Top 10 Candidates & Committees on ActBlue, October 6-12, 2008

Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $150,994.32

Equality for All | $139,152.21

Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $108,627.08

Jeff Merkley | OR-Sen | $66,837.53

Jim Martin | GA-Sen | $61,352.79

Barack Obama | President | $45,045.85

Al Franken | MN-Sen | $43,868.77

Chris Bell | TX-SD-17 | $35,715.00

Dan Seals | IL-10 | $35,472.73

Ronnie Musgrove | MS-Sen | $35,236.92

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1. Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)

Kay Hagan, a Campaign Newswire regular, is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was named one of the "top ten most effective state senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR). The five-term North Carolina state senator continues to pick up high-profile endorsements.

Kay Hagan's headline-making run for Senate has attracted more than 100 contributions from the AFL-CIO this week, dozens of contributions from MyDD readers at http://actblue.com/page/roadto60, and the continued support of Senator Hillary Clinton (http://actblue.com/page/threewomen) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Majority Leader's most recent ask highlights tightening polls in the race between Hagan and Dole: "In order to get to 60 seats, one Senate seat Democrats MUST win is North Carolina. Thankfully, Elizabeth Dole is on the run. A new poll from Public Policy Polling shows Democratic candidate Kay Hagan leading her 49% to 40%."

Hagan's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18560

Hagan's campaign site: http://kayhagan.com/welcome

2. Equality for All

Equality for All is a diverse coalition encouraging Californians to vote against a ballot initiative ("Prop 8") that would rewrite the California Constitution to define marriage as a valid union between only a man and a woman. Equality for All is comprised of nearly 50 organizations, including LGBT, pro-choice and civil rights organizations, and organized labor and religious groups. California supporters can take the "Vow to Vote No" on Prop 8 at http://eqfed.org/campaign/vow.

Equality for All has seen continued support this week from the Daily Kos community, through the Orange to Blue List; from readers of AmericaBlog and Calitics; from community fundraisers like Brian Devine; and from local events like "Coming Out Against Prop 8," a youth gathering on October 10.

No Prop 8, Equality for All website: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19788

No Prop 8, Equality for All campaign hubpage: http://noonprop8.com

3. Rick Noriega (TX-Sen)

Noriega is certainly no newcomer to ActBlue success, and has appeared on every Top 10 List since ActBlue launched the Campaign Newswire in June 2008. After Noriega's Army tour in Afghanistan, the two-term Texas state representative and Lieutenant Colonel was appointed Incident Commander of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Houston, Texas. He's now running against Republican incumbent John Cornyn for the Texas Senate seat.

Rick Noriega has been the beneficiary of a fundraising push by MyDD, whose "Road to 60" page (http://actblue.com/page/roadto60) is supporting Senate candidates across the country. In addition, Noriega is one of three veterans supported by Senator Clinton's HILLPAC at http://actblue.com/page/veterans-hillpac. The Noriega campaign, again an Orange to Blue favorite at Daily Kos, also won the Blue America contest for the candidate with the greatest number of donors. As the winner of the contest, Noriega received $5000 from Blue America PAC.

Noriega's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18187

Noriega's campaign site: http://www.ricknoriega.com/

4. Jeff Merkley (OR-Sen)

Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley is challenging Republican Gordon Smith for the United States Senate. Merkley also led a band of progressives to take control of the Oregon House eighteen months ago, and has used his tenure as Speaker to fight for health care, family-wage jobs, and environmental legislation, and against payday loan scandals. Merkley is the first Oregon Democrat to serve as Speaker in 16 years. Before entering politics, he ran Habitat for Humanity in Oregon and served as a national security analyst at the Pentagon and in Congress.

Jeff Merkley has received about 100 contributions from the AFL-CIO page, considerable support from MyDD's Road to 60 project (http://actblue.com/page/roadto60), and has been the beneficiary of a highly effective ask by Barbara Boxer's PAC for a Change (http://actblue.com/page/boxer4markandjeff) called "Stop Freedom's Watch's Smears." Boxer is raising money to stop distortions of the records of Merkley and Colorado's Mark Udall. The page has already raised more than $50,000 from 715 individual donors.

Merkley's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18219

Merkley's campaign site: http://www.jeffmerkley.com/

5. Jim Martin (GA-Sen)

Jim Martin is challenging Republican Saxby Chambliss in the Senate race in Georgia. Martin, a Vietnam veteran, worked as a legal aid lawyer before his election to the Georgia House of Representatives, where he served for 18 years, becoming a leader on health care and helping to create PeachCare, Georgia's children's health insurance program. He chaired numerous committees in the House, and led the Georgia Department of Human Resources under both Republican and Democratic governors. In 2006, his bid for lieutenant governor garnered more votes than for any other non-incumbent Democrat on the ticket.

Jim Martin, whose race against Saxby Chambliss has recently tightened, has earned the endorsement of the Swing State Project (http://www.actblue.com/page/ssp4martin), and is benefiting from the support of the Daily Kos community (Orange to Blue) and an innovative fundraiser at Princeton (http://actblue.com/page/meta-analysis-08), whose activities are described in the Franken entry below.

Jim Martin's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19359

Jim Martin's campaign site: http://www.martinforsenate.com/

6. Barack Obama (President)

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

Senator Obama continues to collect contributions from an enormous range of sources. Among others, he is supported by bloggers BalloonJuice and Atrios, by the Daily Kos community's Orange to Blue list, by groups like The National Voice of LGBT & Allied Democrats, and by community fundraisers like that organized by group of Vanderbilt students (http://actblue.com/page/vandyforobama).

Obama's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16332

Obama's campaign site: http://www.barackobama.com/

7. Al Franken (MN-Sen)

Al Franken is an award-winning satirist and author, host of Air America's "The Al Franken Show," and a candidate for Senate in Minnesota, running to replace Republican Norm Coleman. In 2003, Franken served as a Fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, part of the Kennedy School, and later became the first nationally syndicated radio talk show host to visit Iraq. He has visited the troops seven times with the USO. Franken has written for the Huffington Post since 2005, and is the author of, among others, The Truth (With Jokes). Franken won the Democratic primary this week.

Al Franken has received more than 150 contributions through the AFL-CIO page, continues to be a great success at Kos' Orange to Blue List and MyDD's Road to 60 page, and has benefited of late from support by Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer. Franken has also earned support resulting from an innovative ask by the Princeton Election Consortium's Sam Wang, online at http://www.actblue.com/page/meta-analysis-08: "When you donate to a campaign, you should make sure that your money goes as far as possible. Think of your donation as an investment, where the return on your investment is an increase in your candidate's probabilty of winning. By this reasoning you should give to campaigns where the polls are closest. Polls can tell us which candidates have a 20-80% chance of winning, which statistically speaking is a knife edge. If you give to these candidates, you're making your dollars go farthest."

Franken's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16471

Franken's campaign site: http://www.alfranken.com/

8. Chris Bell (TX-SD-17)

Former Congressman Chris Bell of Houston is seeking a seat in the Texas Senate. Bell is running to replace Kyle Janek, who resigned from his seat after serving two years of a six-year term, in a special election this November. Bell gained attention in Congress by filing an ethics complaint against Tom Delay. Bell lost his seat after Republican-led redistricting in Texas.

The Bell campaign has organized a highly successful fundraiser, headlined by President Bill Clinton and hosted by Ambassador Arthur Schechter and Bernard Rapoport and others.

Bell's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/20795

Bell's campaign site: http://www.chrisbell.com

9. Dan Seals (IL-10)

Dan Seals is currently a business consultant and public policy lecturer at Northwestern University whose professional life has included stints in both the public and private sectors. Seals first ran against Republican incumbent Mark Kirk for Illinois's 10th District seat in 2006 and nearly won with 47 percent of the vote. The former GE Capital marketing director is challenging Kirk once again, and this year has earned a spot on the DCCC Red to Blue Candidates List. In both election cycles, Seals has consistently been among the top ActBlue fundraisers.

Dan Seals, a phenomenal success on the Orange to Blue list, has received considerable support from the People for the American Way page (http://www.actblue.com/page/peopleforprogressives). PFAW is hosting a great new challenge, wherein the Voters Alliance will donate an additional $3000 to whichever candidate raises the most, the DCCC Red to Blue chairs will offer $2000 to the winner and $1000 to the runner up, and Jared Polis, the next Congressman from Colorado, will offer $1000 to the winner.

Seals's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16318

Seals's campaign site: http://www.dansealsforcongress.com/index.php

10. Ronnie Musgrove (MS-Sen)

Two-term state senator and former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove is running against Republican Senator Roger Wicker in a special election this November. Musgrove has served on several national boards, including the Southern States Energy Board, on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. He was also Vice Chair of Policy for the Executive Committee for the Democratic Governors' Association.

Ronnie Musgrove has produced a wonderful and moving new television ad, and Senator Patrick Leahy is using ActBlue to try to help him keep it on the air. The video is embedded at http://www.actblue.com/page/gmpac4musgrove. In addition, Musgrove has received more than 130 contributions from the AFL-CIO page, and support from MyDD's Road to 60 project, among others.

Musgrove's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18711

Musgrove's campaign site: http://musgroveforsenate.net/

* All fundraising totals represent the amount raised from 12:00 a.m. on October 6 until 11:59 p.m. on October 12.

Top 10 Candidates & Committees on ActBlue, September 29-October 5, 2008

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Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $169,555.56

Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $126,150.30

Barack Obama | President $96,512.13

Scott Kleeb | NE-Sen | $68,906.59

Joseph Sestak Jr | PA-07 | $66,683.00

Scott Harper | IL-13 | $53,792.23

Chellie Pingree | ME-01 | $53,470.00

Eric Massa | NY-29 | $50,290.42

Mark Warner | VA-Sen | $48,287.75

Judy Baker | MO-09 | $43,550.30

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Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)

Kay Hagan, a Campaign Newswire regular, is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was named one of the "top ten most effective state senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR). The five-term North Carolina state senator continues to pick up high-profile endorsements.

Kay Hagan has been the beneficiary in the past week of returns from a successful fundraiser in Charlotte, and a push by General Wesley Clark, joined by John Kerry, Kathleen Sebelius, Barbara Boxer, and Hillary Clinton, to support three women candidates for office (http://www.actblue.com/page/threewomen). Kay had a very successful last week of the third quarter (http://www.kayhagan.com/blog/kay-hagan-thank-you).

Hagan's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18560

Hagan's campaign site: http://kayhagan.com/welcome

Rick Noriega (TX-Sen)

Noriega is certainly no newcomer to ActBlue success, and has appeared on every Top 10 List since ActBlue launched the Campaign Newswire in June 2008. After Noriega's Army tour in Afghanistan, the two-term Texas state representative and Lieutenant Colonel was appointed Incident Commander of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Houston, Texas. He's now running against Republican incumbent John Cornyn for the Texas Senate seat.

The Noriega campaign, again an Orange to Blue favorite at Daily Kos, also won the Blue America contest for the candidate with the greatest number of donors. As the winner of the contest, Noriega received $5000 from Blue America PAC.

Noriega's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18187

Noriega's campaign site: http://www.ricknoriega.com/

Barack Obama (President)

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

The Obama-Biden campaign has been the beneficiary of fundraising pushes by AmericaBlog, Atrios, Balloon Juice, and Daily Kos (Orange to Blue). Obama has more than 280 individual, successful fundraisers on ActBlue, and has received more than 11,000 individual contributions from the ActBlue community. A group of students at Vanderbilt have already raised more than $2400 for the campaign in small increments, in preparation for an upcoming campus event.

Obama's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16332

Obama's campaign site: http://www.barackobama.com/

Scott Kleeb (NE-Sen)

Kleeb is a fourth generation Nebraskan, who lived in military bases overseas as a child and has worked in the Sandhills of Nebraska and as a ranch hand in eastern Colorado. While working on the dissertation for his Ph.D. from Yale, Kleeb traveled all over the Western United States and saw firsthand the difficulties that farmers, ranchers and small business owners were facing as part of a shrinking middle class. Kleeb now works to promote locally-grown food and responsible business practices as Director of Operations for Morgan Ranch, a Nebraska-based beef company.

Kleeb continues to raise a considerable amount from the Orange to Blue page, and through innovative ads like his "I Am the Fifty State Strategy" video, online at http://actblue.com/page/50state.

Kleeb's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18920

Kleeb's campaign site: http://www.scottkleeb.com

Joseph Sestak, Jr. (PA-07)

Former Navy Vice Admiral Joseph Sestak, Jr., was elected to Congress in 2006, defeating ten-term Republican incumbent Curt Weldon, and is running for re-election this year. Between tours in the Navy, Sestak earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard, and later served as Director for Defense Policy on the staff of the National Security Council under President Clinton, and as director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit. Sestak is the senior military veteran in Congress and the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to Congress. Sestak was among ActBlue's ten most successful candidates in 2006.

The majority of Sestak's contributions this week have come through the candidate's hubpage.

Sestak's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/12839

Sestak's campaign site: http://www.sestakforcongress.com/

Scott Harper (IL-13)

Small business owner Scott Harper is running for Congress in the Illinois 13th against Republican incumbent Judy Biggert.

The majority of Harper's contributions this week have come through the candidate's hubpage. Harper has also been the beneficiary of support from Jan Schakowsky (http://www.actblue.com/page/schakowskybrunch), Dick Durbin, and the DCCC, which recently added Harper to its 'Emerging Races' List (http://actblue.com/page/emerging).

Harper's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18402

Harper's campaign site: http://www.scottharperforcongress.com/

Chellie Pingree (ME-01)

Pingree is a former Maine Senate Majority Leader and was most recently the President and CEO of Common Cause, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization.

The majority of Pingree's contributions this week have come through the candidate's hubpage.

Pingree's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/17915

Pingree's campaign site: http://chelliepingree.com/

Eric Massa (NY-29)

Naval veteran Eric Massa is a candidate for Congress in New York's 29th District. He is challenging Republican incumbent Randy Kuhl for the second time. Massa is a vocal supporter of the "Responsible Plan for Iraq." This is Massa's second cycle with ActBlue.

In addition to an outpouring of support from the Daily Kos community (Massa is an Orange to Blue candidate), the Massa campaign has been the beneficiary this week of contributions for a fundraiser with Senator Clinton, and of contributions responding to an ask emphasizing one of the campaign's consistent themes, leaving a sustainable future to the next generation. The ask reads, "It is my responsibility to pass on to my children a nation as solid and as improved as the country I inherited from my parents. When I look at my kids, Justin and Alexandra, I see the burden of the mistakes being made today weighing on their futures. The security of our economic future is not clear and becomes more in question every day. Jobs are being shipped overseas, access to health care is more difficult and more expensive. The deficit fueled by tax cuts and unrelenting government spending has created a true toddler tax of over $27,000 dollars for every new child born in this nation. We are failing to secure the future for our children. This is what brings me here today, and I want to turn that around."

Massa's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/17761

Massa's campaign site: http://www.massaforcongress.com/index.asp

Mark Warner (VA-Sen)

During his tenure as Virginia Governor from 2002-2006, Warner was hailed by Time Magazine as one of "America's 5 Best Governors" in 2005 and was featured in Newsweek's "Who's Next" issue in 2006. Warner is running for what will be Republican John Warner's vacated Senate seat.

The Warner campaign has received considerable support in the last days from a 'Women for Warner' fundraiser hosted by Senators Mikulski, Stabenow, Klobuchar, and Lincoln. Warner has also received support from the National Jewish Democratic Council Political Action Committee.

Warner's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18420

Warner's campaign site: http://markwarner2008.com/welcome

Judy Baker (MO-09)

Judy Baker is running for Congress in Missouri's 9th District. Through her work as a state representative in Missouri, the National Conference of State Legislatures recognized Baker as an "Emerging Health Care Leader." After receiving a master's degree in divinity, Baker returned to Missouri and worked in the health care industry, becoming a successful businesswoman and starting her own consulting firm. An active member of her community, Baker served as part-time administrative director for ACTS International, a non-profit, humanitarian organization.

Judy Baker is one of three women candidates to receive contributions stemming from an ask by General Wesley Clark. Baker has also been supported by the Orange to Blue effort at Daily Kos and by the DCCC's Red to Blue list.

Baker's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18681

Baker's campaign site: http://www.judybakerforcongress.com

* All fundraising totals represent the amount raised from 12:00 a.m. on September 29 until 11:59 p.m. on October 5.

Top Ten Candidates on ActBlue, September 22-28, 2008

Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $127,085.41

Joseph Sestak Jr | PA-07 | $96,213.00

Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $62,324.99

Equality for All | $59,159.50

Darcy Burner | WA-08 | $49,435.76

Jewish Council for Education & Research | $47,317.00

Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee - Federal Account | $46,446.40

Mark Warner | VA-Sen | $45,609.31

Scott Kleeb | NE-Sen | $44,314.44

Barack Obama | President | $43,709.38

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Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)

Kay Hagan, a Campaign Newswire regular, is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was named one of the "top ten most effective state senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR). After winning the Democratic primary in May with 60 percent of the vote, the five-term North Carolina state senator continues to pick up high-profile endorsements.

Hagan, who recently became the fourth candidate to cross the million-dollar mark on ActBlue, is one of several candidates to use innovative fundraising techniques to fund media buys this cycle. Hagan spells out the challenge for her supporters: "North Carolina is the most expensive state to compete in this cycle. With 10 different media markets, nearly 9 million people and a little more than two months until Election Day, it is imperative that I have the resources to stay on the air." Reminding her supporters that it was "two powerful television ads" that "brought us ahead," Hagan asks readers to help her put the ad embedded in her fundraising page on television (http://www.actblue.com/page/kayisahead). Hagan has also benefited greatly in the past week from a fundraising push by Senator Barbara Boxer, and from other innovative fundraising asks like "Liddy's Slippers" (http://www.actblue.com/page/liddysslippers), a joint production with the North Carolina Democratic Party: "Elizabeth Dole was a Kansan for over 25 years, even running for President as a Jayhawk, right up until she set her sights on a North Carolina Senate seat. Help us help Liddy click her heels three times and go home to Kansas so we can have a true North Carolinian to represent us in the U.S. Senate. A bus ticket from DC to Kansas: $177. Plane ticket from DC to Kansas: $319. Taxi from Capitol to Watergate: $6.25. Fill up Liddy's Gas Tank: $75. A train ticket from DC to Kansas: $147."

Hagan's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18560

Hagan's campaign site: http://kayhagan.com/welcome

Joseph Sestak Jr. (PA-07)

Former Navy Vice Admiral Joseph Sestak, Jr., was elected to Congress in 2006, defeating ten-term Republican incumbent Curt Weldon, and is running for re-election this year. Between tours in the Navy, Sestak earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard, and later served as Director for Defense Policy on the staff of the National Security Council under President Clinton, and as director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit. Sestak is the senior military veteran in Congress and the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to Congress. Sestak was among ActBlue's ten most successful candidates in 2006.

The Sestak campaign is planning several events this month, and continues to fundraise principally through the Sestak ActBlue hubpage.

Sestak's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/12839

Sestak's campaign site: http://www.sestakforcongress.com/

Rick Noriega (TX-Sen)

Noriega is certainly no newcomer to ActBlue success, and has appeared on every Top 10 List since ActBlue launched the Campaign Newswire in June 2008. After Noriega's Army tour in Afghanistan, the two-term Texas state representative and Lieutenant Colonel was appointed Incident Commander of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Houston, Texas. He's now running against Republican incumbent John Cornyn for the Texas Senate seat.

The Noriega campaign continues to attract donations via Daily Kos's Orange to Blue list (www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue), which challenged readers to raise $100 K by end of quarter. Noriega also won Blue America's contest (http://www.actblue.com/page/contest) this week.

Noriega's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18187

Noriega's campaign site: http://www.ricknoriega.com/

Equality for All

Equality for All is a diverse coalition encouraging Californians to vote against a ballot initiative ("Prop 8") that would rewrite the California Constitution to define marriage as a valid union between only a man and a woman. Equality for All is comprised of nearly 50 organizations, including LGBT, pro-choice and civil rights organizations, and organized labor and religious groups. California supporters can take the "Vow to Vote No" on Prop 8 at http://eqfed.org/campaign/vow.

Equality for All's totals this week reflect composite efforts by blogs like Calitics and by a number of community fundraisers. In a prime example of a personalized fundraising ask, "Lesbian Dad" makes the case to potential supporters: "The California Supreme Court's decision didn't merely read the equal protection clause as including lesbians and gay men; it didn't just rule that an individual's right to marry is protected. The court's ruling went on to say that 'an individual's sexual orientation, like a person's race or gender, does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.'" [...]Defeating Proposition 8 (which, as the ballot makes clear, "eliminates the right of same sex couples to marry") won't just defend the fundamental right to marry for all Californians. It will turn the tide in the entire anti-gay marriage movement nationally. Those working to pass the proposition know it: they are marshaling resources on an epic scale, because they know if they can't win here, there's little sense in mounting battles like this elsewhere.[...] But this race will be down to the wire, and will be won or lost by a fraction of a percentage point. Not at all kidding here. [...] Please contribute as much as you can to this fundraising page today! Then pass it on. "

No Prop 8, Equality for All website: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19788

No Prop 8, Equality for All campaign hubpage: http://noonprop8.com

Darcy Burner (WA-08)

Author of the much-noted "Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq," Darcy Burner, a candidate for Congress in 2006, is coming back to challenge Dave Reichert for the Eighth District seat. A Harvard graduate, Burner worked for software companies in Boston and San Francisco before settling in Washington State, where she worked on Microsoft's .NET project.

Darcy Burner continues to pull in stellar totals on ActBlue. Among others, Burner's campaign has been supported this week by Blue America and the Daily Kos Orange to Blue campaign, which has been actively fundraising in the month of September. Burner won the Daily Kos poll this week for having to deal with the nastiest GOP tricks ("Hell to Pay"), and as the winner, became the beneficiary of Saturday night's DKos drive (http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/27/175016/728/539/612722).

Burner's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/17762

Burner's campaign site: http://www.darcyburner.com/

Jewish Council for Education & Research

The Jewish Council for Education & Research (JCER), a federal political action committee, was created to develop and disseminate information to voters in the United States around issues of concern to the Jewish community. JCER is motivated by a deep love for the Jewish community and by a desire to ensure that Jews have access to all the information they need as they engage in the electoral process. Its premiere initiative is JewsVote.org, a campaign to help Jews take responsibility for identifying and communicating about the election with voters in our own communities -- among our friends and families -- and in key swing states. JewsVote.org will work with people from across the Jewish denominational spectrum to engage, inform and activate our community members.

The JCER has launched an innovative campaign to persuade Jewish voters in Florida. The Great Schlep, online at http://thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html and billed by comedian Sarah Silverman, describes its mission in the following terms: "The Great Schlep aims to have Jewish grandchildren visit their grandparents in Florida, educate them about Obama, and therefore swing the crucial Florida vote in his favor. Don’t have grandparents in Florida? Not Jewish? No problem! You can still become a schlepper and make change happen in 2008, simply by talking to your relatives about Obama."

JCER's website: http://jcer.info/, http://www.jewsvote.com and http://thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html

JCER's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/20799

Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee - Federal Account

The Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee is committed to electing Democrats in Pennsylvania.

The majority of contributions are coming through the "Building Blue" page, online at http://actblue.com/page/pabuildingblue1, as the Pennsylvania Dems prepare their GOTV field program.

PSDC's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/8382

PSDC's website: http://www.padems.com

Mark Warner (VA-Sen)

During his tenure as Virginia Governor from 2002-2006, Warner was hailed by Time Magazine as one of "America's 5 Best Governors" in 2005 and was featured in Newsweek's "Who's Next" issue in 2006. Warner is running for what will be Republican John Warner's vacated Senate seat.

Mark Warner continues to organize a variety of successful events and community fundraising drives.

Warner's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18420

Warner's campaign site: http://markwarner2008.com/welcome

Scott Kleeb (NE-Sen)

Kleeb is a fourth generation Nebraskan, who lived in military bases overseas as a child and has worked in the Sandhills of Nebraska and as a ranch hand in eastern Colorado. While working on the dissertation for his Ph.D. from Yale, Kleeb traveled all over the Western United States and saw firsthand the difficulties that farmers, ranchers and small business owners were facing as part of a shrinking middle class. Kleeb now works to promote locally-grown food and responsible business practices as Director of Operations for Morgan Ranch, a Nebraska-based beef company.

An Orange-to-Blue candidate, Kleeb has embraced the twofold power of the video embed, using online video both to communicate directly with supporters and to encourage donors to help the campaign buy ad time on Nebraska networks. The campaign's efforts this week have landed them once more on ActBlue's Top Ten list.

Kleeb's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18920

Kleeb's campaign site: http://www.scottkleeb.com

Barack Obama (President)

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

The Obama-Biden campaign has been the beneficiary of fundraising pushes by AmericaBlog, Atrios, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos (Orange to Blue), and National Anthem, a group of Boston-based classical musicians that staged a benefit concert for the campaign this month (http://www.actblue.com/page/obamaconcert). Obama has 288 individual, successful fundraisers on ActBlue.

Obama's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16332

Obama's campaign site: http://www.barackobama.com/

* All fundraising totals represent the amount raised from 12:00 a.m. on September 22 until 11:59 p.m. on September 28.

Top 10 Candidates & Committees on ActBlue, September 15-21, 2008

Editor's Note: Each week, ActBlue will release key statistics from campaigns across the country, along with brief biographical notes on the week's Top 10 Candidates and Committees.* When we have information that may help to explain why a candidate or candidate has had increased activity on ActBlue, we will provide it in italics below the biography. Descriptive content reproduced in the ActBlue Campaign Newswire is collated from publicly available sources. ActBlue does not take sides in any Democratic primary. You can subscribe to the RSS feed of the Campaign Newswire at http://feeds.feedburner.com/ActBlueCampaignNewswire.

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Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $101,943.08

Equality for All | $50,724.33

Al Franken | MN-Sen | $40,969.88

Vote Today Ohio | $37,721.62

Ronnie Musgrove | MS-Sen | $35,964.23

Campaign For Our Country | $33,422.45

Joseph Sestak Jr | PA-07 | $33,356.33

Jeff Merkley | OR-Sen | $32,428.33

Barack Obama | President | $32,118.62

Gavin Newsom | CA-Gov | $30,850.00

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Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)

Kay Hagan is a Campaign Newswire regular and is once again in the top 3. Hagan is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was named one of the "top ten most effective state senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR). After winning the Democratic primary in May with 60 percent of the vote, the five-term North Carolina state senator continues to pick up high-profile endorsements.

Hagan, who recently became the fourth candidate to cross the million-dollar mark on ActBlue, is one of several candidates to use innovative fundraising techniques to fund media buys this cycle. Hagan spells out the challenge for her supporters: "North Carolina is the most expensive state to compete in this cycle. With 10 different media markets, nearly 9 million people and a little more than two months until Election Day, it is imperative that I have the resources to stay on the air." Reminding her supporters that it was "two powerful television ads" that "brought us ahead," Hagan asks readers to help her put the ad embedded in her fundraising page on television (http://www.actblue.com/page/kayisahead). Hagan has also benefited greatly in the past week from fundraising pushes by Senator Max Cleland and Senator Barbara Boxer, and from other innovative fundraising asks like "Liddy's Slippers" (http://www.actblue.com/page/liddysslippers), a joint production with the North Carolina Democratic Party: "Elizabeth Dole was a Kansan for over 25 years, even running for President as a Jayhawk, right up until she set her sights on a North Carolina Senate seat. Help us help Liddy click her heels three times and go home to Kansas so we can have a true North Carolinian to represent us in the U.S. Senate. A bus ticket from DC to Kansas: $177. Plane ticket from DC to Kansas: $319. Taxi from Capitol to Watergate: $6.25. Fill up Liddy's Gas Tank: $75. A train ticket from DC to Kansas: $147."

Hagan's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18560

Hagan's campaign site: http://kayhagan.com/welcome

Equality for All

Equality for All is a diverse coalition encouraging Californians to vote against a ballot initiative ("Prop 8") that would rewrite the California Constitution to define marriage as a valid union between only a man and a woman. Equality for All is comprised of nearly 50 organizations, including LGBT, pro-choice and civil rights organizations, and organized labor and religious groups. California supporters can take the "Vow to Vote No" on Prop 8 at http://eqfed.org/campaign/vow.

Equality for All's totals this week reflect composite efforts by a number of community fundraisers and from the state blog Calitics. In a prime example of a personalized fundraising ask, "Lesbian Dad" makes the case to potential supporters: "The California Supreme Court's decision didn't merely read the equal protection clause as including lesbians and gay men; it didn't just rule that an individual's right to marry is protected. The court's ruling went on to say that 'an individual's sexual orientation, like a person's race or gender, does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.'" [...]Defeating Proposition 8 (which, as the ballot makes clear, "eliminates the right of same sex couples to marry") won't just defend the fundamental right to marry for all Californians. It will turn the tide in the entire anti-gay marriage movement nationally. Those working to pass the proposition know it: they are marshaling resources on an epic scale, because they know if they can't win here, there's little sense in mounting battles like this elsewhere.[...] But this race will be down to the wire, and will be won or lost by a fraction of a percentage point. Not at all kidding here. [...] Please contribute as much as you can to this fundraising page today! Then pass it on. "

No Prop 8, Equality for All website: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19788

No Prop 8, Equality for All campaign hubpage: http://noonprop8.com

Al Franken (MN-Sen)

Al Franken is an award-winning satirist and author, host of Air America's "The Al Franken Show," and a candidate for Senate in Minnesota, running to replace Republican Norm Coleman. In 2003, Franken served as a Fellow at Harvard's Shorenstein Center, part of the Kennedy School, and later became the first nationally syndicated radio talk show host to visit Iraq. He has visited the troops seven times with the USO. Franken has written for the Huffington Post since 2005, and is the author of, among others, The Truth (With Jokes). Franken won the Democratic primary this week.

Franken's totals on ActBlue are driven by enthusiastic support from the Daily Kos community (http://www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue; see the push at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/19/181121/069/1/604091 and http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/20/16429/3308/244/604873), groups like Peace Action West (http://actblue.com/page/peaceactionwestvoterfund), and by friends of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, reaching ActBlue through GiveEmHellHarry.com.

Franken's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16471

Franken's campaign site: http://www.alfranken.com/

Vote Today Ohio

Vote Today Ohio is a grassroots campaign to utilize Ohio's "Golden Week" (September 30-October 6) to help 10,000 new and unlikely progressive Ohio voters make their voices heard and have their votes count in the 2008 presidential election. "Golden Week" refers to the week in Ohio when "for one 'golden week', any Ohio citizen can walk into an early voting center, register, and vote on the spot."

Vote Today Ohio is asking for "tangible, meaningful donations": "Donate to Vote Today Ohio to help us pay for vans, gas and posters. Our overhead is fully funded, so donations go directly to producing votes. We're looking for generous individuals or teams of friends to sponsor one van -- $750 for the week. That's a tangible, meaningful donation. If we run our program right, each van should deliver about 250 voters. Make an online donation here: http://www.actblue.com/page/votetodayohio."The majority of contributions have come through http://actblue.com/page/votetodayohio.

Vote Today Ohio's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/21134

Vote Today Ohio's website: http://votetodayohio.blogspot.com/

Ronnie Musgrove (MS-Sen)

Two-term state senator and former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove is running against Republican Senator Roger Wicker in a special election this November. Musgrove has served on several national boards, including the Southern States Energy Board, on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. He was also Vice Chair of Policy for the Executive Committee for the Democratic Governors' Association.

Musgrove was the beneficiary this week of a major fundraising push by Senator Barbara Boxer (http://www.actblue.com/page/boxer4musgrove). Senator Boxer's push aimed to help Musgrove keep his ad on the air.

Musgrove's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18711

Musgrove's campaign site: http://musgroveforsenate.net/

Campaign for Our Country

Campaign for Our Country is Senator John Kerry's leadership PAC that has raised over $15 million for candidates and committees up and down the ballot in 46 states. The group states that it will "defend Democrats who are smeared by the right-wing smear machine, and ... point out ways the Republicans have failed this country." The PAC launched TruthFightsBack.com, a new, innovative website that empowers activists to track and fight back against the rightwing smear machine.

The ActBlue page corresponding to TruthFightsBack.com, http://actblue.com/page/truthfightsback, has been highly successful over several weeks, and accounts for a considerable portion of Campaign for Our Country's contributions this week.

Campaign for Our Country's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/9487

Campaign for Our Country's website: http://www.campaignforourcountry.com/

Joseph Sestak Jr. (PA-07)

Former Navy Vice Admiral Joseph Sestak, Jr., was elected to Congress in 2006, defeating ten-term Republican incumbent Curt Weldon, and is running for re-election this year. Between tours in the Navy, Sestak earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard, and later served as Director for Defense Policy on the staff of the National Security Council under President Clinton, and as director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit. Sestak is the senior military veteran in Congress and the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to Congress. Sestak was among ActBlue's ten most successful candidates in 2006.

Sestak continues to hold a place on the Campaign Newswire. Sestak's total this week reflects long-term commitments by supporters who have pledged to make recurring contributions to his campaign, and other contributions directed through his hubpage. From Georgia to Michigan and Virginia to California, the Pennsylvania congressman has supporters all across the country.

Sestak's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/12839

Sestak's campaign site: http://www.sestakforcongress.com/

Jeff Merkley (OR-Sen)

Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley is challenging Republican Gordon Smith for the United States Senate. Merkley also led a band of progressives to take control of the Oregon House eighteen months ago, and has used his tenure as Speaker to fight for health care, family-wage jobs, and environmental legislation, and against payday loan scandals. Merkley is the first Oregon Democrat to serve as Speaker in 16 years. Before entering politics, he ran Habitat for Humanity in Oregon and served as a national security analyst at the Pentagon and in Congress.

Merkley's strong showing on ActBlue this week is fueled by a stream of small donations across a large number of ActBlue pages, from individual donors' pages to major pushes from prominent Democrats. Among others, Blue America's slate page is doing much to promote Merkley, and the community fundraising group "13 Enviros" has brought in a steady stream of contributions. Another effort, 'Who Fuels Jeff Merkley's Campaign?' (http://www.actblue.com/page/fuelmerkley) uses an embedded video to contrast Merkley's grassroots effort with the campaign of his opponent, Gordon Smith, into whose campaign, says the page, "the oil and gas industry has pumped more than $270,000."

Merkley's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18219

Merkley's campaign site: http://www.jeffmerkley.com/

Barack Obama (President)

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

The Obama-Biden campaign has been the beneficiary of fundraising pushes by AmericaBlog, Atrios, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos (Orange to Blue), the Progressive Reading Series, and National Anthem, a group of Boston-based classical musicians staging a benefit for the campaign this month (http://www.actblue.com/page/obamaconcert).

Obama's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16332

Obama's campaign site: http://www.barackobama.com/

Gavin Newsom (CA-Gov)

Gavin Newsom is the first-term Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco and is currently exploring a run for governor of California in 2010. The contributions this week for Newsom, the youngest San Franciscan mayor in 100 years, are for his exploratory committee, which he launched in July 2008. Newsom made international headlines in 2004 when the city-county clerk began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under his instruction. The Mayor continues to attract national media attention after implementing a universal health care system for all San Franciscans and signing the City onto the Kyoto Protocol, an environmental agreement in which signatories pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2012.

Newsom's list placement this week reflects continuing high support through his ActBlue hubpage.

Newsom's exploratory committee hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/20517

Newsom's exploratory committee website: http://www.gavinnewsom.com

* All fundraising totals represent the amount raised from 12:00 a.m. on September 15 until 11:59 p.m. on September 21.

Top 10 Candidates & Committees on ActBlue, September 8-14, 2008

Editor's Note: Each week, ActBlue will release key statistics from campaigns across the country, along with brief biographical notes on the week's Top 10 Candidates and Committees.* When we have information that may help to explain why a candidate or candidate has had increased activity on ActBlue, we will provide it in italics below the biography. Descriptive content reproduced in the ActBlue Campaign Newswire is collated from publicly available sources. ActBlue does not take sides in any Democratic primary. You can subscribe to the RSS feed of the Campaign Newswire at http://feeds.feedburner.com/ActBlueCampaignNewswire.

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Barack Obama | President | $111,436.65

Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $109,177.53

Gary Peters | MI-09 | $32,196.27

Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $31,790.73

Equality for All | $28,320.00

Tom Udall | NM-Sen | $26,509.52

NY Democratic Senate Campaign Committee | $25,000.00

Jeanne Shaheen | NH-Sen | $23,255.67

Gavin Newsom | CA-Gov | $22,860.00

Larry Kissell | NC-08 | $22,075.30

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1. Barack Obama (President)

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

The Obama-Biden campaign has been the beneficiary of fundraising pushes by AmericaBlog, Atrios, Balloon Juice, Daily Kos (Orange to Blue), and National Anthem, a group of Boston-based classical musicians staging a benefit for the campaign this month (http://www.actblue.com/page/obamaconcert).

Obama's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16332

Obama's campaign site: http://www.barackobama.com/

2. Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)

Kay Hagan is a Campaign Newswire regular and is once again in the top 3. Hagan is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was named one of the "top ten most effective state senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR). After winning the Democratic primary in May with 60 percent of the vote, the five-term North Carolina state senator continues to pick up high-profile endorsements.

Hagan, who recently became the fourth candidate to cross the million-dollar mark on ActBlue, is one of several candidates to use innovative fundraising techniques to fund media buys this cycle. Hagan spells out the challenge for her supporters: "North Carolina is the most expensive state to compete in this cycle. With 10 different media markets, nearly 9 million people and a little more than two months until Election Day, it is imperative that I have the resources to stay on the air." Reminding her supporters that it was "two powerful television ads" that "brought us ahead," Hagan asks readers to help her put the ad embedded in her fundraising page on television (http://www.actblue.com/page/kayisahead). Hagan has also benefited greatly in the past week from a fundraising push by Senator Barbara Boxer, and from other innovative fundraising asks like "Liddy's Slippers" (http://www.actblue.com/page/liddysslippers), a joint production with the North Carolina Democratic Party: "Elizabeth Dole was a Kansan for over 25 years, even running for President as a Jayhawk, right up until she set her sights on a North Carolina Senate seat. Help us help Liddy click her heels three times and go home to Kansas so we can have a true North Carolinian to represent us in the U.S. Senate. A bus ticket from DC to Kansas: $177. Plane ticket from DC to Kansas: $319. Taxi from Capitol to Watergate: $6.25. Fill up Liddy's Gas Tank: $75. A train ticket from DC to Kansas: $147."

Hagan's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18560

Hagan's campaign site: http://kayhagan.com/welcome

3. Gary Peters (MI-09)

Gary Peters is running against Republican incumbent Joe Knollenberg for Michigan's 9th District congressional seat. While serving in the state Senate, Peters was the Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, and the ranking Democrat on many prominent Senate committees, including the Finance and the Judiciary committees. Peters won accolades for his success as Commissioner for the Michigan State Lottery, a post he was appointed to in 2003. Peters has also managed branches for two major Wall Street firms, and served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

The Peters campaign's success this week on ActBlue reflects high numbers on its hubpage.

Peters's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18229

Peters's campaign site: http://petersforcongress.com/

4. Rick Noriega (TX-Sen)

Noriega is certainly no newcomer to ActBlue success, and has appeared on every Top 10 List since ActBlue launched the Campaign Newswire in June 2008. After Noriega's Army tour in Afghanistan, the two-term Texas state representative and Lieutenant Colonel was appointed Incident Commander of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Houston, Texas. He's now running against Republican incumbent John Cornyn for the Texas Senate seat.

The Noriega campaign, skilled in online messaging, has once again used an embedded video, rather than text, to bring the campaign's case to voters. In one of the campaign's highest-yielding recent asks, http://www.actblue.com/page/ricknoriega, the campaign highlighted a video on Cornyn's "last-minute switch on the Medicare bill." The Noriega campaign also continues to attract donations via Daily Kos's Orange to Blue list (www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue).

Noriega's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18187

Noriega's campaign site: http://www.ricknoriega.com/

5. Equality for All

Equality for All is a diverse coalition encouraging Californians to vote against a ballot initiative ("Prop 8") that would rewrite the California Constitution to define marriage as a valid union between only a man and a woman. Equality for All is comprised of nearly 50 organizations, including LGBT, pro-choice and civil rights organizations, and organized labor and religious groups. California supporters can take the "Vow to Vote No" on Prop 8 at http://eqfed.org/campaign/vow.

Equality for All's totals this week reflect composite efforts by a number of community fundraisers. In a prime example of a personalized fundraising ask, "Lesbian Dad" makes the case to potential supporters: "The California Supreme Court's decision didn't merely read the equal protection clause as including lesbians and gay men; it didn't just rule that an individual's right to marry is protected. The court's ruling went on to say that 'an individual's sexual orientation, like a person's race or gender, does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.'" [...]Defeating Proposition 8 (which, as the ballot makes clear, "eliminates the right of same sex couples to marry") won't just defend the fundamental right to marry for all Californians. It will turn the tide in the entire anti-gay marriage movement nationally. Those working to pass the proposition know it: they are marshaling resources on an epic scale, because they know if they can't win here, there's little sense in mounting battles like this elsewhere.[...] But this race will be down to the wire, and will be won or lost by a fraction of a percentage point. Not at all kidding here. [...] Please contribute as much as you can to this fundraising page today! Then pass it on. "

No Prop 8, Equality for All website: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19788

No Prop 8, Equality for All campaign hubpage: http://noonprop8.com

6. Tom Udall (NM-Sen )

Representative Tom Udall is running for Senate in New Mexico. As Attorney General, Udall championed tougher ethics laws, and while in the House, Udall wrote and passed a bill to establish a national renewable energy standard, championed expanded preventive healthcare, and voted against the Iraq War.

The Udall campaign has been the beneficiary this week of major fundraising pushes by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and blogger Atrios.

Udall's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18608

Udall's campaign site: http://www.tomudall.com/

7. NY Democratic Senate Campaign Committee

Senate Democrats in New York have launched a campaign to recapture the State Senate, aiming to win two seats in 2004, two in 2006, and three in 2008. The Committee has beaten the odds, winning five seats in the last three years, and is "on the edge of taking back the State Senate for the first time in four decades."

The NYS DCCC is working to court high-dollar donors.

NYS DSCC ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19810

NYS DSCC site: http://www.dscc.net/

8. Jeanne Shaheen (NH-Sen)

The only woman elected governor of New Hampshire, Jeanne Shaheen is running to unseat Republican John Sununu. As Governor, Shaheen developed the state's first comprehensive energy plan, emphasizing renewables and increased efficiency; launched New Hampshire's CHIP, providing health insurance to tens of thousands of New Hampshire children; passed comprehensive reforms to regulate HMOs' ability to deny patients healthcare; established the state's first ethics code for employees; implemented a program to help families pay for college and increased state aid to public schools; and created a Job Training Fund and tripled tourism promotion to create jobs. Shaheen's New Hampshire became only the 10th state to include sexual orientation in anti-discrimination laws, and saw mercury pollution reduced by forty percent.

The Shaheen campaign's totals reflect fundraising on Shaheen's behalf by Senator Barbara Boxer.

Shaheen's ActBlue hubpage: www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18422

Shaheen's campaign site: www.jeanneshaheen.org/

9. Gavin Newsom (CA-Gov)

Gavin Newsom is the first-term Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco and is currently exploring a run for governor of California in 2010. The contributions this week for Newsom, the youngest San Franciscan mayor in 100 years, are for his exploratory committee, which he launched in July 2008. Newsom made international headlines in 2004 when the city-county clerk began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples under his instruction. The Mayor continues to attract national media attention after implementing a universal health care system for all San Franciscans and signing the City onto the Kyoto Protocol, an environmental agreement in which signatories pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2012.

Newsom's list placement this week reflects continuing high support through his ActBlue hubpage.

Newsom's exploratory committee hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/20517

Newsom's exploratory committee website: http://www.gavinnewsom.com

10. Larry Kissell (NC-08)

Larry Kissell worked for 27 years in the textile mills of North Carolina. When the mills began to close down, Kissell became a social studies teacher. In October 2005, Kissell decided "it was time for regular working Americans to take back their House," and decided to run for Congress, coming within 330 votes of unseating Robin Hayes in 2006. He is running now for the second time.

The Kissell campaign continues to work to build a large base of small-dollar donors.

Kissell's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16138

Kissell's campaign site: http://www.larrykissell.com/

* All fundraising totals represent the amount raised from 12:00 a.m. on September 8 until 11:59 p.m. on September 14.

Top 10 Candidates & Committees on ActBlue, September 1-7, 2008

Editor's Note: Each week, ActBlue will release key statistics from campaigns across the country, along with brief biographical notes on the week's Top 10 Candidates and Committees.* When we have information that may help to explain why a candidate or candidate has had increased activity on ActBlue, we will provide it in italics below the biography. Descriptive content reproduced in the ActBlue Campaign Newswire is collated from publicly available sources. ActBlue does not take sides in any Democratic primary. You can subscribe to the RSS feed of the Campaign Newswire at http://feeds.feedburner.com/ActBlueCampaignNewswire.

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Barack Obama | President | $78,009.12

Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $71,962.77

Mark Warner | VA-Sen | $46,003.48

Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $39,456.16

Andrew Rice | OK-Sen | $36,704.32

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Cttee | $29,024.48

Equality for All | | $27,506.00

Joseph Sestak Jr | PA-07 | $18,566.00

Scott Kleeb | NE-Sen | $17,722.09

Gary Peters | MI-09 | $17,423.90

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1. Barack Obama (President)

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

The Obama-Biden campaign has been the beneficiary of fundraising pushes by AmericaBlog, Balloon Juice, and National Anthem, a group of Boston-based classical musicians staging a benefit for the campaign this month (http://www.actblue.com/page/obamaconcert).

Obama's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/16332

Obama's campaign site: http://www.barackobama.com/

2. Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)

Kay Hagan is a Campaign Newswire regular and is in the top 3 for the ninth week in a row. Hagan is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was named one of the "top ten most effective state senators" by the North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research (NCCPPR). After winning the Democratic primary in May with 60 percent of the vote, the five-term North Carolina state senator continues to pick up high-profile endorsements.

Hagan is one of several candidates to use innovative fundraising techniques to fund media buys this cycle. Hagan spells out the challenge for her supporters: "North Carolina is the most expensive state to compete in this cycle. With 10 different media markets, nearly 9 million people and a little more than two months until Election Day, it is imperative that I have the resources to stay on the air." Reminding her supporters that it was "two powerful television ads" that "brought us ahead," Hagan asks readers to help her put the ad embedded in her fundraising page on television (http://www.actblue.com/page/kayisahead).

Hagan's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18560

Hagan's campaign site: http://kayhagan.com/welcome

3. Mark Warner (VA-Sen)

During his tenure as Virginia Governor from 2002-2006, Warner was hailed by Time Magazine as one of "America's 5 Best Governors" in 2005 and was featured in Newsweek's "Who's Next" issue in 2006. Warner is running for what will be Republican John Warner's vacated Senate seat.

Like Hagan, Mark Warner has embraced innovative fundraising asks this cycle, this week focusing on building a new group of 2009 donors: "As we see in the headlines every morning, our nation faces enormous challenges. From the weak economy, to rising energy prices, to the continued mismanagement of the five year-long war in Iraq, we need leaders who are ready to work together to find solutions to our problems. Please help us meet our goal of 2,009 online donors [.]" Democrats nationwide have shifted the focus this election from dollars to donors, in many cases encouraging the media to follow suit.

Warner's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18420

Warner's campaign site: http://markwarner2008.com/welcome

4. Rick Noriega (TX-Sen)

Noriega is certainly no newcomer to ActBlue success, and has appeared on every Top 10 List since ActBlue launched the Campaign Newswire in June 2008. After Noriega's Army tour in Afghanistan, the two-term Texas state representative and Lieutenant Colonel was appointed Incident Commander of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in Houston, Texas. He's now running against Republican incumbent John Cornyn for the Texas Senate seat.

The Noriega campaign, skilled in online messaging, has once again used an embedded video, rather than text, to bring the campaign's case to voters. In one of the campaign's highest-yielding asks this week, http://www.actblue.com/page/ricknoriega holds a video on Cornyn's "last-minute switch on the Medicare bill." The Noriega campaign also continues to attract donations via Daily Kos's Orange to Blue list (www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue).

Noriega's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18187

Noriega's campaign site: http://www.ricknoriega.com/

5. Andrew Rice (OK-Sen)

Andrew Rice is running to replace Republican Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma. Rice, who holds degrees from Colby and Harvard Divinity School, was a documentary filmmaker before his brother's tragic death in the 9/11 attacks compelled him to run for the Oklahoma state senate in 2005. He won the election with 70 percent of the vote, and in the state senate has focused on issues affecting children and families, specifically health insurance and tax breaks for struggling families.

Andrew Rice has enjoyed enormous success this week at Orange to Blue, the list of progressive candidates endorsed by Daily Kos (www.actblue.com/page/orangetoblue). After Inhofe questioned Obama's love of country last week, the Daily Kos community raised $10,000 this Saturday night to challenge the Oklahoma incumbent.

Rice's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18228

Rice's campaign site: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18228

6. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is charged with electing a Democratic Senate. Its counterparts on the Federal level are the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), charged respectively with electing a Democratic President and a Democratic House.

The DSCC is engaged in a nationwide fundraising push in the run-up to the November elections.

The DSCC's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/8339

The DSCC's website: http://www.dscc.org/

7. Equality for All

Equality for All is a diverse coalition encouraging Californians to vote against a ballot initiative ("Prop 8") that would rewrite the California Constitution to define marriage as a valid union between only a man and a woman. Equality for All is comprised of nearly 50 organizations, including LGBT, pro-choice and civil rights organizations, and organized labor and religious groups. California supporters can take the "Vow to Vote No" on Prop 8 at http://eqfed.org/campaign/vow.

Equality for All's totals this week reflect composite efforts by a number of community fundraisers. In a prime example of a personalized fundraising ask, "Dan's 'No on 8' Page" makes the case to potential supporters: "It's been years since I've donated to a political campaign. Defeating Prop. 8 is so important to me that I've made a monthly pledge between June and October. I invite you to join me in any way you can....No On Prop 8, Equality For All is the coalition that is leading the fight to defeat Prop 8 and defend the fundamental right to marry for all Californians. Never in California's history have voters taken away a right, but without our involvement, that could happen. Please give if you can, or wear a button, post a sign, or talk to your friends. Let people know you're voting No on 8!"

No Prop 8, Equality for All website: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/19788

No Prop 8, Equality for All campaign hubpage: http://noonprop8.com

8. Joseph Sestak Jr. (PA-07)

Former Navy Vice Admiral Joseph Sestak, Jr., was elected to Congress in 2006, defeating ten-term Republican incumbent Curt Weldon, and is running for re-election this year. Between tours in the Navy, Sestak earned a master's degree in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard, and later served as Director for Defense Policy on the staff of the National Security Council under President Clinton, and as director of "Deep Blue," the Navy's anti-terrorism unit. Sestak is the senior military veteran in Congress and the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to Congress. Sestak was among ActBlue's ten most successful candidates in 2006.

The Sestak campaign is planning several events this month, and continues to fundraise principally through the Sestak ActBlue hubpage.

Sestak's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/12839

Sestak's campaign site: http://www.sestakforcongress.com/

9. Scott Kleeb (NE-Sen)

Kleeb is a fourth generation Nebraskan, who lived in military bases overseas as a child and has worked in the Sandhills of Nebraska and as a ranch hand in eastern Colorado. While working on the dissertation for his Ph.D. from Yale, Kleeb traveled all over the Western United States and saw firsthand the difficulties that farmers, ranchers and small business owners were facing as part of a shrinking middle class. Kleeb now works to promote locally-grown food and responsible business practices as Director of Operations for Morgan Ranch, a Nebraska-based beef company.

An Orange-to-Blue candidate, Kleeb has embraced the twofold power of the video embed, using online video both to communicate directly with supporters and to encourage donors to help the campaign buy ad time on Nebraska networks. The campaign's efforts this week have landed them once more on ActBlue's Top Ten list.

Kleeb's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18920

Kleeb's campaign site: http://www.scottkleeb.com

10. Gary Peters (MI-09)

Gary Peters is running against Republican incumbent Joe Knollenberg for Michigan's 9th District congressional seat. While serving in the state Senate, Peters was the Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, and the ranking Democrat on many prominent Senate committees, including the Finance and the Judiciary committees. Peters won accolades for his success as Commissioner for the Michigan State Lottery, a post he was appointed to in 2003. Peters has also managed branches for two major Wall Street firms, and served as a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve.

The Peters campaign's success this week on ActBlue reflects high numbers on its hubpage.

Peters's ActBlue hubpage: http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18229

Peters's campaign site: http://petersforcongress.com/

* All fundraising totals represent the amount raised from 12:00 a.m. on September 1 until 11:59 p.m. on September 7..

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