I voted for:

Bruce Braley (IA-01) because he's a real Democrat:
Can Iowa Help Turn Congress Blue?

Lois Murphy (PA-06) because I liked her guest blog entry at OAC last month:
Thanks For Your Questions!
Why we need a fresh perspective in Washington

Charlie Melancon (LA-03) because of Katrina. Do I need to post a source for that one?  

Know for sure that Lampson's getting one of my votes, but I can't access the page due to cookie issues here on my work computer - will have to wait until I get home to decide!

Glad to see that Edwards is putting a new twist an old spin. Boxer, Warner, et al. have so far only been cutting checks for the winners of their "Whom to support next?" polls - making an actual appearance at a fundraiser is a brilliant idea, and really relies on his "star power" in the party.

Here's who I voted for and why:

Heath Shuler (NC 11) to win a seat in my homestate! Shuler is going up against GOP incumbent Charles Taylor

Mary Jo Kilroy (OH 15) to win a seat and because she's very progressive on social issues (has won awards from the National Association of Social Workers).  Kilroy is going up against GOP incumbent Deborah Pryce

Patricia Madrid (NM 01) to win a seat---she's going up against GOP incumbent, friend to big oil companies,  Heather Wilson.

There are two wrinkles to this one, it seems to me.

One is that, for good or ill, the list of candidates is confined to DCCC-backed contenders.
Don't grumble at me, grumble at Senator Edwards' campaign advisors, if you must.
On the other hand, think of it this way: there's probably considerable overlap between DCCC-favored districts, and campaign audiences where John Edwards would be a big draw. He is not the furthest left of the presidential candidates, on many issues.

The other is that it might seem wise, in choosing a candidate to back for this assistance, to rule out:

1)    districts where John Edwards isn't going to be a big sell;
2)    districts where the race is already pretty safe;
3)    districts where the Democrat running is too conservative to pull much support from the netroots or an Internet mailing list, so the vote would be wasted;  
4)    districts where John Edwards has already made a campaign appearance, or is extremely likely to do so, whether we vote for that race or not.  

Look over the list, and share your thoughts. Myself,

I'm inclined to rule out IN-09 and KY-04, based on the first criterion.
I'm inclined to rule out SD-AL and UT-02, on the second.  
I'm inclined to rule out TX-17 and again KY-04, on the third criterion
I'm inclined to rule out NC-11, where Edwards will surely stump for Shuler no matter what, and IA-01, where he's already stumped for Braley.

I'm leaning toward Spratt, in SC-05, though he may be too secure to need the assistance, or Kellam, in VA-02, or Joe Donnelly, in IN-02.  But your thoughts?

I just voted for Burner, Madrid, Sestak, Shuler, and Stender, all of whom are distinguished by the loathesomness of their opponents.

But where is Hodes in NH-02?  Is he not on the DCCC target list yet?  You would think that JE would have a personal interest in visiting NH for a campaign appearance...

Not that weird -- it's basically approval voting, which leaves it up to the voter where to draw the line between the set voted for and the set voted against.

From my standpoint, if I vote for one then my vote is only relevant if my candidate is near the top two.  If I can vote for several, I have a greater chance of influencing the result, though I give up the chance to influence a decision among my choices.

It's not intrinsically unfair to give a single voter more than one choice -- note that voting for everyone is the same as voting for no one.  Approval voting is probably not the best way to make this decision, but I like it better than "vote for one".  From JE's point of view, it increases the likely number of people who will have voted for the eventual winner.

Of course it would be better if the web site explained the procedure.  But in any case the main purpose of the "poll" is to gather email addresses for the campaign (which I don't mind as I'm already an Edwards fan).

I agree with the comments above that are looking for districts where Edwards would have the greatest impact.  So:  No incumbents, places where Edwarda would have appeal, and no candidate who already has $1 mil on hand.

So my Choices:

1) Harry Mitchell (AZ-5)  This race is winnable with good funding, and Mitchell needs more to beat J.D. Blowhard.

2) Chris Carney (PA-10)  A Very winnable race and a little money goes a long way in this district.

3) Phil Kellam (VA-2)  A race that has just gotten on the radar, where Edwards would defiinitely be an attraction.

In each of these an Edwards fundraiser would be a BIG help.

Yeah, several people on your list have already gotten $$$ from Boxer and the like... we should definitely stick to those who need a serious cash infusion.

Perfectly sensible, if your sentiment about the field is "anybody is better than X" and you want to vote for whomever turns out to be X's competition.  It has the same advantages and disadvantages as voting for one candidate -- it's sure to help that candidate, but it's relevant to the final outcome only if that candidate is a contender.

Come home and give Larry Kissell some help in NC-08!  The district is just one county away from your hometown - Robbins.

http://www.larrykissell.com/

Larry can win this race vs Robin Hayes.  Larry is a teacher - and former textile worker - running against a textile company heir.  

Gen. Clark is helping out in Arkansas - can you come home, too?

What's with the breaking blue item about Edwards supporters taking over MyDD?

Oh yeah, and go chris carney (PA-10), even though he never does too well in these.

I went with Patty Wetterling and Zach Space.

The state DFL party sums Patty up best:

One of the candidates in contention for this honor is Minnesota's own DFL-endorsed Sixth District Congressional candidate, Patty Wetterling.  She is in a very tight race with Republican Michele Bachmann, who has relied on a parade of GOP insiders like Dick Cheney, Dennis Hastert, and Karl Rove to throw high-dollar fundraisers to bring in campaign cash.

I'm happy to announce that I just spoke with someone from the Kissell campaign and the Edwards campaign called and have added Larry Kissell to the list of possible candidates.

Many of you probably saw gregflynn's piece here on MyDD, but BlueNC.com members fanned out on OAC, MyDD, BlueNC and anywhere else to have our voices heard.  Did it make a difference?  I think it did.  It just goes to show that we can't sit around and take what's handed to us.

I happen to think the world of John Edwards.  I supported his last candidacy and will probably support him whole-heartedly this time.  That didn't stop me from shouting out when I felt he was being shortsighted.  (I know...it wasn't him personally)

I think it speaks volumes for the campaign that they listened and acted so quickly.

I'm very impressed that Edwards added Larry Kissell. Before that happened, I wrote a piece blasting him (mildly) for bending over a bit too much for Rahm Emanuel. I thought it was classy of Edwards to offer "Democratic candidates" in Arizona and Nevada where there are hot primaries in the offing. I also found it stupid of Edwards to swallow Emanuel's bullshit about FL-13 where the DCCC corporate shill will probably lose, just like their candidate did in CA-11 (notice no McNerney on this list by the way; Rahmy's still sore?). That was the point of my Edwards story today; if he wants to be president, he needs to pay better attention and not blindly trust craven hacks like Emanuel.

Many thanks to Mr. Walker for his support of Joe Donnelly in IN-2.  Here is another reason why a major league fundraiser, such as one with Sen. Edwards, would make a great impact in this race.  While Joe is currently ahead according to two polls, Chris Chocola not only has a personal wealth of anywhere between $35 and 50 million, he is such a valued crony of the Bush White House he is sure to receive major backing from the White House and the national Republican machine.  This is precisely the type of race that needs a fundraiser such as the one Edwards proposes as well as the accompanying media coverage.  We need to stay on Chocola and keep hammering away with our message.  The media hit and the funds raised would help Joe do that.  Please consider Joe Donnelly when you vote.  Keep in mind also that if only 1% of the money sent to a big netroots race such as Busby (CA), Hackett (OH) or Lamont (CT) were sent to a campaign like Joe Donnelly's, the impact would be tremendous.  

WWW.DONNELLYFORUSCONGRESS.COM

WWW.ACTBLUE.COM/PAGE/DOLLARSFORDONNELLY