Kuster Campaign Announces Huge Q1 Numbers

Metrics for Success (4.00 / 2)

I'm not surprised to see this fundraising achievement because Annie is clearly working hard to earn the trust and support of NH-2 voters. It's great to see others take note of the financials.

But money is only one measure.

It would be great to hear more about what else was done over the last quarter. I've lost track of the house parties and the local Dem meetings attended.

Let's not forget:

Beginning in early April, Ann McLane Kuster will be traveling across New Hampshire and speaking at thirty house parties in thirty days.

These open events are a great opportunity for voters to get to know Annie and hear from her directly about her background and her plans for getting our country back on track.

"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Fri Apr 02, 2010 at 23:40:03 PM UTC

Jack, (4.00 / 1)

not complaining here, but it's already early April, and every time I have gone to Annie's site to see what/where these events are, the pages are blank. Somebody gotta light a fire under their webmeister to get something up there about those 30 days!

I am delighted to see that there is a new option on the signup page other than volunteering for things: "Keep me up-to-date on Annie's campaign" is a good one. However, when someone checks that option and sends it in, they still get an e-mail over Colin's signature that begins: "Thank you for signing up to join our campaign!"

Once again, not complaining or criticizing, but good messaging counts, especially for people who might be on the fence.

November 2012
Hope for a return to sanity.

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by: GreyMike @ Sat Apr 03, 2010 at 01:39:14 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Bottom Up (4.00 / 1)

I don't see the whole picture on this, but I'd venture to say that many of these events are organized locally by an event Chair/co-Chairs, with the campaign relying of them to handle most of the details.

That said, at some point, the schedule is locked and notice could be sent or posted. Getting advanced notice out on the intertubes may be limited. Most of the attendees will come via direct outreach by the host(s).

There are some limitations to this approach, some folks may miss out on an event close by that they did not hear about. However, the "bottom up" strategy builds a grassroots organization that is, imo, more self sufficient and confident. In the months to come, we will benefit across the district by having a "coordinated campaign" using activists and supporters. It may be bumpy in the beginning, but investing now in a strong ground game will pay dividends in November.


"Ill writers are usually the sharpest censors." - John Dryden

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by: Jack Mitchell @ Sat Apr 03, 2010 at 02:35:10 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Understood (0.00 / 0)

Just looks funny when things are blank with no explanation. Am hoping that those who have expressed interest will be kept in the loop.

November 2012
Hope for a return to sanity.

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by: GreyMike @ Sat Apr 03, 2010 at 03:59:13 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I'm flattered! (4.00 / 2)

To be getting such detailed feedback!

The 30 days of house parties will begin the second week of April.

We have about 25 of the 30 house parties scheduled, with offers from great volunteers for the other 5, we are just doing the final scheduling now, and looking forward to announcing them all to our email list in the next week or so (and then on our site and maybe even here, thereafter).  

Posting them all at once is important, because as we get down to the final few days, scheduling these becomes a bit of a puzzle, where a host might only be availible on days that are already taken, so we work with other hosts to trade days, etc.

Jack is right about one thing - these are primarily grassroots-driven, not campaign-driven, events.  Neighbors inviting neighbors, etc. That is unlike your typical campaign event where field staff are sending out hundreds of printed letters, making hudreds if turnout calls, etc.  Our model is the only way it is possible to pull off such an aggressive (and frankly, unprecedented) schedule.  So some events will be small, some will be big.  Some will have a lot of regular activists who know each other, some will be people who are new to politics.  We will do our best to keep everyone in the loop, (and some things like keeping the website up to date are certainly our responsibility) but at the end of the day it is our volunteer hosts and co-hosts -- not me or Annie or Abby or anyone else on our staff -- who are driving this train - and we are proud of that!

PS- I try to read this blog regularly but sometimes I miss things - so if you or others have feedback you are always welcome to also drop me an email so you know that it will be addressed.  I don't want to leave my email here on a public forum, but if you use the Contact page on our website and address it to me, I will get it within a few days and reply from my own account.

I'm running for Executive Council in district two in New Hampshire.  Learn more here: www.VanOstern.com

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by: Colin Van Ostern @ Sat Apr 03, 2010 at 11:37:16 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks for the quick response, Colin! n/t (4.00 / 1)

November 2012
Hope for a return to sanity.

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by: GreyMike @ Sat Apr 03, 2010 at 14:56:25 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Of course! n/t (0.00 / 0)

I'm running for Executive Council in district two in New Hampshire.  Learn more here: www.VanOstern.com

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by: Colin Van Ostern @ Sun Apr 04, 2010 at 11:24:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Particularly Proud of our record support from NH donors (0.00 / 0)

The Concord Monitor's Shira Schoenberg writes about Annie's record support from in-state New Hampshire donors in today's Monitor:

http://www.concordmonitor.com/...

April 4, 2010

With quarterly fundraising totals set to be released April 15, Democratic 2nd District congressional candidate Ann McLane Kuster already has reached a major milestone.

According to her campaign, Kuster will have raised more than $475,000 so far from New Hampshire donors - the largest amount of money raised in New Hampshire by any congressional campaign this decade (when the FEC started compiling electronic reports), according to data from OpenSecrets.org and CQ Moneyline. And it's only April.

"What I'm really excited about is the grassroots support, and how our campaign is growing in every direction in the district," Kuster said, noting that she has supporters in more than 100 towns.

Of 31 prior campaigns in both congressional districts, the candidates who came closest to Kuster's New Hampshire numbers were Democratic U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes and Republican John Stephen, who both ran for Congress in 2008 and raised more than $420,000 apiece from New Hampshire donors. Campaigns raising more than $300,000 in New Hampshire include Hodes in 2006 and former Republican congressman Jeb Bradley in 2004, 2006 and 2008.

As of last quarter, no 2010 congressional candidate had come near Kuster's New Hampshire total (then $298,000), though totals for this quarter aren't out yet.

Kuster said she raised the money through events, mailings and e-mail solicitations. She will continue raising local support by holding 30 house parties in 30 days.

Overall, Kuster reports that she has raised more than $835,000 in total for her campaign, including $285,000 in the last quarter.

Her Democratic opponent Katrina Swett also plans to break a record this election cycle: Her total fundraising will be more than any other House candidate has reported raising in a quarter so far, outstripping Kuster's $285,000, according to spokeswoman Meagan Coffman.

The campaign of Republican 1st District candidate Rich Ashooh tried to claim the same title on Friday, raising more than $200,000 in eight weeks, with no personal loans.

Though Swett and Kuster announced higher totals later in the day, Ashooh still has the distinction of the highest first quarter fundraising by a first-time candidate since 2002. And almost all of his money can be used for the primary election.

Ashooh's primary opponent, Frank Guinta, took in $275,000 for the quarter, bringing his total to nearly $600,000 over a 12-month period, but that included a $100,000 personal loan.

Meanwhile, in the Senate race, Republican Bill Binnie raised $400,000 this quarter. Among his supporters: Woody Johnson of the New York Jets, Bob White, who owns part of the Boston Celtics, and Michael Olshan, whose family owns a piece of the New York Yankees. Binnie, campaign manager Bryan Lanza is quick to note, is a Red Sox fan.

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I'm running for Executive Council in district two in New Hampshire.  Learn more here: www.VanOstern.com

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by: Colin Van Ostern @ Sun Apr 04, 2010 at 11:24:14 AM UTC