Weekly Update

Julie Fanselow joined the Idaho Democratic Party just a month before Election Day. Fanselow an advid journalist and blogger hopes to reignight the state’s democratic base through high-level grassroots efforts.

Fanselow caught the political bug during the Watergate era, but didn’t have time for serious activism until the months leading up to the 2004 elections.

In 2003, Fanselow founded the popular blog Red State Rebels for which she won awards, along with Grassroots for Grant, a campaign website for House candidate Larry Grant, from the Northwest Progressive Institute. United Vision for Idaho named her its first-ever Progressive Blogger of the Year in January 2008.

Fanselow said, “When I moved to Idaho in 1989, we had a Democratic governor. Two years later, both of our U.S. House members were Democrats. We’ve won in the past, and we will win again. I know the Democratic brand was badly bruised in Idaho during the 1990s and the early part of this decade, but we’re clearly on the way back.”

With less than 30 days in the 2008 election season it is a Democrat who leads in the fundraising polls, Idaho one of the most Republican states in the country.

FEC numbers show Obama with a little more than $500,000, while his rival John McCain has raised just over $350,000. The McCain campaign dollars have been through traditional mail-in donation or fundraising dinner events. Meanwhile, Obama’s office sells all of their campaign materials like buttons and bumper stickers unlike most campaigns that give those items away.

Interestingly enough it is Mitt Romney who raised the most money in the state. “In the primary Mitt Romney was so popular in Idaho that he raised most of the Idaho Republican dollars and those are in his camp, and you may note that Mitt Romney has raised more money than Barack Obama in Idaho," said Sen Mike Crapo.

Current campaign laws states that Romney has the opportunity to keep the money he raised and use it for future races, or he can give it to other candidates he supports.