On Friday afternoon, as Maine Sen. Susan Collins gave a speech on the Senate floor explaining why she would vote in favor of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, the progressive crowdfunding platform Crowdpac began receiving a flood of campaign donations for her eventual Democratic challenger when she runs for re-election in 2020. In fact, it appears that Crowdpac was deluged by so many donations that it shut down due to an internal server error. The website is still down as of this writing. Advertisement As Kavanaugh’s messy confirmation fight was raging over the past few weeks, Crowdpac had been collecting donation pledges ranging from $1 to $2,700 for two progressive Maine groups that would use the funds toward unseating Collins. However, the conceit was that these donations would only be processed if Collins voted “Yes” on Kavanaugh, since she was seen as one of the handful of senators who were on the fence about the nomination. Collins, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Republican election lawyer Cleta Mitchell alleged that this fundraising effort amounted to a bribery scheme to pressure the Maine senator into voting against Kavanaugh. The crowdfunding campaign had raised more than $1 million by early September. Advertisement Advertisement When Collins announced that she would in fact be supporting the nominee, donations for her eventual opponent skyrocketed. Earlier in the day, the raised funds stood at around $1.8 million. Because the Crowdpac site is currently down, it’s difficult to tell just how much money the campaign managed to raise after Collins’ decision became clear, but reports suggest that the total amount raised blew past the $2 million mark while she was still speaking. Advertisement JUST NOW: As Susan Collins speaks about Kavanaugh, the CrowdPac funding her opponent unless she votes NO just soars tens of thousands of dollars, surpassing the $2 million mark!https://t.co/doVlNyogCr pic.twitter.com/iSBRGZrAs8 — jordan (@JordanUhl) October 5, 2018 Crowdpac announced that it will be back online shortly.<doc-sep>U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, considered one of the few possible Republican "no" votes on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, speaks to news media at Saint Anselm College, Friday, Sept. 21, 2018. WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 04: Comedian Amy Schumer waits to be led away after being arrested during a protest against the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh October 4, 2018 at the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Senators had an opportunity to review a new FBI background investigation into accusations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh and Republican leaders are moving to have a vote on his confirmation this weekend. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) (CNN) — Sen. Susan Collins was already one of the Democrats’ biggest Senate targets in 2020 when she took to the Senate floor Friday to announce she would vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. But Collins’ decision to back the Supreme Court nominee after he was accused of sexual assault was instantly controversial with not only the hundreds of activists who flooded the Capitol this week but also with Democratic activists in her home state of Maine who have opposed Kavanaugh’s nomination for weeks. By the time she finished her speech, Democrats in Maine had begun speculating who might challenge the moderate Republican. And progressive activists are pouring in money to fund the eventual challenger, raising millions of dollars online to unseat Collins. A half dozen Democratic operatives and lawmakers in Maine raised several names of potential candidates who are openly considering the job, including Chellie Pingree, the Democrat representing Southern Maine in the US House; Sara Gideon, the speaker of the Maine House of Representatives; Seth Berry, a former member of the Maine House of Representatives; and Hannah Pingree, a former speaker of the Maine House and Chellie Pingree’s daughter. Some Maine Democrats also mentioned Jared Golden, the veteran running in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District this year, as a possible challenger whether he wins or loses the race, as well as Emily Cain, a top operative at the Democratic group EMILY’s List and two-time congressional candidate from Maine. Maine’s Democratic bench is not very deep, said two operatives, so the seat could also be a chance for the party to draw in a national figure or political outsider. Susan Rice, the former national security adviser for President Barack Obama, caused a stir Friday afternoon when she tweeted “Me” when another former Obama official asked who could challenge Collins in 2020. Rice does have a home in Maine, a source said, and her family has ties to the state. In a follow-up tweet, Rice said: “Many thanks for the encourgement (sic). I’m not making any announcements. Like so many Americans, I am deeply disappointed in Senator Collins’ vote for Kavanaugh. Maine and America deserve better.” Brian Fallon, a former aide to Hillary Clinton who’s the head of a group that aimed to sink Kavanaugh’s nomination, suggested former Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards for the job. “Doesnt @CecileRichards have a home in Maine?” Fallon asked. Richards does in fact own a home in the state. Collins’ speech, where she decried the process to get Kavanaugh’s nomination through the Senate and slammed outside Democratic groups for their actions throughout it, so animated Democrats in Maine that many wasted no time to tout that they were openly considering a run. “I would certainly not rule it out,” Berry, who spent a decade representing rural Maine, told CNN. “There are others who are equally qualified and I would want to look at the whole field before I make a decision, but clearly Sen. Collins made a choice that did not reflect the people of Maine and our values.” Gideon also leaned into a possible run minutes after Collins’ speech wrapped up, posting to her Facebook page that she will consider challenging the Republican. In an interview with CNN afterward, she called Collins’ plan to back Kavanaugh “a final straw” but not the only reason. “I am considering it,” she said. “I have a very important responsibility from now until November 6 to re-elect a Democratic majority (in the Maine House), so I am laser-focused on that in the next four and a half weeks. However, this is something I am seriously considering and once we get past November 6 then I will be really laying out everything and making a decision.” Gideon added: “As a woman, it is absolutely fundamentally tied to my belief about what he will do as a justice on women’s reproductive rights, but further than that, when the testimony of Dr. Ford came out, it really did become something different.” The Maine Republican Party stood firmly behind Collins after her speech, calling the remarks the “gold standard of speeches in explaining her vote and showing how a nominee should be evaluated.” But it seemed shortly after the remarks that Collins’ defense of Kavanaugh invigorated Democrats in the state and nationwide. “This will galvanize Democrats to come together and look for a strong challenger to Sen. Collins,” Joe Baldacci, a former mayor of Bangor, said in an interview. “I think these votes really go to the heart of important progressive issues and how they affect Maine families, and I think this vote will galvanize Democrats in Maine.” One thing was clear after Collins’ speech: Whoever runs will be well funded. As the senator spoke, grass-roots progressive donors poured money – more than $1 million, according to organizers – into an online effort led by the Be A Hero PAC designed to raise money for a potential Democratic challenger. When its Crowdpac site crashed, the group set up an account on Act Blue, another fundraising website, and said it likely crossed the $3 million threshold by the time Collins finished her remarks. Back in 2014, the last time she ran for re-election, Collins spent more than $5.5 million. Her opponent, Democrat Shenna Bellows, raised only $2.4 million. If Collins decided to oppose Kavanaugh, the pledges would have been canceled. But the group’s president, Liz Jaff, said that with Collins’ announcement, “Everybody’s going to get charged tomorrow.” The “Be A Hero” effort had picked up steam, and appeared in headlines, earlier in the confirmation process when Collins derided it as “bribery.” The money, which has been raised legally, is likely to change the early contours of the primary to replace her. “Nobody ever goes in that early, nobody is even thinking about, and what we’ve just done is set it up for a candidate to legitimately have a chance,” Jaff said. “Starting capital for any person running for Senate in Maine hasn’t even been close to what we just raised. So I think what happens is suddenly you will have a bunch of people who say, ‘I could never have raised that money. It’s just going to be too tough,’ are suddenly looking at a pool of capital they could have access to.”<doc-sep>Senator Susan Collins of Maine is not up for reelection until 2020. And she doesn’t even have an opponent yet. But given the Republican senator’s support of Brett Kavanaugh—and her long speech attempting to justify it—whoever runs against her will already have a ton of financial support. The Daily Beast reports a crowdfunding campaign has sprung up against Collins, and in support of whatever Democrat runs against her in 2020. The campaign was started by the groups Maine People’s Alliance and Mainers for Accountable Leadership, alongside activist Ady Barkan. Barkan, who has ALS and makes access to healthcare a key part of his activism, started the campaign back in August in an attempt to sway Collins to vote against Kavanaugh: This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. I may be losing my voice, but I can still send a message, and I have one for @SenatorCollins: If you vote for Kavanaugh we will fund your future opponent for 2020. Vote NO and #StopKavanaugh #BeAHero Pledge $20.20 to this campaign and share it: https://t.co/4HPtATVrXc pic.twitter.com/ZkdI3u57yY — Ady Barkan (@AdyBarkan) August 16, 2018 On Friday afternoon, Crowdpac announced the campaign had raised more than $2 million for Collins’ future Democratic opponent. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. WOW. @AdyBarkan and @mfalpac have officially raised over TWO MILLION for @SenatorCollins future Democratic opponent. Let's keep this movement going ⬇️⬇️⬇️https://t.co/03SPe50yTI — Crowdpac (@Crowdpac) October 5, 2018 Shortly after that—and shortly after her speech wrapped—demand to donate was so high that it crashed Crowdpac’s website. “Senator Susan Collins has people more motivated than we’ve ever seen before,” the site noted on Twitter. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Senator Susan Collins has people more motivated than we've ever seen before. Hold tight, we'll be back shortly. — Crowdpac (@Crowdpac) October 5, 2018 Barkan tweeted for supporters to donate an apt $20.20 through ActBlue in the meantime. This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Well we crashed Crowdpac but we arent stopping pledge $20.20 now here, its over for her: https://t.co/WsijVuUtAJ — Ady Barkan (@AdyBarkan) October 5, 2018 This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>
WASHINGTON - Sen. Susan Collins' announcement Friday that she would vote "yes" on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh likely ended the uncertainty over his confirmation. But while Collins spoke on the Senate floor and explained why she would be voting for Kavanaugh, people angry over her decision were donating cash to defeat her in her next election. More than $50,000 was given over the course of her nearly 45-minute speech, bringing the total raised on an online crowdfunding campaign to defeat Collins in her 2020 election to more than $3 million as of 7 p.m. The campaign by three activists groups, Be A Hero Team, Maine People's Alliance and Mainers for Accountable Leadership, had been criticized by Collins and others over several weeks as a possible attempt to bribe Collins into voting against Kavanaugh. The groups started raising money in August, asking people across the nation to donate to Collins' opponent in an attempt to show her the stark opposition to Kavanaugh. No one has yet filed to run against Collins in 2020. Susan Rice, former President Barack Obama's National Security Adviser and United Nations Ambassador, suggested on Twitter Friday that she could challenge Collins. The donation page, titled "Either Sen. Collins VOTES NO on Kavanaugh OR we fund her future opponent" went down briefly on crowdfunding website crowdpac.com Friday afternoon because of "overwhelming" traffic to the page, Be a Hero said in a statement. The groups are also raising money on the website ActBlue and say in total, between the two the amount has topped $3 million. The groups say donations are coming in every three seconds. More:Sen. Susan Collins a 'yes' on Kavanaugh, drawing anger from protesters and praise from GOP More:Brett Kavanaugh moves towards Supreme Court confirmation after Susan Collins, Joe Manchin pledge support The page has said those donating wouldn't be charged if Collins voted no on Kavanaugh. But on Friday, Collins seemingly put an end to the uncertainty, giving a nearly 45-minute speech on the Senate floor that explained her process and why she'd be voting to confirm him. "Susan Collins has betrayed the people, and especially the women and survivors, of Maine," the campaign organizers said in a statement. "Thousands of Mainers wrote, called, visited, protested, begged and pleaded with Susan Collins to do the right thing - to be a hero - and vote no. She ignored them." The statement continued, "For years she has claimed to be an independent, a different kind of Republican, but today she shattered that facade forever. Her vote will reverberate long after she has left the Senate." The organizers said they were committed to defeating Collins in 2020 and pledged to "never let her forget" this decision. "Maine deserves a Senator who would recoil at the idea of confirming a proven liar, an emotionally unstable partisan, to the Supreme Court," the statement said. "Maine deserves a Senator who will believe survivors, who will listen to their stories, and who will represent them with honor. Susan Collins is no longer capable of that." During her speech on the floor, Collins went through the issues, from Obamacare, same-sex marriage and abortion rights, and said Kavanaugh's record and pledges before Congress were enough to keep her vote. She said Christine Blasey Ford, who alleged Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teens, offered a compelling testimony before Congress, but ultimately no one could vouch for her claims or even remember the party. Collins said the allegations, in her eyes, "fail to meet the 'more likely than not'" standard. She said she believes voting against Kavanaugh without witnesses or proof could start a "dangerous" precedent. "I do not believe that these charges can fairly prevent Judge Kavanaugh from serving on the court," Collins said, adding that her decision should not be "misconstrued as suggesting that unwanted sexual contact of any nature is not a serious problem in this country." A watchdog group asked the Justice Department to investigate the campaign against Collins out of concern the money donated was an attempt to bribe Collins' vote and called it illegal. It's illegal if "the payments are made in return for an explicit promise or undertaking by the official to perform or not to perform an official act," the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) wrote in a letter to the Justice Department.