New Maine Marriage Polling Numbers

x-posted from Daily Kos by permission.

Guest post by Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for the (Maine) No on 1 campaign.

A new public poll from Democracy Corps was released yesterday, showing us with a slight lead in this race of 50% to 41%, a significant jump from kos’s numbers from the other week of 46-48.

The numbers are encouraging, but it’s that 9% undecided that will determine this race. The investment of our supporters has allowed us to get on TV before our opponents and counter every lie they have tossed at us.

Tonight at midnight is the end of the third quarter and all of you politicos know what that means: we will need to turn in our fundraising report.

Our campaign will be judged on the strength or weakness of this report.

Your help today is crucial to keep our campaign knocking on doors, calling voters and airing our television ads. Can we double the $4,733 raised on the Orange to Blue page?

When this report comes out, the media will turn their focus toward us to see if we’re financially strong enough to win this election. It’s extremely important that we demonstrate that the NO on 1 campaign has strong support. As Maine voters begin turning out to the polls during the early voting period, it’s important that the story coming out about the campaign is positive and shows momentum.

From the beginning, we knew we’d be waging an uphill battle against the millions of dollars being poured into our opposition’s campaign by national anti-equality groups. However, every time they’ve attacked marriage equality, our campaign has been able to respond to their lies and misinformation, and reinforce our message of respect and fairness for all Maine families. But we can’t keep doing that without your help. Let’s double the $4,733 already raised on Orange to Blue.

As we had seen in California, the No on Prop 8 campaign was ahead in September, too — by as much as 14 points. But it was those undecided voters who ended up delivering victory to the anti-equality Yes on 8 campaign.

We aren’t going to let that happen, but we need the resources to execute our campaign plan.

We can’t forget what’s at stake. It’s hard to top Bill in Portland Maine this morning:

But to Maine’s same-sex couples—many who’ve been together for decades and/or are raising families—it’s much more than that. It’s an elevation from second-class status to equal status. It’s official recognition by the state that gay spouses and their families deserve the same benefits, services and protections across the board as straight spouses so they can more easily navigate life’s little (and not so little) twists and turns. And, dammit, it’s about being given the opportunity to summon the courage it takes to join the institution of marriage with all its obligations and responsibilities. This stuff about gay people wanting to “redefine” marriage is horse hockey.

Give what ever you can to help push us over the top. Our email list just blew past our $40,000 goal on ActBlue. Can we step up now to double the $4,733 on the Orange to Blue page?