Incredible, simply incredible. What we thought would take us a week turned out to take only a weekend. We're happy to announce that due to the overwhelming response to our "Picture is Worth a Million Dollars" challenge, our campaign has now raised over one million dollars since February.
When I heard that we were closing in on our first million dollars raised, I started thinking about all the thousands of Nebraskans who have opened their homes and their hearts to this campaign. And honestly, I just couldn't think of a way to say "thank you" enough. So to mark this significant milestone, I've decided to offer a little something special to the donor who pushes us past the million dollar mark.
I wanted you to be the first to hear the good news: thanks to your contributions, our grassroots campaign has managed to shatter expectations and outraise our opponent, a former two-term Governor and Bush Cabinet member, for the most recent fundraising quarter. Make no mistakes about it - change is in the air here in Nebraska.
The Journal Star reports: "Democratic Senate candidate Scott Kleeb seems to be finding fundraising traction in this heavily Republican state, bringing in nearly $700,000 in the latest reporting period and besting Republican Mike Johanns for the first time."
This Friday, we celebrate 232 years of independence. We celebrate not only our country's independence - but the independent spirit we as Americans all share.
Independence Day isn't just about our past, it's also about our future. Our campaign is committed to practicing a new brand of politics, and that requires each of us to recommit ourselves to the principles our founding fathers fought for.
First, I just want to take some time before a busy weekend of campaigning to thank you all for everything you've done. Without the support of the grassroots, we'd never be where we are today.
That being said, we all know that in a campaign every day brings a new challenge, and we must always be pushing ourselves to do more.
I'm proud to say that our campaign is the fifty-state strategy in action. Our grassroots volunteers are making connections and building relationships in a part of the country that hasn't seen a true political dialogue in generations. That's what this election is about.
Yes, everyone in the country can vote for our campaign! Let me explain.
Two years ago, Sen. Russ Feingold looked at our political landscape and said: the moneyed interests have a PAC, it's time the people had one, too!
From this simple idea, the Progressive Patriots Fund was born. Candidates for every office and from every state in the union compete for the votes of you, the people, in an online election to decide who receives the Fund's support.
I've always believed that the biggest division in our politics is not between Republican and Democrat or even liberal and conservative. It's between those who put their faith in money and those who put their faith in people.
I saw that the storm had done something else, too: it led neighbors to help neighbors, friends to help friends...all in the spirit of cooperation and community that has lifted us out of every challenge we've faced before.
The Red Cross has raised its designation for this disaster from Level 1 to Level 3, which means that this is now a statewide disaster, with damage reported from Wellfleet to Omaha. National help is on the way.
Food and shelter will be provided by The Salvation Army at 1719 Central Avenue in Kearney.
I want to take a moment after last week's remarkable primary victory here in Nebraska to say thank you. Thank you to the Netroots for all the support you have provided to our race, and especially to McJoan for all she has done. Truly, I will never have words to thank each of you enough.
What we did was nothing short of incredible. Facing a well-liked and well-funded opponent, we won with nearly 70% of the vote. We did it the democratic way -- through pounding the pavement, making phone calls, organizing new voters and new Democrats, and running a full grassroots campaign rather than a TV-only effort.
We are very busy, so this is going to be short, but to the point.
When I decided to run for the US Senate, I knew it would mean an amazing amount of work and sacrifice on the part of my family. Having run for Congress in 2006, I also understood the work and sacrifice on the part of volunteers and campaign workers across the state.
What has been an inspiring surprise has been the outpouring of support and encouragement from people around the country via the Internet. I am so humbled to see so many give their time, attention and money to support Nebraska's Brand of Change.
Take a deep breath, my friend. Lay down your presidential angst. Step away from your Pennsylvania. Come spend a moment with me under the endless spring sky in Nebraska, where people still live "The Good Life."
You can feel the excitement in the air. All across the state, from Scottsbluff to Omaha, folks are coming together to support our campaign for change.
We took a huge team of volunteers to this weekend’s "Spring Game," the annual Cornhuskers football scrimmage that draws over 80,000 fans to Lincoln.
Stickers. Signs. Handshakes. Photos. Our campaign was everywhere -- we dominated the opposition. I have to tip my hat to one volunteer in particular: Steven Neal, a Religious Studies major at Hastings College. Steven normally devotes himself to youth ministry work with his Lutheran congregation.
On Saturday, Steven was the guy on the right in the picture below the fold...
Perhaps you just read that we didn’t hit our recent fundraising goal. I have no problem admitting that; we came very close to clearing a very high bar. I’d do it all over again.
I’m here to tell you is something even more exciting: we’ve got a new television ad! It’s our first one of the campaign. Take a sneak peek before the press writes about it tomorrow:
Folks tell me that, for some reason, bowling has been in the political news lately. All I know is that a few nights ago, a band of change-hungry Nebraskans came together to support our campaign for the U.S. Senate. Thank you, Lincoln for Obama, for your hospitality and expert bowling!
Yet we still have so far to go. We face an extremely wealthy opponent in the May 13th Democratic primary. He just announced a huge self-funded TV ad buy. As you know, big money can exert a lot of influence in the political process.
With everyone's attention focused on this November's important election, I want to mention an important date in your campaign for Nebraska's Brand of Change, the US Senate race in Nebraska.
May 13, 2008
That's the date of the Democratic Primary here in Nebraska, and we have a challenge on our hands. We are running against a tough, self-funded opponent.
And...time is short.
Voters still need to hear much more about our campaign. They need to know that there’s a candidate in this race who knows how hard it is to raise a family on a tight budget.
Yesterday, NYBri announced the winner of our logo contest, and we couldn't be more pleased with the results.
During the contest, we received nearly 1000 votes and we are incredibly appreciative of everyone's interest and support. Thank you.
For those who missed it, here is the winning design and tag line:
From the day we announced this campaign for the US Senate from Nebraska, we have wanted to include everyone, because this isn't just my campaign, it's your campaign for Nebraska's Brand of Change. And the logo contest was just step one in that process.
Two weeks ago, we announced the open voting for our logo contest after we accepted designs from people from all over the country.
During the last two weeks we have received nearly 1000 votes for our logo, and the results are close and inconclusive. To make matters more difficult, we love certain elements of each one of the finalists!
Therefore, in the spirt of the NCAA basketball tournament, we've decided to narrow the field to our own Final Four and to keep the voting open for a little while longer.
Two weeks ago, I asked our supporters to come up with ideas on how to brand our campaign for change. The response overwhelmed me.
Logo submissions poured in from every corner of Nebraska and from across America. We received nearly 100 submissions, and Jane, my team, and I have gone through each of one them, spent a long time discussing our favorites, and from the dozens of inspiring submissions, we chose ten logos that best represent the common sense change we will bring to Washington.
We want an economy that creates jobs for the middle class. We want affordable health care. We want a strong and sensible foreign policy. This is our brand of change and the Kleeb logo will help voters to recognize it wherever they go.
