Margi Vanderhye has attracted the most contemptible Republican running for office anywhere in America, right-wing operative Barbara Comstock. Margi is clearly the better candidate but Comstock's campaign coffers are overflowing with donations from every far right extremist you ever heard of. We really need to pitch in and help make sure Margi can get her message out.

The Blue America PAC was formed on August 24 to raise money to put "Have You Had Enough" on the radio in the form of 30 second advertising spots for various Blue America candidates. As you can see from our list, most of our candidates are in low-cost media markets where just a few dollars will go a very long way. We have no candidates in expensive media markets like NYC or Boston or Los Angeles or Chicago. These are "dollah a hollah" markets. We're hoping to have people humming their way into the polling booths come November. The story of the song is here and please watch Firedoglake, Crooks and Liars, Music For America and Down With Tyranny for updates-- and for the videos.

Finally an independent-minded Democrat who can bring the long-stale career of Ted Stevens to a well-deserved end! Just by campaigning he's already pressured Stevens into looking out for Alaskans for a change-- instead of just for his campaign contributors. With Mark pushing for Webb's GI Bill, Stevens backed down from his 100% rubber stamp support of Bush on vets matters and voted for the vets for a change.

In his first run for office, Charlie came very close to defeating ethically-challenged and reactionary incumbent John Doolittle. When I asked if he had it to do all over again, what would he do differently, he told me he would have started earlier. In that spirit, Charlie Brown is the first candidate Blue America '08 is adding to our fund-raising page. Let's go all the way this time-- for a safer and better California and U.S.A.

Siobhan ("Sam") Bennett is an incredibly genuine and progressive businesswoman and grassroots community activist running against a fake moderate in a real moderate district. Sam opposes U.S. occupation of Iraq and is a strong advocate on progressive values from Choice to equality. The "moderate" Dent has never been moderate in his support for all of Cheney's and Bush's most outrageous policies in Iraq and he is a dependable rubber stamp for the entire extremist agenda put forth first by DeLay and Hastert and now by Boehner and Blunt. Please check out Sam's first live blogging session at FDL.

Steve Cohen was a Tennessee state senator for 24 years and he did such a great job that when Congressman Harold Ford decided not to run again, Steve won a 15-way primary and then a 3-way general election-- by a landslide. Since then he's been busy doing something I wish more congressmen would do-- keeping his campaign promises. He's already co-sponsored 4 bills and 2 resolutions-- the binding kind-- that would end the war in Iraq.

As the mayor of Huntington Beach and a long time member of the City Council, Debbie is used to dealing with real people's real problems. She's running against one of Congress' silliest clowns, Dana Rohrabacher, not just another Bush rubber stamp, but an odd duck who enjoyed dressing up like a Taliban so much that he skipped off to Afghanistan, met Osama bin-Laden and did a bunch of photo-ops with muhajadeen. I think Orange County deserves better.

Donna was one of the most exciting and refreshing candidates Blue America backed last year. Her race is a primary against corrupt and reactionary Al Wynn on FEBRUARY 12. Think about how soon that date is and dig deep. There are few contrasts as clear between Democrats as the one between Donna and Wynn. Donna Edwards is the grassroots candidate who represents forward-looking ideas and solid progressive values. Al Wynn represents the corruption and reactionary politics of Harold Ford.

This is the second time Judy Feder is challenging rubber stamp Republican backbencher Frank Wolf in increasingly purple northwest Virginia. This year she doesn't have to start from zero. In 2006, as a political newcomer, she garnered more than 98,000 votes. Her expertise in health care policy is going a long way towards making her race one of the most hotly contested in the country.

South Florida was expertly gerrymandered to create 3 Republican districts that have been occupied by three clueless extremists. One is Mario Diaz-Balart who is facing his first serious opposition since being elected in 2002. Joe Garcia is a strong progressive leader who knows how to answer GOP fear and smear tactics. Diaz-Balart wants to make the election about Cuba; it won't work, not with his rubber stamping of virtually every item on the Bush agenda, from S-CHIP to Iraq to the deregulation policies that have caused the mortgage meltdown. Joe is one of the most outstanding candidates running for Congress anywhere.

As a no-nonsense attorney prosecuting war profiteers in Iraq, Alan Grayson has already accomplished more outside of DC than the hapless and corrupt incumbent could ever imagine. Alan would be the worst nightmare Insider criminals could ever imagine. He literally knows where all the bodies are buried. And he's not shy about discussing impeachment. With Alan Grayson in Congress, no one will be sweeping the crime of the century under the rug. Be sure to check out his live FDL debut (Jan. 26) if you want to see why we're so enthusiastic about him.

Are you wondering why we decided to help John Hall raise campaign funds again? Easy! He's a stellar progressive who ran on a platform of great ideas and promises-- and since he's been in office he's been working with intelligence and energy to fulfill them.

As a member of the Albuquerque City Council Martin was elected President by his fellow council members because he is a unifier who can reach out and work with people who have disparate positions. At the same time, his own enlightened and progressive views are well-grounded and effectively advanced. He's been an outspoken advocate for the rule of law and recently did a guest post at DWT about why retroactive immunity is a fatally flawed approach. Recently he won an overwhelming victory at the Democratic convention among the crowded field of candidates seeking to replace Bush rubber stamp Heather Wilson.

Jim Himes is an energetic and enthusiastic young businessman from Connecticut who's life's work has been tied up in affordable housing issues. He's taking on one of Congress' worst Republican hacks, Chris Shays, a deceitful rubber stamp and a posterboy for the WINO coalition. Take a look at the archive of Jim's first live blog session at Firedoglake on July 28, 2007.

Of all the candidates we endorsed in 2006, there was no race as heartbreaking as the one in NC-08 between Larry Kissell and pathetic rubber stamp Republican Robin Hayes. Larry wowed our community with his first visit to FDL in June and 667 of us donated over $10,000 to his campaign. It was the closest race in the country and after spending $2,475,169 (compared to Larry's $779,341, with no help from the Inside the Beltway crowd), Hayes squeaked by with a 329 vote victory. With Rahm Emanuel moved out of the DCCC Chair it is a safe bet that Kissell will be getting financial assistance from Washington this year-- as well as even more help from the grassroots Democrats who know and admire him. One of those admirers, Ambassador Joe Wilson, was down in North Carolina campaigning for Larry last week and he sent us this:

We all know that every election is hard fought and that the Republicans will do everything they can to hold on to power. Even as I was flying into Charlotte, the NRCC was again peddling the lies about me, and I'm not even running. Does anybody still believe that the President was not misleading the country about the justification for the invasion of Iraq? The Republican propaganda machine is still pushing the big lie even though it is so last year. They take the American people to be fools, and will continue to do so until we defeat them decisively. Larry is our man to do that in this race in North Carolina."

Last year Dan came closer to beating a Republican rubber stamp incumbent than anyone else in NY State who didn't actually do it. In 2008, Dan looks like a good bet for accomplishing just that. Listen to Dan on this video making a case for ending the occupation of Iraq.

Eric Massa was great candidate in 2006 and he came close to beating rubber stamp reactionary Randy Kuhl. He's learned a great deal since then and we're hoping that he'll join many of our freshmen congressmen who won on their second tries.

Jeff Merkley has a long and distinguished record as someone who fights effectively for working families. His record in Oregon is as long as that of Senator Gordon Smith's but otherwise the two have little in common. Smith, a typical rubber stamp Republican who tries voting like a moderate a few months before he has to face the voters, has been as consistent a champion of special interests as Jeff has been of ordinary Oregonians. After Jeff won the Democratic primary in May, he stopped by FDL to introduce himself. Now we're proud to welcome him to our list of Blue America endorsed progressive.

Rep. Jerry Nadler is an unabashed progressive who has been fighting-- very effectively-- the good fight since 1992, battling against every awful agenda item the Bush Regime has sent down the pike. Please add .01 to your contribution to alert the congressman's committee that you would like your donation to go towards his leadership PAC so that we can help him ascend the ranks inside the Democratic Caucus so he can have a greater say in continuing to push the leadership in enlightened, progressive directions. And please take a look at the archive of his extraordinary live chat at Firedoglake on April 7, 2007.

You want someone who combines core progressive values, proven competence and demonstrated strength of character in Washington? How about someone like that replacing the single worst Republican in the entire U.S. Senate? Meet Texas Rep. Rick Noriega.

Tom is an accomplished young man who doesn't shy away from talking about his values or the strongly held principles that have guided his life and that he hopes will guide his work in Congress. We want to help him make a successful run for his southern Virginia's congressional seat so that he can replace the culture of corruption in Washington with a culture of service.

These days it isn't that hard to find Democratic candidates who espouse the solidly progressive positions that are required to win a Blue America endorsement. It isn't even that hard to find men and women, like Gary Peters, whose own records show their dedication to those positions. But Jane, John, Digby and I are looking for something even beyond that in our candidates-- men and women who show signs of being selfless leaders of a progressive movement that will change the course of go-along-to-get-along politics. There is plenty of factual information about Gary on his website and we think we have found the leadership qualities we are looking for in Gary Peters. See if you agree at Gary's first live session at FDL.

Jared Polis won a hard-fought 3-way primary against two worthy Democratic opponents. Blue America has been enthusiastic about his potential as a progressive leader for a long time and we are excited to endorse him on the night of his victory. Jared will be the first openly gay man to ever win a seat in Congress as a freshman.

Mark is the progressive Democrat who represents the Battle Creek and Jackson area of south-central Michigan. He's also the state's Senate Democratic leader. He's been drafted to run for the congressional seat, which is now held by one of the most extreme right wingers in Washington, DC, Tim Walberg. There is a large coalition of bipartisan support coalescing around Mark, someone who has proven himself in tough, sometimes lonely, battles for the values and principles that motivate him.

Carol Shea-Porter is the quintessential grassroots congressmember, truly someone who represents her constituents, not special interests and not the Inside-the-Beltway political establishment. That alone makes her a treasure worth cherishing. From the first we heard about her race to replace rubber stamp incumbent Jeb Bradley, it was obvious she would be an independent voice in Congress. She's been a promise keeper and an indefatigable worker to right the wrongs created by the Bush Regime. She has also asked the DCCC to stay out of her race. It's an honor to assist this great woman, great and truly, one of us, to fight to keep her seat.

Annette Taddeo is one of the best candidates the Democratic Party is offering voters in November-- anywhere in the country. A proven community leader in Miami-Dade for many years, she's running in South Florida but judging by her potential for real leadership, one has cause to hope that she will be an asset for the entire country in the years to come. Her opponent, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is another garden variety Bush Regime rubber stamp with an extremist voting record and a penchant for dishonest self-aggrandizement.

CA-26 is a moderate suburban district and it has been represented by an extremist from Kansas City, hypocrite and rubber stamp Bushite, David Dreier. Russ Warner calls him an "out of touch elitist" and promises to go to Washington as "a regular person, not a career politician." He sees his role in Washington as a public servant working for his constituents. If he replaces Dreier that change would be cataclysmic-- in a good way, a really good way. Please check out the archive of Russ' live session at FDL on August 4, 2007.

Of all the solid, progressive candidates Blue America didn't get around to endorsing last year, one of the ones that irked me the most was Indiana's Barry Welsh, who I covered quite a bit at DWT. In any case, we're not leaving him out this year-- and I hope you won't be either. You won't find a more dedicated, selfless progressive running for anything anywhere.

Victoria Wulsin was the House candidate for whom Blue America raised the most contributions last year-- just over $27,000. She came within just a percentage of beating Mean Jean Schmidt, the best any Democrat has ever done in OH-02. Take a look at the video of the song we used to help her cause last year. And let's do way more to bring this incredible woman to Congress next year.