TPM Cafe:
Over the last couple of days, MoveOn.org conducted a poll of its members in Maryland's 4th district to see which candidate, if any, should be endorsed. Moveon's rules require a 2/3 vote for a candidate to get the endorsement. Earlier today, the results were made public: 95% for Edwards, 5% for Wynn.
How's that for local netroots buzz? More MD-04 news in extended.
As I noted in my
MD-04 Pre-Primary Report Update, Edwards has the buzz in this race but there remains a large cash-on-hand gap due to expenditures to increase Edwards' name ID. As
Kos and
Matt Stoller have noted, Wynn's coffers have benefitted from large corporate donations--among them Wal-Mart, Big Banks, Big Insurance, the telecomm. industry and the energy industry.
What that in mind, Edwards' challenge is assuredly an uphill battle. However, the momentum in this race has steadily been trending in Edwards' favor. Ever since the Wynn staffer attack on an Edwards volunteer and Edwards' mopping the floor with Wynn during the night's debate, the tide has been on the side of Edwards, Wynn's boldly progressive challenger. Largely ignored by the establishment media until then, the Washington Post ran a front-page piece featuring Edwards' challenge to Wynn. Among the quotes:
"We can't take back the House and have people [like Wynn] undermining Nancy Pelosi and her progressive leadership," Edwards said in an interview, referring to the House minority leader. "No matter what, Maryland's 4th District will have a Democrat. It will just have a real one with me."
Less than a week later, the Washington Post endorsed Donna Edwards:
Mr. Wynn insists he has been a successful pork-barrel politician; we suspect Ms. Edwards, razor-sharp and relentless, would be at least as effective. We disagree with her on some important issues, but we are convinced she would be the more forceful, principled and effective representative. And while her insurgent candidacy is an uphill battle, it should put Mr. Wynn on notice that voters expect quality representation in Congress, not just a local political boss.
Since the Washington Post's endorsement, the Edwards campaign has managed to raise a very respectable sum of money (judging by her ActBlue totals which have ranged from $2-4k a day). With the pre-primary fundraising report coming prior to the WaPo endorsement, it is likely that Edwards' fundraising has surged (albeit still lagging behind Wynn) and has reached its benchmark level for putting up TV ads. The big question now is whether or not MoveOn polled early enough and what they'll be mobilizing in support of Edwards in this, the final week of the race.
The fact of the matter is that the only way to seriously combat the large corporate PAC dollars that Wynn is getting is by motivating the grassroots behind Edwards via donations and volunteering. She won't be able to outspend Wynn dollar-for-dollar, but volunteers and GOTV will make or break this primary race. Edwards has a message which is sure to resonate with voters this cycle, particularly in a democratic district like MD-04, one of accountability and a bold, progressive, grassroots-driven agenda. Hopefully, MoveOn will feature virtual phone banking and help with ads in the coming days. 'Til then, check out Donna Edwards for Congress and show her some love.