An invitation to the first round of voting for a 2008 Progressive Patriot to receive some cash support from Russ Feingold's PAC is in our "In" boxes today. This first slate consists of Democratic freshmen whom Russ Feingold expects may face stiff challenges.
http://www.progressivepatriotsfund.com/
The roster is below the fold.
Jason Altmire (PA-4)
Nancy Boyda (KS-2)
Joe Courtney (CT-2)
John Hall (NY-19)
Baron Hill (IN-9)
Ron Klein (FL-22)
Dave Loebsack (IA-2)
Harry Mitchell (AZ-5)
Patrick Murphy, PA-08
Carol Shea-Porter (NH-1)
I can imagine a good argument for each of these. Vote deadline is Feb. 27. Winner gets $5,000 towards the campaign warchest for next time. In the process, Russ revives flagging membership in his PAC and holds his mailing list together, which is a Good Thing.
Personally I lean towards either Boyda or Loebsack, on the grounds that their victories in 2006 were comparatively narrow and they seem the least well-placed to capitalize on the advantage of incumbency. Hall should benefit from the disarray of the GOP in his state. Mitchell, now that he’s in, has many sources of support to draw upon besides the progressive blogosphere.
I'll be listening as folks discuss. One of the best things about these friendly sparring matches is that it gives all the mentioned candidates exposure.
Cross-posted at MyDD: http://www.mydd.com/...