Virginia needs your help.

This past November, Democrats made gains in Virginia unseen in years.  This year they aim to make more.  Millions of out of state dollars are flowing into Virginia to support Democratic agendas and attack candidates before we Republicans even get to our convention.

With your contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more, you can help RedStormPAC fund our candidates to victory next November.

By providing a means to solicit online donations at no cost to Republican candidates, RedStormPAC is uniquely positioned to help ALL Republican candidates throughout the Commonwealth - from Governor to House of Delegates to Board of Supervisors. All transaction costs are covered by RedStormPAC so candidates receive 100% of every contribution. We are able to cover these costs thanks to direct contributions to RedStormPAC by generous donors like you.

Your contribution of $50 can help raise up to $1000 for candidates throughout Virginia.

Would be Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe has raised over $4 million in 2009, most of it coming from out of state [1].  The Democratic Governors Association has poured almost $3 million into a paper tiger to attack our nominee for Governor Bob McDonnell [2]. Even the Montana Democratic Party has established a Virginia PAC to attack our candidates who are working hard for Virginia’s families [3].

RedStormPAC is here to help.  Can we count on you?

Your contribution of $25, $50, $100 or more will go a long way to sending a message to Democrats that Virginia’s working families will not be swayed by a Democratic agenda backed by Montana, California and New York interests.

You’ve already proven your commitment to Virginia, our nation, and our values. Virginia is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. Join with us today as we continue the effort to keep it that way.

You can now show your support for RedStormPAC on your Facebook account!  Just add the RedStormPAC application and you’ll not only show your support for RSPAC but allow others to contribute to the PAC as well and help provide 100% FREE online transactions for Virginia’s Republican candidates.

Norfolk is holding a special election for Commonwealth’s Attorney tomorrow and John Coggeshall is the Republican nominee.  Brian Kirwin makes the case of John Cog at Bearing Drift:

Happy with the levels of crime in Norfolk? I haven’t met anyone yet who is. Change is on the Ballot this Tuesday as Norfolk chooses a new Commonwealth’s Attorney.

John Coggeshall thinks that the increasing trend in crime should change. Greg Underwood and the Norfolk Democrats are asking us, the voters, on March 10th to continue the trend of crime, gangs and violence. As Senior Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, Greg Underwood has done nothing to curb this trend in eight years.

Read the rest here.

The Gazette Virginian is reporting that Del. Clarke Hogan has announced that he will not be seeking reelection for the 60th District:

Citing the responsibilities of owning and operating a business during tough economic times, Hogan said he has decided to focus his energies on his Ontario Hardwood business located in Keysville.

“Part of this has always been balancing two full-time jobs, and that’s a lot to look after. You can do it when things are going well, and I’ve enjoyed doing it for eight years, but in this economic environment, I’ve got to look after my primary responsibility, and that’s running Ontario Hardwood.”

Hogan said he feels he now needs to spend all of his time on his business.

“I hope most people will understand I’ve got to look after that business that provides a livelihood for me and 50 other people,” he said.

The Special Election for the 46th House of Delegates happened this past Tuesday and Republican challenger Joe Murray fought to within 16 votes, well within the margin to request a recount. From Friends Of Joe Murray:

Due to the close initial result of the January 13th special election, Joe Murray has decised to file an official recount request with the Circuit court of Alexandria. Joe notes:

“I made this decision for a few reasons. Most importantly, I believe that the voters of the 46th district deserve to be certain that they have elected the correct state legislator. Virginia law provides that elections results which yield a margin of less than 1% are entitled to file a recount request. Given the rushed circumstances of this special election, the chances of human or mechanical error in tabulating the voting results are greater than would ordinarily be the case in a regular, General election.”

The fight isn’t over yet.  To help with Murray’s recount costs, please consider a contribution to his campaign.

RedStormPAC is currently not accepting any contributions for elected statewide officials and members of the House Of Delegates. Virginia Code §24.2-940 prohibits contributions to any member of General Assembly or statewide official while the General Assembly is in regular session.

In the meantime, please consider a small contribution to RedStormPAC.

RedStormPAC provides free online fundraising to Republican candidates throughout Virginia and relies upon generous contributions from donors like you. Every $5 raised helps fund up to $100 in contributions to candidates.

Thank you for your support and for using RedStormPAC.

Early 2009 sees three great opportunities for Republican candidates in Virginia.

January 6th: Barry Knight for 81st House Of Delegates - website - donate

January 13th: Joe Murray for 46th House Of Delegates - website - donate

February 3rd: Patrick Herrity for Fairfax County Chairman - website - donate

Please take the time to visit each of these candidate’s websites to find out more about them and consider a contribution to help score some early wins for Republicans in 2009.

Barry Knight won the Republican canvass this past Saturday to represent the Republican Party in the January 6, 2009 special election to replace outgoing Delegate Terrie Suit.  You can show your support for Knight and help out by adding a RedStormPAC widget to your website.

From the Washington Post:

Barack Obama raised half a billion dollars online in his 21-month campaign for the White House, dramatically ushering in a new digital era in presidential fundraising.

In an exclusive interview with The Post, members of the vaunted Triple O, Obama’s online operation, broke down the numbers: 3 million donors made a total of 6.5 million donations online adding up to more than $500 million. Of those 6.5 million donations, 6 million were in increments of $100 or less. The average online donation was $80, and the average Obama donor gave more than once.

By using online means and turning netroots activists into online bundlers and coupling this with a solid showing through more traditional fundraising means, Obama was able to rake in a record amout of cash for his campaign.

Too Conservative has a good round-up of Pat Herrity’s kick off for his campaign to become Chairman of Fairfax County.

RedStormPAC is proud to support Herrity for Chairman and you can help too by adding a contribution widget to your website or blog.

As you can see, RedStormPAC has tweaked its look.  Not only that, but you can now easily find and access donation widgets for all statewide candidates and every sitting Republican Delegate in the House of Delegates.

We’re currently working on a couple programs to further help candidates in 2009 so be sure to be on the look out for that and sign on up for our mailing list to keep up to date on RedStormPAC news and happenings.

Late into the 2008 election cycles some people are finding that Barack Obama’s online contribution system has very lax security standards, inviting not only donor fraud not just against the FEC but credit card fraud as well:

The issue centers around the Address Verification Service (or AVS) that credit card processors use to sniff out phony transactions. I was able to contribute money using an address other than the one on file with my bank account (I used an address I control, just not the one on my account), showing that the Obama campaign deliberately disabled AVS for its online donors.

AVS is generally the first line of defense against credit card fraud online. AVS ensures that not only is your credit card number accurate, but the street address you’ve submitted with a transaction matches the one on file with your bank.

As more and more operations expand online, security for the contributor is going to be a huge issue and it’s one that we here at RedStormPAC take very seriously.  We aim for the most secure transactions Authorise.net can deliver.  This is both to ensure that all contributions are following the letter of election law but also to protect contributors from credit card fraud.  Your information is safe with us, and we do everything we can to make sure it is YOU using your information.

You can now get RedStormPAC information and updates via Twitter.  Twitter is a handy service one can use to quickly update people on the small things happening.  A great tool for candidates or organizations looking to keep supporters and interested parties up to date on what is going on in 140 characters or less.

You can now add widgets to your Facebook profile and pages to help visitors donate to the 2009 GOP Executive Ticket for Virginia:

McDonnell For Governor:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=10206369372

Bolling for Lieutenant Governor:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=10818577778

Brownlee For Attorney General:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=23820228759

Cuccinelli for Attorney General:
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=10907202741

UPDATE: Facebook’s new look has made our past applications no longer work on profile pages, though they still work on groups and fan pages (see RedStormPAC’s page for an example).  We are looking into fixing the problems and hope to have a solution in time for 2009.  Sorry for any issues.

Ft. Hard Knox is working on creating some online workshops for conservative activists and would like your input through a brief survey.