For six legislative candidates in Arizona, NationBuilder had a real impact on the outcome of their races. Steve Farley, who ran for state senate after serving three terms in the house, beat out Republican Tyler Mott by a 10% margin. Using NationBuilder for a fundraising campaign, Steve was able to double his original goal. “We were trying to raise $2,000 in 48 hours. Within the first 24 hours we had blown through it. We were able to double it.”
Steve uses NationBuilder not only in his campaign but to communicate with his constituents when the legislature is in session. He’s well known for the “Farley Report,” which gives subscribers an inside view on what’s happening in the Arizona Legislature. “Originally I was sending it out through direct mail. When NationBuilder came along the mailing tools opened up all sorts of possibilities. I was able to better understand who was reading it.”
In newly redrawn senate District 18, Democratic challenger Janie Hydrick took on Republican incumbent candidate from District 20, John McComish. In this Republican leaning district, Hydrick wasn’t able to beat McComish, but still garnered an impressive proportion of the vote at 46%.
Four candidates for Arizona state house also used NationBuilder to win their races, including twenty-seven year old Juan Mendez. Mendez was able to take first place in a competitive six person race using only public funding and NationBuilder. Last month he said, “We’re using NationBuilder to organize our volunteers and it’s totally paying off.” It clearly did pay off for Juan.
In District 10, first time candidate Stefanie Mach, who has an inspiring personal story, won 25% of the vote to win her seat. Stefanie, who suffered severe injuries in a car accident as a teen, found the NationBuilder platform to be invaluable, as social media and grassroots was a central part of her campaign. She also believes that NationBuilder is leveling the playing field at the local level.
Newcomer and Iraq war veteran Mark Cardenas beat out fellow democrat Lupe Contreras by a mere 148 votes. Incumbent candidate Rick Gray, who was first elected to the house in 2010, beat out his Democratic challenger to win a second term.
