CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 7 (UPI) -- ActBlue, a Democratic online political action committee based in Massachusetts, is making its first foray into presidential politics this year.
The PAC has raised more than $25 million since it was founded in 2004 by two graduate students, the Boston Globe reports. Contributions can be made to any Democratic candidate in 23 states.
ActBlue is credited with making a real difference in Sen. Jim Webb’s squeaker of a win in 2006 in Virginia over incumbent George Allen. The Webb campaign received $900,000 through the site.
Two presidential candidates, John Edwards and Bill Richardson, are using ActBlue for all their online fundraising. Backers can set up their own fundraising Web pages through ActBlue, like Desert Rats for Edwards and Pizza for Progressives, which have raised hundreds of dollars for Edwards from a few supporters.
Benjamin Rahn, who dropped work on a Ph.D. in physics at Harvard to start ActBlue, says the presidential race can help the site and vice versa.
"There's a huge opportunity to involve many times more people in this process than we currently have," he said.
