You lost, What Now?

Don't despair. You put yourself out there and ran a good race. I've been there myself, many times. It can be demoralizing, but it helps to pick yourself up and think about the next time.

First take a look at some of these contributing factors to losing races. Of course, sometimes you are just outspent or out-campaigned. (Running against an incumbent is especially hard, no matter how accomplished you are.) They may help in your next outing.

1. Did you have a consultant? A good consultant can help you position yourself by identifying key issues for you to distinguish yourself from the field, targeting voters, so you mail only to those most likely to vote in your election and creating a good image and message for you to use throughout the campaign. She can also help you see pitfalls and obstacles that you need to overcome.

2. Did you run against an incumbent and fail to tell the voters what he was doing wrong? It's hard to run against an incumbent. They have name recognition and that all-important "I" beside their name on the ballot. You need to tell the voters why they should fire him and hire you. If there's no problem, it will be that much harder to win, without spending a lot more money and doing some "out of the box" thinking.

In a first time college board race for an unknown in a race with three incumbents, our candidate did just that, she outspent the rest, pointed out the real issues that were keeping the school from being its best and made sure her message was heard, in mail, on TV and on the web. She came in first in a 5 way race.

3. Is your material too wordy? The old saying "A picture is worth a thousand words" works in politics too. Show, don't tell. People will not read your long list of accomplishments in paragraph format, but they will pay attention to eye-grabbing graphics, headlines and bullet points. Of course make sure everything you say is relevant and important enough to hold their attention until they get into the voting booth.

4. Did you spend your money on signs and bumper stickers, instead of another piece of mail or handouts for a few more precincts? Signs and other campaign "swag" are fine if you can afford them, but make sure you have the bases covered first. The voting public must see your name and attach it to your message several times before it sticks. Just having the most signs is not enough. 
What you stand for, what you'll do for them, is what the voters want to know. Tell them, repeatedly, succinctly and graphically.

5. Did you make the most common mistake of all, not raising money? No one likes to ask for money. But remember without it, you will not be able to get your message to the voters. You don't need to have the most money, but you need enough to be viable. Practice with your friends and family, talk to other candidates who've run and won and start early, before the next race gets off the ground.

If you do these few simple things, you will be in a much better position the next time you run.

                                                             Candidate practicing her "Stump" speech

Mistakes Campaign Consultants Make

Are you in the biz?  Or are you looking for a campaign consultant for that new campaign (The season is fast upon us.) Either way. here are some timely tips you should know  - as a manager/consultant or someone looking to hire one.

I’m always harping on mistakes candidates make, not raising money or hiring consultants, campaigning by committee, ignoring advice they paid for. I could go on and on.

But there are lots of mistake campaign consultants and managers make also.  Here are just a few of the top ones I’ve observed in others and, if I’m being honest, in myself from time to time:

1.      Don’t push your client to raise money.  No candidate likes to make fundraising calls. They’ll do anything to get out of it – wash the dog, babysit their neighbor’s cat, anything. You need to push them to sit down and pick up the phone. Write them a script. Make call lists or have a volunteer or staffer do it.  In a large campaign, a  professional fundraiser is a must.  And don’t forget that the candidate’s family and friends should be first on the list, right after the candidate herself.

2.      Don’t ensure they have minimal staff and/or competent passionate volunteers to do the crucial work on managing the elements of the campaign. Even the small down ticket race needs a few good people at a minimum to see that the following tasks get done:.

a.      Data base and volunteer coordination.

b.      Field management. Getting the volunteer out in the “hood” walking and on the phone talking.

c.       Holding the candidate’s hand through the fundraising process and dealing with the day to day stressers of campaign life

d.      Keeping track of the bank account and filing the appropriate campaign finance reports accurately and on time.

3.      Don’t research your own client.  If you don’t know the skeletons in the closet, you will not be prepared to deal with them when they are inevitably surfaced by the opposition or the press. This was recently graphically illustrated in a Congressional race in which a newcomer to the district, with a history of failed businesses she touted as giving her “experience creating middle class jobs,” turned out to have a suspect relationship with a “pay-to-pray Guru.” Besides that she had at best a spotty voting history. Once these facts were outed by the opposition, the campaign was doomed despite her strong lead in fundraising.

4.      Similarly, don’t research the opponents. If you don’t look, you may not find.  In the above case, some deep digging and use of the internet’s “wayback machine” brought up several “removed” blog posts which showed an individual whose new age platitudes were exposed, as well as her disdain for knowledge of the sort that is crucial to the day to day world of a Congressperson.   The failed businesses which also turned out to be outsourcing to China, belied her self-proclaimed business acumen and claims of creating hundreds if not thousands of middle class jobs.  Despite nearly a million dollars in the bank, and an assured campaign patter, these became her undoing and she finished a dismal fourth.   

5.      Don’t Plan and Get Buy in on the Plan by the Candidate. If you don’t plan how the campaign is t run, the strategy, the tactics, fundraising, messaging, when and how to release the message, and get buy-in from the candidate, you could be in for a rocky ride.  Money will run short, tempers will flare, no one will be available to approve last minute mailers or ads. 

6.      Don’t prep your candidate for debates, endorsement meetings and other face to face encounters with voters. Some candidates are naturally outgoing and personable, others not so much. Know which one you have and how to help them maximize their strong points to good advantage while minimizing some negatives.  While it’s great to be outgoing and friendly, you need to make sure the candidate isn’t hogging all the time in public meetings, or staying too long at one door while precinct walking.  He needs to know with whom he is speaking and tailor his presentation accordingly without going off message.  A shy candidate will need practice promoting herself. Makes sure someone on the campaign team helps them with their presentation and gets friendly faces in the crowd to bolster their confidence.

Of course there are many more tips, but this list should get us all thinking and working toward providing the best service we can. After all, the candidate has paid you good money and needs to rely on your good advice. Makes sure you can give it with confidence.

This article was published in Down Ticket Dems  a great site with lots of tips for the local campaign