Warren Asks for Money for Female Dem Candidates, But Leaves One Out

Earlier today, I received the following email from Elizabeth Warren's campaign asking me to donate to the new Democratic women running for Senate this year:
   

In 2012, we elected four new Democratic women to the United States Senate.

In 2014, it's possible that we don't add any. Yes, you read that correctly: Zero. Zilch. Nada.

I'm not trying to cry wolf, and I'm not saying that the sky is falling. The fact is, our strong, smart, and experienced 2014 Democratic women challengers in Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, and Montana all signed up for some of the biggest, toughest races of the year. None of these races is a sure thing.    

But you and I know a little something about long-shot campaigns. We know how to beat the odds and win: We get organized and we fight back with everything we've got. Not a week before the election, but right now.

Can you help Alison Lundergan Grimes, Michelle Nunn, Natalie Tennant, and Amanda Curtis fight back and win this November? Donate now directly to their campaigns before their September 30th fundraising deadlines.

Nobody is going to pull out a chair and invite our candidates to have a seat at the table. If we want to win in Kentucky, Georgia, West Virginia, and Montana, we're going to have to fight for it:

    Despite all the Super PAC attacks, Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is polling neck-and-neck with Mitch McConnell. With your support, not only can we keep the Democratic majority in the Senate – we can send the #1 Republican in the Senate back home to Kentucky for good.

    Georgia remains one of the Democrats' top opportunities to pick up an open seat this November, thanks to our amazing Democratic candidate, Points of Light Foundation CEO Michelle Nunn. This race is a toss up, and Michelle needs your support to keep fighting.

    In West Virginia, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant is running a tough campaign against Republican Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito for the seat my Democratic colleague Jay Rockefeller has held for nearly 30 years. The financial industry would love nothing more than to send their friend Capito to the Senate to weaken the rules in their favor. If you care about holding the big banks accountable, Natalie needs your help now.

    Amanda Curtis is our new Democratic nominee for the open Senate seat in Montana that Democrats have held for decades, and she took on a hard climb. She needs our help right away to close the fundraising gap the last six weeks of this campaign. A state legislator and a teacher (woo-hoo!), Amanda is a smart and outspoken voice for Montana families.  

I don't want 2014 to be the year we stop adding – or worse yet, lose – Democratic women in the United States Senate. Not on our watch. On issues like raising the minimum wage, equal pay for equal work, and even access to birth control, we need women in the Senate now more than ever to stand up and be heard.

Donate now to Alison, Michelle, Natalie, and Amanda's campaigns before their urgent September 30th deadlines. Let's keeping moving forward, not back.

Thank you for being a part of this,
Elizabeth

Warren's email, however, leaves out one of the new Democratic women on the ballot this November: Shenna Bellows of Maine. 

 

Shenna, the former executive director of the Maine ACLU, is far more progressive than Michelle, Natalie, Alison, or Amanda. You can visit her website, which highlights her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Keystone XL pipeline, and the testing regime created by NCLB as well as her support for repealing the PATRIOT Act, ending the drug war, and expanding Social Security. (among other things)

However, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), despite endorsing Bellows back in March, has ignored the race ever since.

In 2012, Obama won Maine by 15 points. By contrast, he lost Georgia by 8, Kentucky by 23, Montana by 14, and West Virginia by 27. Maine, then, is friendly territory for Democrats and a fairly inexpensive media market.

Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, has cultivated a reputation as a moderate. However, most of her votes belie that reputation. Consider, for instance, her vote last October to shut down the government, her vote against raising the minimum wage, and her vote against the Paycheck Fairness Act. Or countless others.

Perhaps part of the problem with the DSCC is that when Susan Collins is casting bad votes (outside of the purely party line confirmation votes), some Democrats are right there with her. Consider her votes for the Keystone XL pipeline, against restoring SNAP funding, or for raising student loan interest rates for future students. Or consider all of her votes for expanding the surveillance state and perpetual war state.

You can tell a lot about Susan Collins by the fact that she doesn't have an issues page on her campaign website. She knows that Maine voters do not agree with a lot of her positions, so she just won't talk about them.

Democrats should not be giving up a seat without a fight, especially when they are at risk for losing control.