Donations Pooled Online Are Getting Candidates' Attention

In one post on Daily Kos, a blogger rails against former congressman Mark Foley and four congressmen who he says concealed the Florida Republican's interactions with House pages, dubbing those members the "Foley Five."

"Wondering what you can do about it? Let's replace the whole lot," he says, with a link to a page on the ActBlue site called "Fight the Foley Five." The page raised more than $3,000 for the five Democrats challenging those members.

"Is there symbiosis? Absolutely," said ActBlue President Benjamin Rahn.

Rahn called bloggers "one of our most important marketing arms." He credits the "organic process" of blogs sending visitors to ActBlue for producing about $2.3 million in donations last year -- a healthy slice of the $19 million raised for Democratic candidates since the site's creation three years ago.

A similar site, called ABC PAC, has been developed by Republicans. It didn't catch on in 2006, but it is being retooled for the 2008 campaigns. Cornfield said Democrats hold a healthy lead because early investments in the technology were "part of an attempt to match what conservatives had with talk radio and direct mail for years."

Still, of the 60 million people who visited candidate Web sites in 2006, Cornfield said, only 1 in 20 donated money. That has left "tremendous room for growth" for both parties, he added.

Karthikeyan agrees. Last week, the District lawyer invited his donors to a local restaurant to unveil his next plan for helping Obama -- one that has them each shaking the branches of the Internet giving tree by e-mailing 20 more people and seeking $20 from each.

"That way," he said, "we can build our support from a broad segment of the population, not just a few wealthy donors."