The purpose of The 134 PAC is to chip away, brick by brick, at the red Republican wall in rural Texas that every election stops Democrats cold from winning statewide. We want to make that wall come tumblin' down--hence, The Joshua Fund.
We are committing to raise as much money as we can to help targeted races in the November election. What are the targeted races? Well, frankly that depends on how much money we can raise between now and Labor Day. The general considerations and criteria we will use are as follows:
1. County Level Races
We are only going to consider giving to county level races. In other words, from County Judge on down. This does not mean that we do not think races higher on the ballot are not important. But our purpose is to focus on strengthening and building a regional Democratic presence at the local level. This means encouraging and supporting people who are running as Democrats for Justice of the Peace, County Clerk, County Commissioner and the like. These races are also ones where just a little money can make a huge difference. Statewide and District level candidates need down ballot candidates to help drive the turnout. This is where we will focus our resources
2. Strength and Organization of Local Party
How organized is the local party? Does it have the ability and strength to support the candidate and help drive turnout for that candidate? Is the race competitive? By competitive we mean is Democratic turnout in that precinct or county at least 33% of the vote. The higher and more competitive it is, the higher that race will rate in our decision making.
3. Is the Candidate a strong contender?
There are a few things we will be looking for. How long has the candidate lived in the precinct or county? Have they run or held office before? Have they run for this office before? How well did they do? How well known are they in the community? How well are they thought of in the community? How strong a campaign are they running? How much money have they been able to raise on their own? What is the candidate's involvement in the community outside of politics? How strong is the opposition? Are there local issues which the Democratic candidate can exploit?
4. Can the Candidate help turnout overall?
What is the potential for the race to help boost Democratic turnout for one or more statewide candidates in critical counties?
This is not an exhaustive list, but it gives you some idea of the general focus. The point is to target a few races where we can make a difference. It may be only a handful. Time will tell.
What we do need is to raise the funds to make that difference. Please consider giving to THE JOSHUA FUND at the link below.
Jon Mark Hogg is a San Angelo lawyer, and Founder of The 134 PAC.
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