Panicked? Checking your pulse? Relax, you’re just a Mass. political donor | John L. Micek (2024)

I got an email from Tim Walz the other day. We’re tight like that, me and Tim.

It was just him checking in, probably fresh off a trip to the Kroger, where he picked up chips and dip for the Twins game.

“Kamala and I are having a blast so far traveling the country together, meeting supporters at that arena in Philadelphia, that jam-packed field in Wisconsin, and our largest rally yet at that airport hangar in Detroit,” Walz, referring to Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, wrote recently.

I mean, how thoughtful of him to dash off a quick note, and let me know how things are going.

And then ... the Minnesota governor-turned-Veep candidate went for the hard sell.

“If you donate to this email, you could win a chance to meet me and Vice President Harris at an event before Election Day,” Walz (or more likely some professional fundraiser ensconced in a bunker far below Lake Minnetonka) wrote.

The email gave recipients a choice of donating as little as $25 or as much as $500. Those feeling particularly magnanimous could click on “other,” and probably max out to the campaign.

“It’s time we hunker down and get the job done. A heck of a lot of people are counting on this crew to stand together and pitch in to help build the strongest campaign possible,” the email read.

I mean, talk about pressure.

But it’s not unique. To be a political donor in Massachusetts, or anywhere else these days, no matter your party, is to live in a constant state of agitation.

And there’s a reason for that.

With campaigns growing ever more expensive, candidates on both sides of the aisle are sending out a regular barrage of fundraising emails and texts.

They’re also showing up on social media with digital advertisem*nts.

All have one intent in mind: To wring as much cash out of potential donors as they can, often with as apocalyptic a tone as they can muster.

“There’s no question that this is the case,” veteran Western Massachusetts political consultant Tony Cignoli told MassLive. “When the electorate is afraid, whether they’re on the right or left, they are more likely to make a contribution.”

In the hours after Walz made his debut as Harris No 2., Republican Donald Trump sent a text to supporters warning, in typical style, that “TIM WALZ WILL UNLEASH HELL ON EARTH!’

“He’s already pulling in MILLIONS to WIPE MAGA OUT,” Trump continued.

Subtle, right?

And it’s happening up and down the ballot.

“It’s absolutely critical that we show strength on this upcoming fundraising report,” U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote in an Aug. 13 email to supporters after pro-crypto forces dumped a ton of cash into Republican hopeful John Deaton’s coffers.

“ ... This grassroots campaign relies on a large number of supporters pitching in a little at a time, instead of a small number of billionaires and special interests pitching in a lot at a time,” Warren, who was sitting on nearly $5 million in reserves at the end of June, warned her supporters.

Deaton launched a similar appeal in July, telling his backers that “we’re up against a strong opponent who has $4.9 million in the bank, and we need to connect with as many people as possible to win.”

And, if the past is prologue, there’s no end in sight.

American voters were bombarded by some 15 billion political texts in the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections.

That’s thanks, in large part, to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that eliminated the need for campaigns to obtain consent before sending out mass texts, NBC News reported at the time.

And it’s not just candidates. Political action committees and advocacy groups also are out there shaking the money tree, and filling up voters’ inboxes and text queues.

“There’s all these organizations that are filling up their coffers,” Cignoli, who also does political fundraising, said.

And then there are the border-defying appeals from out-of-state races, such as Ohio’s high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Bernie Moreno.

The Buckeye State contest is one of several that could determine control of the chamber in 2025. And big money, including a $12 million infusion from a super PAC funded by the crypto industry, is pouring into the battleground campaign.

Brown’s appeal started innocently enough, with a subject line “asking for just $5″ before the real pitch kicked in.

“Polls show me neck and neck with my Trump-backed opponent, Bernie Moreno, in the race experts say will decide Senate control,” Brown’s campaign wrote. “Now, national Republicans are making record-breaking ad buys to flood the airwaves with attack ads and turn the tide against me – and as of this week, we’re officially being outspent on TV.”

Like Warren, it’s worth noting here that Brown’s not exactly selling his plasma so he can manufacture bumper stickers.

The Democrat’s campaign raised a none-too-shabby $12.8 million during the second quarter of the year, building on an already hefty war chest, Axios reported.

“Everybody is out there, everyone is afraid, everyone is uptight,” Cignoli said. “Folks are opening up their pocketbooks. It terrifies me that there’s some senior citizen out there, who’s just making ends meet, who’s just writing checks. There are a lot of charlatans out there. And there is not enough oversight.”

Caveat emptor ...

Diana DiZoglio is very disappointed in you

Massachusetts’ elected fiscal watchdog had a few words for her former colleagues in the state Legislature, who wrapped up a less-than-productive session last month.

Democratic state Auditor Diana DiZoglio, a former state lawmaker who’s pushing a ballot question to force the Legislature to open its books, told MassLive that the backlog of bills left on the table was “disappointing.”

• Read More: Gov. DiZoglio? Well, maybe. Here’s why

But she was “excited that some legislation did make it across the finish line, and I think that I would be remiss not to give credit for that.”

Even so, the Legislature’s failure to act on big-ticket items such as Gov. Maura Healey’s economic development bill, and another tackling climate change, were glaring omissions, she noted.

“I think there are a lot of legislators who are really willing [and] would very much like to come back into formal sessions to make sure that they’re able to get that work done on behalf of the residents in their communities,” she said.

On the calendar

If you notice a little less traffic on the roads next week, it’s probably because just about every Democrat in the state will have decamped to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.

As MassLive reported last week, all of the state’s top elected Democrats, from Gov. Maura Healey on down, are delegates to the weeklong gathering in the Windy City that starts Monday.

But it also will be a busy week for convention delegates, the Democratic foot soldiers, who really make the campaigns go.

As State House News Service reported last week, delegates will have a full slate of events, starting with a delegation breakfast every morning that serves as a literal place-setter for the week to come.

In addition to Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and Attorney General Andrea Campbell, the roster of speakers is expected to include U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark, D-5th District, and Lori Trahan, D-3rd District, and others from Massachusetts, the wire service reported.

Out-of-staters including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., are also expected to speak.

They said it

“We have the opportunity to embrace a politics rooted in community, equity, and dignity. To leave our children and grandchildren a better world than we inherited.”

— U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-7th District, making the case for Vice President Kamala Harris’ White House bid in a commentary piece published by Marie Claire magazine.

Turned Up to 11

We lost Greg Kihn last week. And if you’re a fan of witty and lyrical power-pop, then, like me, you’re mourning his death, aged 75, from complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Most folks know his biggest hit, the early MTV staple “Jeopardy.” But for my money, his finest moment came two years earlier with “The Break Up Song.”

Rest in peace, Greg. They sure don’t write ‘em like that anymore.

Your Sunday long read

If she wins in November, Vice President Kamala Harris will not only be the nation’s first woman president, she’ll be its first Black woman president, and its first president of East Asian descent.

And America’s Black women are here for it, according to a new poll by The Cut at NYMag. But they’re not so sure that their fellow Americans feel the same.

Three-quarters (76%) of the 1,200 respondents to The Cut’s canvass said Harris is the right choice to replace President Joe Biden. And a nearly equal number (77%) said they believe Harris is the candidate who can beat Republican former President Donald Trump.

But two-thirds of respondents told the online news organization that concerns about the nation being ready to elect a Black woman were true or fair, compared to 37% who said such concerns were exaggerated.

Younger Black women, those aged 18 to 34, were more likely to agree with concerns that the nation isn’t ready to elect a Black woman, the poll found.

Among its other conclusions: Since Harris emerged as the Democrats’ presumptive nominee, the number of Black women who plan to vote in November rose from 82% to 89%; 75% said they would vote for Harris over Trump (12%) if the election were held today, and “positive perceptions of Harris and the Democratic Party also have increased since June, with the vice-president’s job approval shooting up from 68 percent to 78 percent in August,” according to The Cut.

Also of note: “The share of Black women who say they feel pressure to support Harris has increased significantly as well, up to 41 percent from 36 percent in June,” the online news organization reported. “A majority of Black women, 65 percent, believe that Biden was right to drop out of the 2024 race.”

That’s it for this week. Have a peaceful Sunday. See you all back here on Monday.