(Cross-posted from the Himes blog. I am the Online Communications Director for Jim Himes for Congress)
The Himes campaign released its July Quarterly fundraising numbers yesterday. Here's the press release:
"Our success this past quarter with small-dollar donors shows that Jim's message of standing up for middle class opportunity is truly resonating," said Maura Keaney, Himes' campaign manager. "Over two-thirds of our contributions this quarter were in amounts of $100 or less. Small-dollar donors are buying in to this campaign in skyrocketing numbers because they know Jim will stand up for middle class families and for an end to the failed Bush-Shays economic policies. So many voters who are just now learning about Jim are enthusiastically joining our effort because they see that he will lead on the huge challenges facing middle class families in our district."
The momentum is building, as James at SSP noted today:
There is a lot of great news for Democrats here, but in particular, the numbers for Jim Himes (CT-04), Ashwin Madia (MN-03), Martin Heinrich (NM-01), Darcy Burner (WA-08), Raul Martinez (FL-21) and Joe Garcia (FL-25) are absolutely stunning.
And as Real Clear Politics noted as well:
Perpetually targeted Rep. Chris Shays is one of an increasingly small handful of Republicans who represents a district Al Gore and John Kerry both won against President Bush. He's survived the last four years by winning re-election with just 52%, in 2004, and 51%, in 2006. But he always raises big bucks, pulling in $717,000 in the Second Quarter and keeping just shy of $1.7 million on hand. His Democratic opponent, Greenwich Democratic Party chairman Jim Himes, raised a similar amount, $698,000, and still has $1.44 million in the bank. National Democrats just reserved nearly $700,000 in advertising for Himes, an amount House Republicans are unlikely to match, making this one a race to watch.
The big number: 68% of our contributions in the entire 2nd quarter this year were $100 or less. And over 40% of all contributions were $25 or less. A big part of that was the "Walk in a New Direction" effort, as well as the Orange to Blue drive. But it's the same energy we're all seeing on the ground, whether at the Puerto Rican Day parade in Bridgeport last weekend, or on the walk across the district in June.
So a big thank you to all who supported Jim through small donations at Orange to Blue, Blue America, and elsewhere - your support is powering this campaign!
And if you are attending Netroots Nation this weekend, be sure to join Jim at the Future Leaders Panel (Facebook) at 3pm on Friday!