Daniel Biss Breaks Local Fundraising Records

You have to admire the progressives that get it. It's not enough to be "right" on the issues. You have to be committed to winning, and the easiest indicator of that is how much money gets raised.

Daniel Biss, running for the Illinois General Assembly, gets it:

Democrat Daniel Biss today announced that his campaign for State Representative has raised an unprecedented $289,000 since he entered the race for Illinois' 17th District in 2007. The finance report showed Biss raised more than $133,000 since the last reporting period in December 2007 and has over $219,000 cash on hand.

The report, filed with the Illinois Board of Elections, shows that the overwhelming majority of Biss's contributions have come from individuals. Over 2,000 individuals have given an average of $130 to the Biss campaign, with 1,200 contributing $200 or less.

Biss' campaign disclosure can be found here.

You may recall the Elizabeth Coulson, who is the so-called moderate Republican who has this seat right now, complained about Daniel's innovative use of online fund-raising after his last report. Yet nothing apparently has been filed officially with the state Board of Elections. We can only wait to see if she has been as terrific a fund-raiser as Biss has demonstrated.

Biss' announcement puts him squarely in the Barack Obama mold:

"Today, we are emboldened in our commitment to progressive, independent reform. By coupling technological innovation with tried and true organizing principles, our supporters are empowering themselves to change the way politics is done in Illinois."

Of the $289,000 raised so far, less than half ($102,000) has been raised online. Still, it is Biss' online presence, and his outreach to online activists, that offers him a technological and organizational edge in this race. It is clear that his opponent doesn't understand 21st century politics, the kind of innovation achieved by Illinois politicians like Barack Obama. And it certainly can't help (her) that Barack Obama is at the head of the ticket in 2008. Biss' ability to raise funds and match her spending at the end of the race will give voters in IL-17 a level of comfort hitherto not achieved to vote for her Democratic opponent.

Make no mistake, though. Biss' hard work is not just in fund-raising. He's been knocking on doors 7 days a week, meeting voters where they live, accumulating the kind of valuable information on the electorate that defines successful campaigns in this century. Where is Coulson? No doubt taking calls from Springfield lobbyists. No one I've talked to recently has seen her out and about in her district.

And Biss is by no means alone in knocking on doors in his district. His campaign has been active in putting people out on the streets on the weekends. Like I said, Daniel Biss gets it!

Last year, Biss attended YearlyKos (now Netroots Nation) and reached out to progressive bloggers there. It's worth a second look, if you don't know Daniel yet: