In 2006 I contributed to a project originated by Chris Bowers called Use It or Lose It. It came back in lower profile again this year, but it’s a good habit to get into up and down the political spectrum every election cycle. The premise is that our elected Democrats- when safe or unchallenged for re-election, should be dipping into their campaign cash reserves to bolster our chances in competitive races. It’s been particularly relevant these two most recent election cycles because of the myriad pickup opportunities across the country and across the state.

Dave in particular has been hammering around these Calitics parts for a long time on the need to target a 2/3 majority in the state legislature if we’re ever going to pass a reasonable budget or pass a legitimately progressive budget (Democrat does not necessarily equal progressive I realize). So how have our state Dems been doing when it comes to spreading the wealth? We all know that incumbency is a powerful force in this state, so generally sitting on a lot of cash can’t be explained by anticipating a re-election fight. A quick chart of the notable and the affluent Democratic state legislators submitted without further comment. You can make your own analysis and comparisons, though there are certainly some aspirants to leadership here: