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.