Wampum

Fundraising updates

Friday 5am update:
Only $43.70 left in this fundraising goal! I leave for Stowe, Vermont later this morning for an Emily's List candidate training, so probably won't be around to see reach the top of the thermometer. But I want to again extend my appreciation of all the support, from the contributions to the cheering section. Thank you.

Thursday morning update:
As of 8am this morning, we reached the halfway mark! This also means that I have to submit my 101% finance report to the state campaign finance office within 48 hours, and since I have over 200 donors at that point, that's a lot of typing. Generally, my treasurer would compile the reports, but I know he's busy supporting striking iron workers (he edits the Maine Labor News.) Tomorrow, I'm off to Vermont for an Emily's List candidate training weekend.

Thank you all so much for your support. It's great to see the non-mercury in the thermometer steadily rise.

Wednesday noontime:
I'm off to the printer to pick up the literature piece I'll be sending out later today (or tomorrow, depending upon how long it takes to label and sort 1,700 brochures.) The printer, btw, is Dale Rand, spouse of the Honorable Anne Rand, the last woman elected to the Legislature from the city of Portland. I worked on her final campaign in 2000, as part of the Maine Coordinated effort. This is one more instance where term limits have hurt, rather than helped, the cause of increasing female participation in Maine government.

Since I won't have much time to write today (and tonight I'm mending fences at our local post-Dean meetup), I do want to update our fundraising efforts as we go along today. FYI, as mercury thermometers are prohibited by law here in Maine, the image to the left represents a non-toxic thermometer.

I know a lot of attention is focused on national campaigns these days - but please remember that many of these battles are being carried out in the wells of legislatures in states all around the country, and the races are tight:

A pitched battle for state legislatures Chambers in 25 states could change majorities with a tip of three seats or less as parties fight furiously across the country.

By Daniel B. Wood | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

LOS ANGELES - With the media's political Doppler radar fixed squarely on this November's presidential showdown, a less-obvious political battle is taking place that, in several ways, will have a more direct impact on the lives of Americans.

The outcome also could more accurately reflect where voters stand on a spate of domestic issues, from gay marriage to abortion and taxes.

The battle for party control over state legislatures, say experts, is more intense than at any point in recent political memory.

Of the more than 7,000 legislative seats in the US, the GOP holds a slim 60-seat advantage. And of the 50 states, 25 have legislative chambers that could switch party control with a shift of just three seats or less.

In Maine and Colorado, a switch of one seat could reverse longtime party dominance of both legislative and executive branches. While in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, a change in three seats could significantly reshape the poltical path of the South's fastest-growing states.

Several of the nation's key battleground states - Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Washington - could solidify political alliances for years to come.

"This is a far bigger election year for state legislatures than most," says Tim Story, election analyst for the National Conference of State Legislatures. "Because there are so many close votes which could shift party control of legislative chambers, it will likely have an impact on every issue before state government from civil unions to transportation, education, and health care."

This fall's vote will indicate whether Republicans can continue to garner more power in state governments. The 2002 election gave the GOP control of a majority of US legislative seats for the first time in 50 years. (Republicans now control both chambers in 21 states, compared to 18 for Democrats.)

Posted by MB Williams at April 7, 2004 11:17 AM | TrackBack