How does a Democratic Senate candidate running in a conservative state in 2014 try to win? There are many strategies, from Louisiana’s incumbent senator Mary Landrieu emphasizing her ties to the energy industry to Michelle Nunn of Georgia running as a business-friendly moderate willing to work with Republicans. Behind the various strategies is an underlying principle: These Democrats should distance themselves as far as possible from their unpopular party and its head, the increasingly unpopular Barack Obama. The goal is to convince red-state voters that you’re not one of those Democrats.

Even so, it’s tough to raise campaign cash from Democratic donors when you’re touting your oil-and-gas bona fides or saying you’ll reach across the aisle. That explains why the campaigns of five Democrats, including four from Republican-heavy states, have created a joint fundraising committee with one stated goal: keeping the Senate blue. In fact, it’s in the organization’s name.