days, and the stamp of approval from the local and national establishments. Regardless how perfect a fit you are for your district you must be able to bring in the money. Unfortunately that’s politics today, even DKos ranks candidates by money haul.
This story from The Intercept is about Paul Perry, candidate for Congress in PA-07 in the 2018 cycle. Although probably the best qualified he didn’t pass the DCCC money test.
I was running in what can now only be described as the messiest congressional race of the 2018 cycle — Pennsylvania’s 7th District. A jungle primary with a half-dozen contenders for the Democratic nomination, the sitting congressperson has just announced he won’t run for re-election, sexual harassment scandals have played a major role in upending the previous top contenders, and the district (one of the most gerrymandered in the country) will very likely be redrawn before the primaries just a few months away.
On paper, I was an ideal candidate for the Democrats. Born and raised in the district, a successful career in education and nonprofit work, Ivy League graduate, young, Black, with gay parents and therefore, a compelling family story. But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee didn’t take an interest in me until they started to have doubts about the other top candidates: two white men who had already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and a white woman who would loan her campaign $170,000. I also started raising significant money, putting me on their radar. Besides a polite if not cautionary phone call with one of their Northeast operatives, the first official communication I received from them was this: an email from the DCCC requiring him to raise $200,000 a quarter.
He was forced to withdraw after not being selected by the local and national establishment.
full story: theintercept.com/…