(NOTE: Post and ActBlue link updated 7/31/2020 to reflect primary results.)
Do you want to help unseat some of the worst Republicans in the House and Senate — even the ones in deep-red regions? Do you sometimes get so angry watching MSNBC that you just want to do something to feel like you made your voice heard? If so, read on — because we’re here to help, thanks to ActBlue’s “nominee funds”. Check out our one-click “rage donate” link on ActBlue, and read on to learn more about it!
Some background: you may remember that in the wake of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, folks were so mad at Maine Senator Susan Collins that they started an “anyone but Collins” fundraising campaign. The idea was to collect funds that would be held in escrow until after the primaries, at which time they’d be turned over to the eventual Dem nominee — and it’s already raised millions for Collins’s future challenger.
In fact, ActBlue has set up nominee funds for every single incumbent Republican U.S. legislator running in 2020 — you can view and search the entire list here. That’s allowed us to make a one-click link (here) where you can rage donate to the eventual Dem nominees across a bunch of races who will try to unseat the most reprehensible Republicans!
This is something a bit different for us — call it a brief “right brain” moment — but we’re still data geeks at heart. We still plan to dig into the details of the upcoming House and Senate races, and help you find the highest-impact candidates worthy of your time and donations, so stay tuned for future posts!
In the meantime, there are three reasons we set up a “rage donate” slate, and that we hope you’ll contribute to it. First, it’s a great way to send a positive message to Dems engaging in these risky races that we support them, even (especially!) if they are running underdog campaigns in deep-red areas. Second, by giving to a nominee fund instead of waiting until after the primaries, you’ll give the eventual Dem candidate a huge jump-start for the general election campaign. And finally, it’ll make you feel better, at least for a few minutes. (We promise!)
A few quick notes about our list:
If you don’t see your most-reviled Republican on our list – fear not! Our highly subjective list includes a mix of races that vary in terms of the nature of the incumbent, the competitiveness of the race, and/or the strength of the Dem candidates, and we plan to update it list periodically. Please give us input! See the Blue Ripple “about us” page for info on how to contact us via email or social media.
For now we’ve only included races in which at least one Dem candidate has raised over $100,000, but we’ll keep tabs as things evolve. (Watch your backs, Jim Jordan and Kevin McCarthy!)
We have not vetted every Dem candidate in these races, and some may have less progressive views on particular issues. If this concerns you, please do your own diligence, and consider donating to individual candidates instead of the nominee fund.
With those caveats out of the way: if you want to do something tangible, right now, to send incumbent Republicans home, we feel you, and we’re here for you. Please read our descriptions below, and then head to our ActBlue page and make a rage donation to the eventual Democratic nominees. You’ll help unseat Republicans running for re-election in 2020 – and perhaps just as importantly, you’ll feel great!
The Blue Ripple “Rage Donate” list
1. Susan Collins – Senate (ME):
Her “moderate, independent” brand lulled many Dems into thinking she’d be a positive force for good on issues like health care. But after voting for the ACA, Collins turned around and supported the Trump tax cuts and Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, is leading a crowded Dem field to unseat her. (Update: Gideon won the primary.)
2. John Cornyn – Senate (TX):
Cornyn led the failed charge to repeal the ACA and has embraced his role as one of Trump’s BFFs , but voters seem open to replacing him in Washington. The lead fundraiser among his Dem challengers is Air Force vet MJ Hegar, who lost a nail-biter in 2018 against a House incumbent. (Update: Hegar won the primary.)
3. Lindsey Graham – Senate (SC):
Graham is a major ACA antagonist, the chief Kavanaugh apologist, and now Trump’s number one sycophant – and who remembers his sanctimonious speeches during Clinton’s impeachment trial? (Graham himself clearly doesn’t.) The first African-American chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Jaime Harrison, is kicking butt in donations, and one recent poll has him within seven points of Graham. (Update: Harrison won the primary.)
4. Steve King – House (IA-4):
What do you do for an encore when you’re the House’s number one racist? Defend rape and incest, of course! King eked out re-election (by three points!) in 2018, but former minor league pitcher J.D. Scholten is trying for a rematch (assuming King can survive the GOP primary), and has stockpiled an impressive war chest so far. (Update: King lost the Republican primary, but we are still leaving Scholten, the Dem primary winner, on our “rage donate” list.)
5. Mitch McConnell – Senate (KY)
He’s “worse than the Grim Reaper,” “the only Republican possibly worse than Donald Trump,” and “the man who sold America.” Need we go on? Retired fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who narrowly lost a bid for KY-6 in 2018, is leading the Dem field so far, with fundraising and cash on hand numbers close to McConnell’s. (Update: McGrath won the primary.)
6. Martha McSally – Senate (AZ):
On the one hand, McSally hasn’t done much in her 11 months in the Senate to earn our rage, beyond the usual party-line support for Trump. But this is one of the Team Blue’s best chances to pick up a seat, and a rage donation to astronaut Mark Kelly, the leading Dem in the race, would send a big signal to Trump and McConnell. The primary is August 4th.
7. Devin Nunes – House (CA-22):
“Trump’s stooge” has gone so crazypants that even fellow toady Lindsey Graham calls his anti-Trump conspiracy theories an “Inspector Clouseau investigation.” Plus, he has a really crappy sense of humor. Emboldened by the party’s stronger-than-usual showing in the district in 2018, several Dems have entered the fray, although none has caught fire yet on the fundraising front. (Update: Phil Arballo won the primary.)
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Images via Getty.