Yesterday, Vermont congressional candidate Deb Markowitz kicked off her campaign, telling supporters exactly why she decided to run for governor:

"I am ready to lead this state, and together, with lots of energy, lots of smarts, lots of hard work and a little luck, we can jump-start Vermont, change Montpelier, grow jobs and build a strong future for our children."

Deb, who has served as Vermont's secretary of state since 1998, told supporters she understands the challenges facing the state , and she's ready to get down to business to create new jobs and help struggling Vermont families. With her trademark smile, as the Burlington Free Press noted, Deb said her experience and dedication make her the best candidate for the job. And based on comments from event attendees, other Vermonters are in agreement.

"We've known Deb for 10 years, and we are so impressed with her leadership. She is someone we can completely trust," supporter Christine Zachai told the Free Press.

Recent polling has shown Deb is the Democrat in the race best positioned to beat the GOP's candidate, current Lieutenant Governor Brian Dubie. But with 5 candidates in the primary race, Deb will need all our support to get her message out to voters and put this seat in Democratic hands.

Click here to make a direct and immediate contribution to Deb Markowitz today!

We told you earlier that Linda Chavez-Thompson won her primary for lieutenant governor in Texas, and we wanted to make sure you knew about our other big Political Opportunity Program victories from this week.

Loretta Haldenwang, who won the Democratic nomination for Texas state House district 105, soundly defeated her primary opponent and came out with a win. Next up for Loretta is a three-way race against the incumbent, GOP state Rep. Linda Harper Brown, and a Libertarian candidate, Cecil Ince. Loretta is fresh off a decisive primary win, but the general election is shaping up to be a competitive contest. We'll keep you updated as her race develops.

And in Virginia, Eileen Filler-Corn won a special election to fill the vacant seat in House district 41. Eileen came out on top in an extremely tight race, winning with just 37 votes over her Republican opponent, Kerry Bolognese. This is a tough swing district -- but Eileen put together a winning campaign and got her message out to voters.

Congratulations to all our POP candidates on their exciting wins!

Newly endorsed House candidate Karen Bass is off and running in California. Earlier this week, Karen picked up a key endorsement from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Villaraigosa's support comes on the heels of endorsements from retiring incumbent Cong. Diane Watson and Cong. Maxine Waters (CA-35).

Here's what Villaraigosa had to say about Karen at the event at Los Angeles' City Hall:

“We need representation in the Congress that understands the needs of this city, the complexities of this city, the diversity of the city, and no one that I know truly understands those complexities, the diversity, the need for a fair share of resources like Karen Bass."

Karen is in a prime position to fill this Democratic-leaning seat, and we couldn't be more excited for her. But she's already drawn two primary opponents, and this won't be a clear path to victory.

You can help make sure Karen's campaign keeps running strong by making a contribution today!

Florida's Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, announced an initiative earlier this week to make sure the state's veterans know about and have access to the benefits available to them.

The program, "Florida Connects Vets," aims to make sure the 1.7 million veterans in the state are part of the Veteran Administration's database of former service members, making sure they're informed of the resources designed for them. Currently, only 700,000 of the state's vets are in the database. And, according to the St. Petersburg Times, an estimated $1 billion in veterans' benefits go unclaimed by Floridians.

Here's what Alex, the daughter of WWII Marine veteran, had to say about the program:

"This is the perfect example of how we can work together across departments to get more done, and at no extra cost to taxpayers.... These brave men and women deserve our respect and gratitude, and they deserve to know about all the benefits they can access. We need to take care of them when they come home."