I would like to donate $250 to a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, but I'm having a difficult time picking one. There are so many great candidates to select from, and I want to select the candidate based on the following criteria.
First, the candidate must be in a close election. I don't want to donate to a Democratic candidate who is either a lock for reelection or has no chance of winning. I believe that narrows the field of potential recipients of my donation to the following: (1) Elizabeth Warren (MA); (2) Tammy Baldwin (WI); (3) Claire McCaskill (MO); (4) Chris Murphy (CT); (5) Richard Carmona (AZ); (6) Joe Donnelly (IN); (7) Jon Tester (MT); (8) Shelly Berkley (NV); (9) Heidi Heitkamp (ND); and (10) Tim Kaine (VA).
Second, I would like to donate to a candidate who needs the money. Essentially, I don't want to bother sending money to a Democrat who already has, either, (A) a significant cash advantage or (B) a significant amount of cash on hand. I think this eliminates Warren, Berkley, Kaine, and McCaskill, but I'm not sure about that.
Third, I would like my donation to have as great an impact as possible. I believe this favors a donation to a small, or relatively inexpensive, media market.
I would love to hear your analysis of which of the candidates listed above should be at the top of my list, given my criteria. Please stick to the Senate candidates (i.e., I already donated to Obama and I'm not interested in sending money to House races). Thanks!