Since I've been fundraising so hard and flogging people with the imminent June 30 deadline, let me recap what the Great Slate is about, and why we're backing these specific campaigns. Basically, we're trying to build in election insurance for close Senate races. Here's a thread!
In ALASKA, a medical doctor is running as a first-timer in the Senate race against incumbent Dan Sullivan. While Gross is a political newcomer, he's the son of a famous figure in Alaska politics. He's also rich, so we're not fundraising for him directly.
But because Alaska only has a single Congressional seat, the House race there is also statewide. Alyse Galvin, who we backed in 2018, is now polling just *ahead* of Don Young, the longest-serving congressman. Whatever votes she can bring in will also be votes for Gross.
Alaska politics is bonkers even in a normal year, and this is not one. People don't know how to poll the state, there's a gubernatorial recall, and everything is upended by the pandemic. But Galvin did great as a first-timer, and I believe we can win both House and Senate here.
In MAINE, Susan Collins is most likely up against Sara Gideon. This is one of the highest-profile races in the country, and Gideon will not lack for money, but she's concentrating her campaign in what I would diplomatically call the NPR-listening parts of the state—Portlandia.
In 2018, we fundraised for Jared Golden, who became the first person in over 100 years to unseat an incumbent in Maine's conservative second district, which is not only the district where the Senate race will be decided, but controls an electoral vote in the Presidential contest.
Golden knows how to run and win in ME-02, and how to persuade Obama-Trump voters (who are very real!) in a district that usually gets ignored by Democrats. He also has a field operation that can turn out a few thousand extra votes in this giant district. We need those votes!
In COLORADO, a state that is moving from purple to red, Cory Gardner is one of the most vulnerable senators in the country. Our aim in supporting Diane Mitsch Bush in CO-3 is very specific—to get out the vote in Pueblo, an undervoting Latino heavy rust belt city near the rockies.
Finally, in IOWA, J.D. Scholten is running against state senator Randy Feenstra, having knocked Steve King out of politics with a stellar performance in 2018. Scholten got 22,000 more votes that year than there are Democrats in the district. He is the best rural Democrat we have.
The Iowa senate race will be decided in IA-04. Incumbent Jodi Ernst is up against a lackluster suburban Democratic real estate developer with no track record, favored by the DNC for her fundraising. But we work with the tools we're given! J.D. has shown he can bring out votes.
The name of the game in all four states is to target votes in rural districts, to help make a difference if the senate race is tight. Think of it as election insurance—a buffer of 10-20,000 votes we wouldn't otherwise have. These are winnable votes but not targeted by anyone else
As a bonus, these are four great candidates in their own right, who can bring a fresh energy and independence to the Democratic caucus. None are rich, or have a deep fundraising network. None are establishment figures. They need our help and resources to run their best campaign
So please, read all about the Great Slate here techsolidarity.org/resources/grea…, and then pull out that bitcoin from the sofa and donate, right now, tonight, before that ominous June 30 deadline descends upon us. You can give $2700 per candidate, and must be a citizen or green card holder
I can't promise we'll win, but I can promise that if the Senate races in these states are tight, if they come down to a few thousand votes, we can tell ourselves and our kids with a clear heart that we did all we could and left nothing in the tank in 2020 secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
Just over 24 hours to go in the FEC quarter! Thank you to everyone who already gave. There is so much appetite in the tech community for change, and one reason I care about this effort is that it's made me feel less helpless, and less disconnected. I hope the same is true for you
Just about 12 hours to go in the June fundraising period for the Great Slate. Big or small, your contribution goes much further today than tomorrow. We need that green wave to get the blue wave! 💸🌊🗳️🍾
secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
For context, this has been our worst fundraising quarter ever, by maybe a factor of three or four, since the Great Slate started. Imagine how hard the financial circumstances must be for campaigns with no establishment backing when tech workers can't even ante up support.
Seven hours left to give to the Great Slate before the Wheel of Fundraising turns again, into a new quarter. Money given today helps directly (like all donations) and also helps candidates get support from the DNC and third-party donors. Any amount helps! secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
Okay, we have a $500 match in progress. The next five hundred bucks given to the Great Slate will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous, anonymous donor! secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
Someone else has stepped up and we now have matching funds for the next $2,000 in donations to the Great Slate—four rural House campaigns in hotly contested Senate districts. Double your donating power! secure.actblue.com/donate/great_s…
