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OK-Sen: This Week with Andrew Rice, April 13-20 |
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Andrew Rice, who is mounting an impressive challenge against Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe this year, continued to scare Inhofe and his clique of corporate cronies and right-wing reactionaries this week.
On Tuesday, Andrew reported his best fundraising quarter to date. In the first three months of the year, he took in $431,025, bringing his fundraising total to $971,332. The campaign has nearly $600,000 cash on hand. According to a campaign press release,
Rice said that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of his funds have been generated from Oklahomans and a total of 4,236 individuals have contributed to his campaign. Average contribution from individual donors at the close of the reporting period was $219. More than 96 percent of Rice’s financial support has come from individuals. He has received a total of $36,660 from political action committees since the start of his campaign.
These numbers are encouraging not just for the present but also for the future. The high number of individual donors but low average rate of contributions mean that Andrew has a solid donor base that’s far from maxed out. As his profile rises in Oklahoma and nationwide, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his fundraising numbers continue to swell.
Furthermore, a campaign email notes how well Andrew is doing in comparison with similar candidates inside and outside of Oklahoma:
* The Jon Tester race in Montana in ‘06 is the benchmark for an underdog victory, and the demographics of the state and the race aren’t dissimilar to those of Oklahoma. Tester’s ‘06 campaign hit the $1 million mark on June 3, right before his highly contested primary.
* Oregon’s Senate race this year is considered by many to be a top-tier race and a great opportunity to pick up a Democratic seat. Andrew Rice’s Q1 fundraising totals fell just behind those of Jeff Merkley, who raised $453,000 in the same quarter. While Sen. Rice has no announced primary opponent, Merkley is in a contentious primary with Steve Novick, who raised about $100,000 less than Rice in Q1.
* Furthermore, Sen. Rice has, as a freshman state senator, raised money more quickly than Inhofe’s last opponent, who was a former governor. David Walters, who ran against Inhofe in 2002, hit the $1million dollar mark in mid-summer. Clearly the people of Oklahoma are buying into Andrew Rice’s campaign, proving that they are looking for a change in Washington.
Strong grassroots support for Andrew may allow him to overcome Inhofe’s real - but not overwhelming - financial advantage. That grassroots support comes largely from the fact that he is, in the words of the local Oklahoma newspaper the Norman Transcript, a “nonstop campaigner” - and hence a “formidable foe” for Inhofe.
ActBlue’s profile of Andrew, released this week, calls attention to another ingredient in his success: his skill in harnessing the power of technology and “turning his donors into fundraisers”:
With 24 fundraising pages on ActBlue, Andrew Rice has raised over $113,000 from nearly 2.500 supporters. Democracy for America, prominent liberal bloggers, and Democrats from all over the country have come together to ensure that this is Senator Inhofe’s last year in office by creating ActBlue fundraising pages for Rice.
[snip]
In the fledgling stages of his U.S. Senate campaign, Rice proved his viability by raising over $28,000 on ActBlue and bringing in a total of $300,000 in the first two months of his campaign. This support gave Rice the momentum and credibility to attract the endorsements of prominent national organizations like the Sierra Club and powerful blogs like Blue America. ActBlue has remained an essential tool for the Rice campaign to mobilize such powerful netroots support. Together, these prominent bloggers have raised over $55,000 for Rice from 1,600 donors on ActBlue.
Andrew Rice has become a prominent presence on liberal sites other than ActBlue. He is a blogger for the Huffington Post, and has appeared twice on the Blue America site to answer questions and discuss his view on the Iraq War, health care, tax policy, and abortion. In both online sessions, people from states other than Oklahoma posed question to the candidate, and encouraged each other to visit Democracy for America’s ActBlue fundraising page for Rice, aptly titled, “Beat a Republican Extremist.”
With the help of prominent bloggers and independent supporters, Rice has been crushing Inhofe online, raising more online on March 31st than Inhofe did through the entire month of March. And that has the incumbent worried.
In the ground on Oklahoma, Andrew is also making Inhofe look like a fool. The Senator may talk tough about supporting the troops - Andrew goes out and does it. And after taking a hit on Steffanie’s Law, a bill Andrew proposed in the state legislature which a Republican committee blocked, Andrew was able to place some of that bill’s language into a health bill currently going back to House after passing the State Senate. Like I’ve said before, Inhofe talks about family values, but Andrew values families - and acts like it.
Let’s help Oklahoma put this guy in office. If you choose to contribute, you can do so here.
