General Discussion
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A few days ago a close friend invited me to a meet-and-greet at his home with David Reid, the Democratic challenger in District 32 of the Virginia House of Delegates. Virginia is one of the very few states in the country that holds their state-level elections during odd-numbered years. So THIS YEAR is an election year in Virginia.
Virginia is classic purple state where both parties are closely matched. Democrats won the last three presidential races there, and we currently hold the top three statewide offices (governor and 2 US Senators). But Republicans have successfully gerrymandered the state so they hold both houses of the state legislature. The Virginia House of Delegates is only one vote away from a Republican super-majority. So any seats we can pick-up will make a huge difference.
Virginia District 32 is currently held by a conservative Republican, but it is a politically moderate suburb of Washington, DC, that supported Hillary Clinton by 9 points in the 2016 presidential election. David Reid is an inspiring, progressive candidate who is in a strong position to win the election this November, and flip the seat from red to blue.
I had the privilege to meet David and I was really impressed by this life story and his campaign.
He was born in Appalachia, and spent much of his childhood in foster care. As an adult he was the first person in his family to graduate from college. After college he joined the US Navy Reserve, and served as a Naval Intelligence Officer for 23 years. He volunteers as a youth soccer coach, and volunteers at a local food pantry.
His priorities include investing in K-12 education, expanding Medicaid in Virginia, making college more affordable, protecting the environment, protecting the right to choose, supporting diversity, and reducing gun violence.
We all know that there are many worthy Democratic candidates, and you can't possibly support all of them with your donations. Where can your donation make the greatest impact? I believe that David Reid is worthy of your support. I donated to his campaign and I think you should too.
1) He is a highly qualified candidate with an inspiring life story.
2) He cares about the issues I care about.
3) His district leans Democratic but has a Republican incumbent, so we have a real shot at a pick-up.
4) A good showing in Virginia in 2017 will set the stage for more Democratic gains in 2018.
David's campaign has a fundraising deadline this Saturday, and his finance director says they are short of their goal. They will need lots of resources to compete in a very expensive district.
Please take a moment to donate to David Reid right now. Whether you can spare $5 or $2,500 you can help make a difference:
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/reid4delegate
And even if you can't donate, please kick and recommend this thread so more people can see it.
Thank you.
David Allen
DU Administrator
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)underpants
(182,273 posts)madamesilverspurs
(15,783 posts)Good luck David Reid, can do!
herding cats
(19,549 posts)Every little bit helps.
Skinner
(63,645 posts)herding cats
(19,549 posts)I gave some, and I'll donate more on Friday.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,297 posts)Skinner
(63,645 posts)GeorgeGist
(25,294 posts)yortsed snacilbuper
(7,939 posts)byronius
(7,369 posts)You carry great authority, sir.
Skinner
(63,645 posts)We'll see how many people actually donate.
byronius
(7,369 posts)And I'll donate right now.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)Lets go Dems!
VaBchTgerLily
(231 posts)Democrat Karen Mallard is running to take the seat away from unproductive republican Scott Taylor.
onecent
(6,096 posts)Let's get some of those republicans off the streets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
K&R
panader0
(25,816 posts)trying to turn a red district blue: Dayna Steele, Texas CD 36
https://daynasteele36.com/
Omaha Steve
(99,064 posts)calimary
(80,693 posts)druidity33
(6,435 posts)Duppers
(28,094 posts)druidity33
(6,435 posts)DFW
(54,051 posts)How about an address where I can send a check?*
Act Blue has software glitches that refuse perfectly valid credit cards, and when notified, they offer solutions that don't work. They are, in the words of a former MSNBC host who happens to be a friend of mine, perfectly useless in a pinch. Plus, a credit card grabs at least 3% off the top for the CC company. $100,000 in donations means a maximum of $97,000 to the candidate if made by credit card. I don't know Act Blue's cut, but they're a company, so I doubt they do this for free. Checks are slower and will cost you a stamp, but the candidate gets to use more of the funds.
*on edit, I saw a P.O. Box on his web site. That is good enough for me.
PdxSean
(574 posts)From the ActBlue website under "Pricing." "We make it easy for you to build your online fundraising program in no time, whether youre running a national operation or launching your own campaign for city council. We charge a flat rate of 3.95% on each donation you receive to cover the processing cost."
I don't expect ActBlue to work for free, but in the past I've always added a 10% donation just for ActBlue because I had (wrongly) assumed they worked for tips. It isn't clear whether the credit card fees come out of the ActBlue donation or out of the candidate donation.
I looked for self-managed donation sites for David Reid and for Doug Jones but could only find the ActBlue option. I didn't look too hard, though, and ultimately used ActBlue for both. As I said, ActBlue should be paid, but I will take the 3.95% fee into consideration when making future donations by adding 6% instead of 10% for ActBlue.
I've never experienced "glitches" with ActBlue, and its nice to have my donation history so easily available.
DFW
(54,051 posts)That's before any funds get to Act Blue. I have experienced plenty of grief with them before I stopped using them altogether. For a while, they had the nasty habit of automatically checking the "make it monthly" box, and if you didn't uncheck it before making your donation, you suddenly got your credit card debited on a monthly basis without having intended it. When my ex-MSNBC friend told me there were many horror stories with them that never came to light, I wasn't surprised. I had already dropped them altogether by then anyway. A check is more cumbersome, but 100% of the funds go where they are intended, and to me, that's worth the extra 90 seconds of work.
By the way, here's the mailing address:
David Reid for Delegate
PO Box 4132
Ashburn, VA 20148
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)In fact every institution that takes credit cards does so. WHen I worked at a big box dept store, those fees (IIRC Amex was about double what Visa/MC was at the time) were the primary reason stores pushed their own credit cards.
DFW
(54,051 posts)Anyway, their software isn't perfect by a long shot, and having a box marked "make it monthly" AUTOMATICALLY checked, and leaving it up to the contributor to uncheck it is sneaky to the point of being downright dishonest. When they started claiming my CC was invalid when the rest of the world thinks otherwise raised a flag with me. When my MSNBC friend confirmed they were far less than white (or blue) knights in shining armor, I decided it was time the candidates I wanted to help got 100% of what I was sending them, and not 93.05%. I'm no Republican--I can still read and write, so now I send checks.
SergeStorms
(18,886 posts)I believe that goes to the credit card company as a "service fee". I could be wrong, but I always understood it to be that way. All retailers who accept credit cards pay that fee. The "add 10% tip" business goes directly to Act Blue, and I don't "tip" each time I donate. I figure once every 2 or 3 donations is acceptable.
DFW
(54,051 posts)And I can't swear 100% to this, but it looked like that after the CC charges were taken off the top, Act Blue took another 3.95%, and then the rest went to the candidate. Any tips were to help with Act Blue's "costs." However, after my experience, I do not trust their software, and after what my friend told me, they are as out for themselves as any other for-profit entity. I don't begrudge them that, but they should put their cards on the table.
And they should DEFINITELY stop (if they haven't already) automatically checking the "make it monthly" box for everyone making a contribution through them. That should be a conscious decision by the contributor, and not a gotcha option that one has to actively decline to make their contribution is a one-time event. Many if not most people making a contribution cannot afford to have every single one deducted from their CC on a monthly basis.
SergeStorms
(18,886 posts)about the 3.95%. I don't know for sure, and from what you said, neither do you. So that's still up in the air. Now, they used to check the "make it monthly" box for you, but they must have had a few complaints because they don't do that any more. The last few times I've been there they ask if you'd like to make it monthly, but don't check the box for you. Now that I can verify 100%, because I just donated three times this week to different candidates.
No biggie. As long as Democrats are getting the money, we're all in this together. Peace.
DFW
(54,051 posts)A previous poster did the research--not up in the air, but rather from their own website:
From the ActBlue website under "Pricing." "We make it easy for you to build your online fundraising program in no time, whether youre running a national operation or launching your own campaign for city council. We charge a flat rate of 3.95% on each donation you receive to cover the processing cost."
But if that works for you, by all means continue with it, and I'll continue to send my checks. The main thing is that our candidates get our support, and 92.5% of a contribution helps a whole lot more than none at all.
SergeStorms
(18,886 posts)I never read that, and now that I know I'll stop the "tipping" they try to shame you into every time you donate. Everybody is trying to rip you off, even fellow Democrats. Thanks for the info. Peace.
DFW
(54,051 posts)It was naïve of me to even expect that Act Blue was an idealistic organization living off of tips alone. I had had minor issues with them even when they were still taking my credit card. They would always "flag" my donations "for review," since the contribution was made from Europe, even though they must have known from hundreds of contributions previously that I was an American citizen making donations from private funds in the USA. But I put up with that. The rest did it for me. "You have a problem with cookies." Right. As long as the post office will deliver my checks, that's what I'll be doing. I just send Reid $200 in the mail. It'll take a week to get there, but when it does, he gets all of it.
Duppers
(28,094 posts)Had to sign into my act blue acct first.
SergeStorms
(18,886 posts)I gave them a "tip" this time. I don't each time I donate to someone's campaign, but I do it often enough so they can spread the word about the people we're putting up against the traitorous GOP.
Act Blue is a damned good way to keep track of the people you donate to. They do it all for you. And if anyone gets froggy and tries to jump on my Democratic "credentials", I can shut them up with those monetary details. I'm a Liberal, damn it, and proud of it!
ismnotwasm
(41,919 posts)Weekend Warrior
(1,301 posts)Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Looks like a great person, the type that we need in office.
Ms. Toad
(33,915 posts)democrank
(11,052 posts)David Reid has an uplifting life story.
SunSeeker
(51,367 posts)JimGinPA
(14,811 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,759 posts)SergeStorms
(18,886 posts)My $25 donation won't put him over the top or anything, but I put my money where my mouth is. This might be Democratic Underground, but it's the Republicans I want to see buried underground. They've proved that they can't be trusted to steer this country into the future. Anyone siding with Russians over Americans doesn't deserve the freedoms this country affords them.
Skinner
(63,645 posts)Thank you.
bpj62
(997 posts)As Skinner said the Republicans have badly gerrymandered the district's. During the last 2 census years a Republican has held the Governorship and they have rubberstamped the gerrymandering. A win by Northam will stop that in its tracks. We also will have a Senate election and another House of Delegates Election. This is a huge election in Virginia this November. GOTV.
FSogol
(45,356 posts)yortsed snacilbuper
(7,939 posts)Thank you for your contribution in support of David Reid!
$15.00
Skinner
(63,645 posts)yortsed snacilbuper
(7,939 posts)gotv.
pandr32
(11,447 posts)Madam45for2923
(7,178 posts)herding cats
(19,549 posts)My measly $25 wasn't much, but I'm thrilled he won all the same!
Thanks for letting know about this very flippable race.