Much rejoicing is going on by political insiders in the hotly contested second congressional district race with announced quarterly fundraising totals already clearing a half million dollars between two of the three candidates.
Meanwhile in neighboring district four, democratic hopeful Besty Markey appears to be personifying the early strategy of 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean’s groundbreaking grassroots success.
“The focus on money raising is out of control,” said Markey, the former Larimer County Democratic Party chair and nascent challenger to Republican Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave. “So, I’m keeping my focus on building a good organization.”
Markey demurred on releasing her second quarter fundraising totals but added that she will be making a major campaign staff announcement at the end of the week. She would only reveal that the individual has experience working for other Congressional campaigns and Emily’s List, the powerhouse fundraising group for pro-choice women candidates.
“Whether you’re raising a family or building a small business, you need to have a solid foundation,” she remarked. “I’ve seen too many campaigns where people get jazzed up and then none of that great help is utilized. It’s not always about the money.”
In building her grassroots network, much like the Dean for America campaign where the egalitarian organizational style opened up floodgates of small donors, Markey appears to be developing a de-centralized volunteer base through which supporters can organize house parties, create social networking websites on Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn and a netroots-inspired fundraising page at ActBlue. A campaign blog will also be launched later this week.
Comments are closed.