The DCCC’s “Red to Blue Program” has the right idea for the 2010 elections: The best hope for Democrats is to play offense, not defense. Here are five progressive candidates taking it to the GOP who need our help today.

With the jobs picture improving and Repubs reeling on health care, the cycle isn’t looking nearly as bleak as it was just two weeks ago, but it’s still a midterm election and the President’s party almost always faces an uphill battle in its midterms. The best way for us to off-set losses in blue districts is to pick up seats in red districts. This will help expand the party’s map, build a deeper bench for our future, and maintain a progressive governing majority.

The first quarter of this election year ends in just six days, on March 31. The FEC financial statements that follow will be our first real chance to show the media that we are NOT going to shrink or back down in the face of right-wing hate this year. We’ve set up an Act Blue page called “Going On Offense” for five strong progressives running solid races for open red seats. Please give at least $10 to at least two of the five before March 31.

Jack Conway, KY-Sen – Jack Conway is the true progressive in the Democratic primary for Kentucky's open Senate seat. He supports health reform; his opponent, Dan Mongiardo, does not. He supports marriage equality; Mongiardo does not. Like Robert Byrd, he opposes mountaintop removal mining; Mongiardo supports it. We need Kentucky, and we need Jack Conway's record of success. Here’s his latest ad:

Paul Hodes, NH-Sen – Paul Hodes has been an outspoken, aggressive and unwavering proponent of real health care reform since his recent election to Congress. A true progressive hero, Hodes refused to give up when things were at their darkest after Scott Brown won the MA-Sen seat, writing on the Huffington Post, “The Washington Republican Party and their tea-party allies would take us back to the Bush years… Now is not the time for Democrats to shy away from a fight, to back down or run away from who we are. There is too much at stake.” Help Hodes, one of three Senate candidates endorsed by the Sierra Club, continue the remarkable red-to-blue trend New Hampshire has experienced in the last two cycles.

Robin Carnahan, MO-Sen – They say that as Missouri goes, so goes the nation, and in 2010, this might be the closest thing to a true toss-up anywhere on the Senate map. Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Missouri resident who still runs her family's farm in Rolla, has cracked down on financial predators and helped guide her office into the 21 Century. Her opponent, Roy Blount, was one of Tom DeLay's top lieutenants during the Bush administration. The choice is clear.

Matt Dunne, VT-Gov –Spend just ten minutes with Matt Dunne and you'll realize that he has one of the deepest commitments to service and firmest grasps on public policy of anyone you’ve ever met. Matt, an executive at Google, is the former director of Americorps-VISTA and a former state senator. His resume and his values are the right choice for Vermont and for the Democratic Party.

Tom White, NE-02 – For the first time in history, a state split its Electoral College vote when NE-02, which includes Omaha, cast its vote for Barack Obama. Let’s keep this district blue and send Terry packing. Help state Sen. Tom White, the author of Nebraska's Military Family Leave Act in 2007, take his record of success on education, civil rights, and workplace discrimination to Congress. White is one of the DCCC’s 13 “red to blue” candidates.

On April 1, we’ll expand this page to include other progressive heroes like Alan Grayson and Bill Halter. For the first quarter, however, we need to send the media and our volunteers a strong message. We can do this.