My name is Daniel Biss and I’m running for State Representative here in Illinois. I’m a math professor by day, but starting early in the Bush administration, I got so upset about the direction the country was going that I started doing a lot of grassroots organizing to affect change.In other words, I’m very proud to say that I come out of the same new movement that produced the progressive blogosphere.
As you might imagine, I was incredibly excited to discover that Yearly Kos would take place in Chicago. I knew it would be a great opportunity to meet fantastic activists and network. I didn’t realize it would give our campaign a new focus and goal. I had no idea the netroots would come into town and transform our campaign overnight. Read more to see how it happened.
- danielbiss’s diary :: ::
It all started on July 6, when ActBlue’s blog announced that our campaign was the 4th ranking state-level campaign in the country in terms of dollars raised via ActBlue in Q2.We were proud of that accomplishment, of course, but then something interesting happened: local reporters and bloggers got very interested, and it led to a small flurry of coverage, including this positive article in the Pioneer Press, a widely-distributed suburban weekly.
We in the campaign were very excited about this, and wondered how to build on it. First we thought we should try to become the #1 fundraising campaign; however, because some of the other candidates have such huge budgets, that probably wouldn’t be possible.
We realized, however, that while raising the most dollars was probably out of reach, we were within striking distance of having the most donors of any state-level campaign in the country.
So that became our goal: to get to #1 in the country in terms of number of donations, and to get there during the Yearly Kos convention. By doing it during the conference, we wouldn’t only be helping our campaign raise money and get attention, we’d be proving to local media and political insiders that this is a new kind of campaign, built on a new base of supporters. They’d always understand, not just during the campaign, but even more importantly after I’m elected, that we represent a new force in progressive politics, a new partnership between political candidates and a nationwide network of activists.
So we set up a special ActBlue page to raise funds at the convention. Whenever I met people at the conference, I’d tell them about our goal and ask them to give whatever they could via that dedicated ActBlue page.
The contributions started rolling in, faster than I could have imagined and as I write this diary, the page has raised over $1,000 from 34 donors!
This afternoon I got an email from ActBlue staff telling me that, sure enough, we’ve reached our goal and we now have more individual donations on ActBlue than any other state-level candidate!
We are a part of a movement that is changing the face of politics in America. We are building — and funding — this campaign with the energy and hard work of ordinary people who have for way, way too long been shut out of the process. I can’t tell you how proud and honored I am to be a small part of this movement.
I’m writing this diary to thank the community for playing such an exciting role in our campaign. I’m also writing to ask you to help keep the momentum going!
First, please head to that special YKos ActBlue page to keep this amazing run of donations going.
But that’s not the only way you can help. Forward the above link (http://www.actblue.com/page/dbyk2007?refcode=dkosdiary) to 5 friends and explain why any contribution will help build this critical relationship between a progressive movement and a progressive candidate.
Check out our website and sign up for our e-mail list. Direct friends to our website.
Join us at our campaign kick-off event on Sunday, August 19. Bring a couple of friends.
This campaign is built on the values, principles, and open communication style that brought this community together. I’m honored to partner with you. Your work is making all the difference in the world.
