Top 10 Candidates on ActBlue, July 28-August 3, 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. When we have information that may help to explain why a 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://campaignnewswire.blogspot.

1. Kay Hagan | NC-Sen | $29,778.09

2. Rick Noriega | TX-Sen | $26,462.82

3. Mark Warner | VA-Sen | $22,720.08

4. Barack Obama | President | $15,002.16

5. Sam Bennett | PA-15 | $14,835.00

6. Darcy Burner | WA-08 | $14,757.63

7. Chris Bell | TX-SD-17 | $14,457.28

8. Dan Seals | IL-10 | $12,283.36

9. Judy Baker | MO-09 | $12,225.00

10. Ronnie Musgrove | MS-Sen | $12,099.00

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1. Kay Hagan (NC-Sen)

Hagan is running against Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and was recently 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.

A continually strong fundraiser on ActBlue, Kay Hagan recently announced fundraising totals topping $1.6 million in the second quarter of the year, narrowing the fundraising gap with Republican incumbent Elizabeth Dole and attracting national media attention. Hagan's totals this week were driven by fundraising through Senate Guru's 'Expand the Map' effort (http://www.actblue.com/page/senate2008guru), and through a page created by Cinnamon and Ariel Rogers (http://actblue.com/page/rogersforkay).

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

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

2. Rick Noriega (TX-Sen)

Noriega is certainly no newcomer to ActBlue success, and has once again taken a spot on our Top 10 list. 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.

In addition to high-profile endorsements (Senator Barbara Boxer at http://actblue.com/page/boxer4noriega and General Wesley Clark at http://actblue.com/page/clark4noriega, e.g.), the Noriega campaign is the beneficiary of innovative fundraising efforts like "Two for Tuesdays" (http://actblue.com/page/twofortuesdays), sponsored by the Progressive Electorate, wherein donors are asked to give $2 to one candidate each Tuesday until November. Noriega continues to receive recurring small-dollar contributions through the "Fill Rick's Boots" effort (http://actblue.com/page/fillricksboots) and others (http://actblue.com/page/ricknoriega), a traditional marker of sustainability in campaigns. Noriega also features prominently on a number of slate pages sponsored by major bloggers, including Daily Kos (http://actblue.com/page/orangetoblue), and Senate Guru (http://actblue.com/page/senate2008guru).

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

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

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.

Mark Warner has had another banner week on ActBlue, driven by the campaign itself and aided by a fundraising push by Majority Leader Harry Reid. Warner has been speaking out-- through an issue site, a fundraising effort, and a television ad (http://www.markwarner2008.com/pages/energy-ad)-- about solutions to the energy crisis.

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

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

4. Barack Obama (President)

Illinois Senator Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee for President.

Obama's strong numbers on ActBlue reflect fundraising pushes from, among others, the blogs Daily Kos (http://actblue.com/page/orangetoblue), Atrios (http://actblue.com/page/eschatonc08), AmericaBlog (http://www.actblue.com/page/americaobama) and Balloon Juice (http://actblue.com/page/balloonsforobama); gay and lesbian advocacy groups (http://actblue.com/page/stonewallobama and http://actblue.com/page/trans); local Democratic groups (http://actblue.com/page/columbiacountydemocrats and http://actblue.com/page/obamaconcert); and prominent Democrats like General Wesley Clark (http://actblue.com/page/clark4obama).

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

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

5. Sam Bennett (PA-15)

Siobhan "Sam" Bennett is challenging Bush Republican Charlie Dent for a congressional seat in Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District. The Allentown native spent 30 years working in her community, running a corporation and a nonprofit and contributing time and expertise to a number of community ventures, before deciding to run for office.

Sam Bennett had another strong week on ActBlue. This is Sam's second time on ActBlue's top 10 list.

Bennett's ActBlue hubpage http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/18008

Bennett's campaign site http://www.bennett2008.com/

6. 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.

Support continues to pour in after a fire destroyed Darcy Burner's home on July 1. In the aftermath, a coalition of bloggers rallied to buttress the candidate's fundraising efforts by asking readers to help them raise $150,000, enough to keep pace with the campaign's fundraising needs for the month of July and give Burner "the breathing room she needs to tend to her own affairs without worrying about neglecting her campaign." Burner's supporters more than met their goal, collecting donations from hundreds of contributors. Major partners in the effort include General Wesley Clark, Daily Kos, Horsesass.org, Atrios, AmericaBlog, Blue America, and others, across pages like http://actblue.com/page/anewhouse, http://actblue.com/page/havedarcysback, and http://actblue.com/page/orangetoblue. Like Rick Noriega, Burner continues to benefit from a strong base of recurring contributions (http://actblue.com/page/burnbush, http://actblue.com/page/blueamerica08) and from innovative fundraising efforts like "Two for Tuesdays" (http://actblue.com/page/twofortuesdays; see Noriega, above). Most recently, Burner has benefitted from a push by Democracy for America at http://www.actblue.com/page/supportdarcy. /p>

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

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

7. Chris Bell (TX-SD-17)

Former Congressman Chris Bell of Houston recently announced his campaign for 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./p>

Bell's fundraising momentum is driven by an effort called "$20,000 in 20 days for Chris Bell" (http://actblue.com/page/bell10k). The campaign set out to raise $10,000 and upped the goal to $20,000 after meeting their target. Bell's is a strong example of using revised goals-- and goal thermometers-- to motivate donors. Bell is also being promoted by Texas' Burnt Orange Report (http://actblue.com/page/burntorangeforbell), the largest blog in Texas. Burnt Orange's page is one example of an innovative fundraising ask, wherein the bloggers stopped producing content until they raised their goal. Did they succeed? Absolutely. In one day.

Burnt Orange Report is on strike until our $1,000 BOR community fundraising goal for Bell is met. All front page writers have been demoted and even the senior staff, both Phillip and Matt, have been stripped of their administrative powers. Only you can put us back to work. Only you can put Chris Bell in the Texas Senate.

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

Bell's campaign site: www.chrisbell.com

8. 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.

Aside from funds contributed through Seals's hub page, the campaign has been the beneficiary of particular support this week from the Daily Kos community at http://actblue.com/page/orangetoblue.

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

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

9. Judy Baker (MO-09)

Baker is running for the Democratic nomination 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. Baker will face Steve Gaw, Ken Jacob, and Lyndon Bode in Missouri's August primary.

After appearing in our first Campaign Newswire Top 10 at the beginning of June, Baker made the list twice in July. Many of her past contributions bought TV airtime for the campaign to run commercials. In a creative use of an ActBlue event page, the campaign created a page titled, "Crucial TV Time," on which donors could direct their contributions to buy airtime on specific networks and even for particular television shows. Baker's fundraising totals this week stem in part from contributions to a page created by the candidate's daughter, Sarah, at http://actblue.com/page/sarahspage.

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

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

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.

Musgrove continues to benefit from blog endorsements. The campaign's totals this week were augmented by fundraising through Senate Guru's candidate page, online at http://actblue.com/page/senate2008guru. By way of background, on June 26, 2008, Musgrove was featured as one of MyDD's 'Road to 60' candidates. Four days after the MyDD profile, Musgrove brought in over $20,000, making him ActBlue's third most successful candidate during the end-of-quarter bonanza on June 30, the last day of Q2 2008.

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

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