When we (dkos, MyDD and Swing State Project) chose candidates for the Netroots ActBlue page, we purposefully stayed away from 1st and 2nd tier races. In the Senate races, we endorsed three candidates opposed by the establishment -- Tester in Montana, Webb in Virginia, and Lamont in Connecticut. All three won their primaries.
In the House, we stayed away from the best pickup opportunities to focus on races we hoped a little money and buzz could help drive into contention.
Joe Sestak (PA-07): Was added to the DCCC's "red to blue" list in its second wave. Is now well positioned to take his seat as the feds swarm around incumbent Republican Curt Weldon.
Darcy Burner (WA-08): Was added thanks to intense local netroots and grassroots support at a time when no one outside of her district knew she existed. She was added to the DCCC's "red to blue" in the first wave.
Jerry McNerney (CA-11): The d-trip ran a preferred candidate against him in the primary, yet still lost to the people-powered McNerney. We added him to the list because of that local support, and despite DCCC hostility toward him (for beating their guy), they recently added him to their "emerging races" list.
Patrick Murphy (PA-08): An early addition to our list, Murphy made the DCCC's "red to blue" list in the second wave.
Eric Massa (NY-29): Another Fighting Dem like Patrick Murphy, Massa is now on the "emerging races" list.
Larry Kissell (NC-08): I love this campaign because it's been done right -- despite having little money, Kissell and his team have built fervent local support, they've been innovative, have done things differently for effect. They didn't sit around whining about lack of party support -- they built their own. This may be the most people-powered race of this cycle. This was a later addition to the list as the campaign proved to naysayers that they were a legitimate and viable operation. It's now on the "emerging races" list.
Jay Fawcett (CO-05): Fawcett is proving that Democrats can compete anywhere, even in James Dobson's home district. This was the longest-shot of long-shot races added to our list -- something we readily admitted when we added it. Yet here it is, breaking into everyone's top list of battleground races. A tough, motivated, tireless Demcorat can compete anywhere. This race is now on the "emerging races" list.
Linda Stender (NJ-07): Stender was added to the "red to blue" list in its second wave.
Paul Hodes (NH-02): Hodes was added to the "red to blue" list in the third wave.
John Courage (TX-21): Courage is one of two candidates on our list that haven't been added to any of the D-trip's watchlists, a casualty of the mid-season court-ordered redistricting. While his original district included parts of Austin including UT, the new one does not making his tough race tougher [edit: my mistake]. But he's a fantastic candidate and is still fighting hard to turn his slice of Red country a little bit Bluer.
Dan Seals (IL-10): Now on the "emerging races" list, Seals has been impressive in a tough district represented by a supposed "moderate" Republican.
Gary Trauner (WY-AL): Trauner isn't on any DCCC list, but I suspect that's more by design than an oversight. Given the M-D poll released today, this race is extremely competitive. More so than some of the races on the D-trip's lists. But the national Democratic Party is dirt in Wyoming, so the further they stay away, the better for Gary.
Larry Grant (ID-01): You don't add people like Grant (Idaho), Trauner (Wyoming), and Fawcett (Dobson country) and expect them to become competitive races. We added them because we want a 50-state party that competes in every corner of this great nation of ours. And while we can't list every great candidate, we made some early choices based on whether they could at least expand the playing field and put some pressure on the GOP to defend seats that they would otherwise take for granted. It boggles the mind to think that people like Larry Grant (now on the "emerging races" list) are waging not just credible efforts (they are great candidates, after all), but efforts that might actually lead to victory.
In other words, while we were focused long-term, building for the future, these guys decided to be competitive in the short-term. We'll take it.
And word is that the NRCC is about to move $300K into this seat. In Idaho.
Tim Walz (MN-01): A netroots and grassroots hero in Minnesota, Walz was another candidate we had to act given the overwhelming and enthusiastic support he generated locally. He is now on the "emerging races" list.
So far, looking far better than any of us would've ever dared hope when we put together this list. If our goal was to expand the playing field and fly the Democratic banner in places that hadn't seen it in a long time, we have already succeeded. Of course, success raises expectations. It no longer is enough just to be competitive in these tough districts, in these long-shot races. Now, we want to win them. As usual, we're responding to success by moving the goal posts.
Whether we reach that new level of success remains to be seen. But I'm damn proud of these guys and so many others like them that are making serious runs at their opponents.
Other candidates that are showing us what people-power looks like?
Charlie Brown (CA-04), Peter Goldmark (WA-05), John Hall (NY-19), Dave Harris (TX-06), Scott Kleeb (NE-03), David Mejias (NY-03), Maxine Moul (NE-01), Angie Paccione (CO-04), Robert Rodriguez (CA-25), Zack Space (OH-18), Bill Winter (CO-06), and Victoria Wulsin (OH-02).
There are others, obviously. But man, we have so many good candidates, so little time. I wish there were 10 Daily Kos-style sites to cover the universe of great Democrats. Because we're a movement on the rise, with a deepening bench and an inspiring new wave of leaders.
I may not be ready to believe we'll take the House and Senate this year, but I certainly believe that our future looks bright.