And The Winner Is... Jon Hoadley

 

This took me over 3 hours to do this morning

Our Blue America contest ended last night-- at midnight (PT). There were 426 individuals who took part. People are still contributing to the candidates on the page, although those contributions, while very welcome, don't count as "votes."

A little over $29,000 was raised. Each candidate, on average, got almost $1,700. That number could be skewered because some candidates got as much as $1,000 while other candidates got lots and lots of $1 donations.

The contest started as a way for the candidates to explain why last minute contributions are useful-- even crucial-- and what they plan to do with the money that comes in from the next 2 weeks.

The big winner was... everybody. Really. Most contributions were divided evenly between all the candidates. But the candidates who motivated their supporters with e-mails and social media activity won the most votes. Jon Hoadley did that the most effectively and wound up with the most votes-- 217-- and will get a $2,000 check from Blue America. The $1,500 check goes to Adam Christensen, who got 168 votes, edging out Nate McMurray's 164 votes, Mike Siegel's 150 and Beth Doglio's 141.

Since around $1,500 went to Blue America itself instead of to candidates, we decided to divide that money equally and send it to McMurray, Siegel and Doglio, especially because their efforts brought so many people to the contest... and because each is on the verge of winning and needs the money. In fact, all of these candidates can use a last minute boost and if you click on the Blue America 2020 congressional ActBlue thermometer on the right, you can contribute whatever you like to any of them, any combination of them or all of them. (Just hit the link on the right side of the page that says "customize amounts.) Meanwhile, congratulations to Jon Hoadley's and Adam Christensen's teams for motivating so many contributions for their candidates and congratulations to all the candidates who "played" the game. Now, let's get in there and kick some conservative ass for the next 2 weeks-- and beyond!

When I called Jon to congratulation him and ask where to send the check, he was very appreciative and added that he wanted to send "a huge thank you to everyone who chipped in a little or a lot. One of the reasons we don't need to take Corporate PAC money is because of our grassroots donor base. It takes a big team to win a Congressional race, and this grassroots energy is just another example of the big team we have working to win here in MI-06."