MAYDAY.US Releases Donations in Raskin-Matthews Contest Calls the Congressional race “ground zero for the national reform movement.”

November 17, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Cyrus Patten MAYDAY.US press@mayday.us 314.239.1308

WASHINGTON, D.C. – MAYDAY.US, a national independent organization focused on campaign finance reform, today released fundraising numbers for the Maryland 8th Congressional Primary contest which showed the “stark contrast between a true democratic leader and a product of the DC establishment.”

“Jamie Raskin has demonstrated throughout his career that he is a leader on the issues of concern to Maryland voters including fighting big money in politics, and his support demonstrates it,” explained Cyrus Patten, Executive Director of MAYDAY.US. Raskin recently reported that a significant majority of his itemized contributions came from Maryland supporters, while former Marriott executive Kathleen Matthews reported 76% of her campaign cash coming from out of state.

“This race is of national importance,” continued Patten, “because the voters are demanding that candidates reject the corrupt private financing system that has put big money interests ahead of everyday families. Jamie Raskin has spoken out and, most importantly, led by example. Raskin literally wrote the book on our corrupt system, and people are taking notice nationally because he’s shown that good democratic leadership is possible and essential for reform.”

In September MAYDAY.US released national polling numbers that showed that the overwhelming majority (85%) of voters across the country agree the campaign finance system needs fundamental reform and that number is even higher among Democrats.

“We’re winning on this issue every day,” Patten said. “We saw it in the results of elections this month in Maine and Seattle, we’ve seen it become a dominant issue in the Democratic presidential debates, and we see it in the groundswell of support for Jamie Raskin. That’s why this election on the Congressional level is ground zero for the national campaign finance movement, and it’s why Raskin’s victory will send a powerful message to the DC establishment – that we demand change and we will vote for change.”

Patten is meeting with the local team near the district today.

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MAYDAY.US is a crowd-funded, independent political action committee committed to fundamentally changing the way that elections are funded. It was co-founded by Lawrence Lessig and Republican strategist Mark McKinnon, a former advisor to President George W. Bush.

MAYDAY.US is working to elect and re-elect Members of Congress who take leadership in advancing campaign finance reform.