"Republicans Have No WIN List"

Sometimes you have to make your case; sometimes your opposition makes your case for you.

Today, in the AJC article about Karen Handel's run for governor, Millie Rogers, the president of the Georgia Federation of Republican Women made the case for Georgia's WIN List:

Millie Rogers, president of the Georgia Federation of Republican Women, thinks money is another reason. Republicans have no Win List, a group that provides seed cash to Democratic female candidates in Georgia. “Without money you don’t have a seat at the table,” Rogers said. Her group is exploring the idea of starting such a fund.

Supporting women running for office is not exactly a new idea to Georgia democrats. More than a decade ago, a group of forward-thinking women realized that it does take money to gain a seat at the table, and they did something about it. As a result of their efforts and generous donors, Georgia's WIN List is entering our 10th year, and during that decade has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to democratic women running for state level office in Georgia.

Full disclosure: as a board member and Vice Chair, I'm partial to Georgia's WIN List. I am proud of the work we do to encourage women to run and support them when they do. This cycle alone, we contributed more than 50K to women running for office in Georgia.

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Macon for Martin

We have an opportunity to elect a new democratic senator from Georgia, Jim Martin. Though the press had written him off on election night, when all the votes were counted, Martin forced Chambliss into a runoff. There's no doubt that the runoff will be expensive and that volunteers will be needed. To that end, tomorrow, on Veteran's Day, Georgia Women Vote is joining with bloggers all across the country to host a Happy Hour for Jim Martin. I hope that you can join us tomorrow night as we help Jim raise the money and the volunteer power Jim needs to win in December. If you can't make the event, you can donate to the campaign here, and your can sign up to volunteer here.

What? Macon for Martin

Where? The Hummingbird Stage and Taproom
430 Cherry Street
Macon, Georgia 31201

When? Tuesday, Nov. 11th at 5:30 p.m.

Cash Bar

Everyone is welcome, and while there is no admission charge, we hope that you will come, give what you can and/or volunteer to help the campaign. See you tomorrow!

By the way, tomorrow is Veteran's Day, so let me just say: Do it for Max!!

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It's Called Debt

There's been a lot of yacking on the blogs today about a fundraiser Rep. Porter is having tomorrow. For the record, I didn't get an invitation either, and I haven't talked with him at all about the event. Also, I agree that bloggers should've been included in the press invite to the event. On the other hand, I'm glad to see him raising money. Money is one of the things-not the only thing-that stands between Democrats and victory in Georgia. If you look at states where the Democratic House and Senate caucuses have chipped away at the margins and regained the majority, the leadership of those caucuses made it their business to raise money-typically LOTS of money-whether or not their own races were contested. Our elected officials have to do that as well. As long as the caucus carries debt, we are operating with one hand tied behind our back when we try to get Democrats elected. So, while we box his ears for not inviting us to the party, let's not discourage him from raising the cash. We need it.

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Edwards Dominates Rural Georgia Fundraising

The New York Times has a cool, interactive map that makes it easy to see when and where the presidential candidates have raised their millions. A few minutes with that map makes one thing very clear: in rural Georgia John Edwards has raised more money than any other candidate.

In Georgia zip codes 31000-31999 (aka South of the Gnat Line), Edwards has raised $132,678.00, and that's more than all of the Republican candidates combined ($130,766.00) and more than all of the Democratic candidates combined ($72,160.00). While metro-Atlanta is famous for it's deep political pockets, these are impressive numbers from an area of the state not famous for political giving.

I need to do some additional research, but a glance at the map makes it appear that this is not just a Georgia phenomenon, but instead an important trend in terms of Edward's support in rural areas. For instance, in Iowa, Edwards ($67,563.00) has edged out both Clinton ($41,808.00) and Obama ($66,425.00), and the same is true in South Carolina (Edwards: $226,555.00; Obama: $190,853.00; Clinton: $77,114.00). Of course, South Carolina is Edwards' birthplace.

So, what is it about Edwards that appeals to rural America? Maybe it's his pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps-story, that he is the son of a mill worker and the first in his family to go to college. Maybe it's just the fact that he is a son of rural America, something that drives his commitment to address poverty with a real plan instead of pretty words. Whatever it is, he seems to have struck a cord.

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Democrats Winning Money Race in Georgia

Georgians may be voting red, but, when it comes to presidential politics, we're giving blue. The most recent FEC filings show that in Georgia, for the first two quarters of 2007, Democratic presidential candidates out-raised Republicans by more than half a million dollars.

Though Obama continues to lead the field of Democratic candidates and nip at the heels of Mitt Romney, John Edwards also has some impressive numbers, raising significantly more outside of metro-Atlanta than other Democrats, and in many areas more than the nearest Republican, Mitt Romney. Here are some quick numbers per new FEC interactive site. (They have seriously misplaced Columbus on this map, but otherwise, it really is fun to play with.)

All Candidates: $3,401,717
Democrats: $1,953,545 (57.42%)
Republicans: $1,448,171 (42.57%)
Romney (R): $762,159
Obama (D): $749,544
Edwards (D): $605,513
Clinton (D): $402,586
Giuliani (R): $360,250

Giving Outside Metro-Atlanta (sample)

Middle Georgia (312xx)
Total: $60,525
Edwards: $49,150
Romney: $4,000
Obama: $2,267
Clinton: $ 500

Middle Georgia (310xx)
Total: $58,030
Edwards: $35,635
Romney: $ 8,250
Clinton: $ 5,195
Obama: $ 250

Columbus (319xx)
Total: $34,906
Edwards: $18,270
Clinton: $8,525
Romney: $ 4,211
Obama: 0

Savannah (314xx)
Total: $72,734
Edwards: $19, 174
Romney: $16,925
Obama: $6,965
Clinton: 0
(Dodd also raised $18,400 in this zip)

Athens (306xx)
Total: $63,489
Edwards: $26,889
Romney: $18,300
Clinton: $7,675
Obama: $2,375

This is crossposted at Georgia Votes Edwards.

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Click the Map and See Who Gave

Political junkies will get nothing done at work to day.

Want to know who in Macon gave to Obama and how much they gave? With just a couple of clicks, you will have the answer. The FEC has launched a new map feature on their website, a clickable, easy to use map, that allows visitors to view from where, and from whom various Presidential candidate got their cash. The map is up to date as of the last reporting period (the end of March), and they promise to have it updated within two days of the next report, due on June 30. Below is an article about how the service was developed:

Deseret Morning News, Tuesday, June 12, 2007

New Web site shows campaign donors' ZIPs

By Suzanne Struglinski
Deseret Morning News

WASHINGTON — If someone wants to know who in Salt Lake City — or anywhere else in the country — is giving money to Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., or Mitt Romney or any of the presidential candidates, the Federal Election Commission will unveil a user-friendly option today.


The commission's Web site, www.fec.gov, will now feature a clickable map that breaks down campaign contributions by ZIP code so the public can see from what areas of the country candidates are getting support.


FEC spokesman Bob Biersack said the commission staff had been thinking for some time about how to make the volumes of data it collects from the candidates more presentable — especially for the citizens to access it and understand it.


The software to make the map cost $12,000, and it took up to 12 people about six weeks to put it all together.


The map data are current through the latest presidential campaign filings that were due in April, and it will be updated less than 24 hours after the next round of campaign-contribution reports need to be filed on July 15, Biersack said.


In Utah, campaign donors have given almost $3 million to the presidential candidates, with about $2.9 million going to Republican candidates and $78,000 going to Democratic candidates, based on data in the new database.


Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who headed Salt Lake City's 2002 Winter Olympics and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has received the most money from Utahns so far — roughly $2.7 million. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has received $113,249 with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani at $80,350.


Democrats have received $78,515 from Utahns with Obama receiving the most at $28,415 and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y. at $20,150. Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., has received $13,150.


Those accessing the map will be able to see donations given to each candidate by ZIP code, and that can be broken down further to see the individual donor's name and city.





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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com


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© 2007 Deseret News Publishing Company







H/T to Steve Leeds for this information.

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