Novick hits the $100K mark

US Senate Candidate Steve Novick will announce today that he's surpassed/about to surpass the $100,000 mark for fundraising in his bid to unseat Gordon Smith. Novick began his campaign on April 18.

Its the consensus from those who I've chatted with who understand such things that this is a drop in a very, very large bucket. Novick will have to raise at least $5 million, I'm told.

That said, for a man who clearly admires Paul Wellstone--Novick has reached a very Wellstonian threshold.

According to Professor Wellstone Goes to Washington, Wellstone started his campaign on April 24, 1989. By the end of that year, Wellstone had raised $63,487. According to this Inflation calculator, that translates to $105,821.57 in 2007 dollars.

This means Novick has passed or is about to pass Wellstone's 1989 fundraising totals as adjusted for inflation.

Wellstone went on in 1989 to defeat entrenched Minnesota incumbent Republican Senator Rudy Boschwitz even though Wellstone was outspent 7-to-1. There's a great wiki about the race and Wellstone's subsequent thumping of Boschwitz in the next election as well.

Fast forward to today. Imagine Novick giving Gordon Smith that kind of thumping. Its absolutely possible.

Novick's candidacy is also starting to generate buzz outside of Oregon. Check out this blog by Daily Show regular contributor John Hodgman, who has discovered our progressive with a "hard left hook":

NOVICK, according to his perfectly named website, he is a progressive with "a hard left hook."

AT THE TENDER AGE OF 14 was he sent loose upon the hard streets of Oregon after the closing of his Junior High School due to budget cuts...

(AS YOU MAY KNOW, Oregon regularly ranks very highly in US News & World Report's annual MOST DICKENSIAN STATE list)

...BUT RATHER THAN TURN TO A LIFE OF HOOK-HANDED PICKPOCKETING, he instead enrolled IN HARVARD LAW SCHOOL AT THE AGE OF 18, later acting as lead counsel in the Love Canal case.

AND WHAT'S MORE, he is the only candidate for Senate who begins his official bio with a trivia question--so you know he has my vote.

(NOTE: I CANNOT VOTE IN OREGON)

SHOULD STEVE NOVICK PREVAIL and become a US Senator, he would, under obscure Oregonian law, be but A HOOK-HAND FROM THE PRESIDENCY.

Perhaps Steve can parlay this notice by Hodgman into a guest appearance with Jon Stewart, eh?

But the best way for Steve to get noticed by the media and by Oregonians is to raise his profile by purchasing commercials and other advertising. Not an inexpensive endeavor, to be sure.

So do yourself a favor. Hell--do all of Oregon a favor, give Steve some money for his campaign.

And then when the time comes...VOTE HOOK!