[Kellam] meets most of the [DailyKos] requirements and positives:
The candidate must be running against a Republican incumbent or running for a GOP-held open seat. -- he's running against Thelma Drake, uber-conservativePrimaries: There must be no Dem primary; an already-concluded Dem primary; or only token primary opposition. (It's too late in the cycle to get involved in primary races. We'll focus on that more in 2007-8.) -- there is no Dem competition as David Ashe has withdrawm and endorsed Kellam
It can't be a top-tier race. . . . In any event, there's no hard-and-fast definition for this, but one rule of thumb is that if a challenger has raised over $1 million, it's probably already a top-tier race. -- He is doing ok but certainly hasn't hit the $1m mark [http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/]
The candidate has a strong record as a Democrat. --
Phil is cut from the same "good government" cloth that wins in Virginia - the Mark Warner/Tim Kaine legacyThe Republican opponent is an easy target. (Think Tom DeLay or Curt Weldon.) -- Think Thelma Drake - an uber-conservative that Cheney just came down and campaigned for and who stupidly backed a plan to drill off her district's coastline! Moveon.org has made her a target and tightened this race
The candidate is running in a blue-leaning district or state. -- Virginia is not blue-leaning, but it is blue-trending. Plus, if James Webb is on the ticket, the military-heavy Second district could really align for the Dems
There's a strong netroots presence in the area. (Example: BlueJersey in NJ.) Our ability to make a difference is strongly impacted by the quality of our information flow. -- Yup. Raising Kaine statewide and several blogs locally (Vivian Paige and VB Dems)
The campaign itself has shown an interest in grassroots & netroots outreach. -- I don't know about this one - no blog on his page. Some netroots lovin' could change that
The race fits into a larger strategy or theme (eg, Northeast Strategy, Culture of Corruption, etc.), or can in some way be "nationalized." -- Cheney just did a fundraiser for Drake. She's wants to drill off the coast of Virginia, and is a true blue Bush supporter in a state where Bush killed off Kilgore's chances for Governor. So, this race fits in well with the anti-Bush sentiment in Virginia and the nation
The candidate passes the "partisanship litmus test." -- "D-VA" right there at the top of his site under his name and slogan. His main page also links prominently to this story linking Drake to Bush/Cheney as a negative. And check out this quote from an interview about BushCo.: "The ineptitude and execution of the incumbent [Bush] administration is not just a little story here, a little story there." In the same interview, he bashes Bush's tax cuts during war time and slams Drake over and over for being a "rubber stamp" for Bush.
House races are strongly preferred. Non-federal races (such as state legislature seats) will also be considered. Again, as per the above, we can have a bigger impact in smaller races. -- This is a House district
Moveon.org recognizes that freshman Thelma Drake is vulnerable and Kellam - who has repeated been voted for city-wide office in Virginia Beach (2/3rds of the district) and is from a well known Beach family - can win here. Netroots can play a huge role in making this a top-tier race.
p.s. Judy Feder is another good bet in Virginia. She's a health policy expert who's targeting Frank Wolf in Northern Virginia's 10th District - an area very much trending blue.
Go and back up Phil and Judy over at the Kos thread!
UPDATE: Another pro-Kellam post here and Andy Hurst gets a plug here and here.