I am currently reading Karl Rove’s book Courage and Consequence and whether you admire or hate the guy, he truly knows how to run a successful campaign. In his book, Rove discusses his eight tenets of a “Rovian” campaign. These tenets or “hallmarks,” as Rove calls them, can assist both the candidate and his grassroots supporters in increasing the likelihood of ultimate success. In 2006 I had a short stint as a state legislative candidate and was completely unaware of these points. So to help others who are involved in a campaign whether they are the candidate or the grassroots supporter, I will provide the eight tenets that Karl Rove has used with amazing success and make some observations of my own focusing generally as well as on the candidate and grassroots supporters specifically. I know that this is an exceptionally long post, but I believe it will be worth your time to read. I wish I had known this when I did my campaign. These tenets can be found on pages 65 and 66 of Courage and Consequence.
Tenet One: “The Campaign must first be centered on big ideas that reflect the candidate’s philosophy and views and that are perceived by voters as important and relevant.”
This is an important part of a campaign when selecting the major issues that will be focused on during the campaign as well as influence campaign strategy and direction. If a candidate doesn’t have this down it can have major consequences on their campaign as it may be viewed as unorganized, the campaign’s message may be confusing to voters, and the issues focused on can seem randomly and haphazardly chosen.
Candidates: Do you have those big ideas? Can you lay them out quickly and clearly to supporters and potential voters? If not, why don’t/can’t you?
Grassroots: Do you know what your candidate’s big ideas are and be able to explain them clearly and quickly to anyone you talk to? If not, ask you candidate what they are? If they don’t know, encourage the candidate to develop them.
Tenet Two: “The campaign needs to be persistent in pursuing this strong, persuasive theme in a way that resonates with what voters know. This requires a campaign to have a clear awareness of the electorate’s attitudes, and its candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of its opponent.”
This is where a candidate and a campaign can get into real trouble. If the research and refining is not correctly done on the issues and message the candidate can have a real difficult time reaching, gaining support of voters, and ultimately being victorious should the message not resonate with the voters. If the theme and the subsequent message supporting it are not focused on the candidate’s strengths it may be viewed as disingenuous, weak, or pandering for votes. If the theme inadvertently falls into an area that is a strong suit of the opponent, this will put the candidate at a disadvantage. One never attacks at a point of strength only at those which are weak.
If a campaign has not analyzed the strength and weaknesses of both the candidate and the opponent, there is an inherent problem that needs to be fixed because the most simple and obvious of research areas has not been done and places the candidate at a disadvantage. This type of research should be done long before a candidate declares their candidacy. Campaigns are difficult enough. There is no reason to add to that difficulty unnecessarily.
Candidates: Does everything you say or print consistent with your overarching theme? Can the average voter look at your literature and speeches and understand your theme? If not, what do you need to change?
Grassroots: Does your candidate’s statements, literature and positions consistent with the candidate’s overall theme of his campaign and is done in an easily understandable way? If not, talk to the candidate with ideas about how to improve their message so they can remain consistent with their theme.
Tenet Three: “The campaign is driven by historical data. Past races can help you understand what might happen in the next.”
This is another area where new candidates don’t do their due diligence (including myself when I ran for State Representative in 2006). The research on what has happened in past elections regarding the office the candidate is seeking isn’t done or, if it is, not done well. Historically mid-term elections have a lower voter turnout then during a presidential election cycle so understanding what mid-terms over the last several cycles look like is very important. What is the turnout for each of the elections? How is it changing? What major shifts in voter behavior towards the parties occurred? This can tell a candidate and the campaign a great deal about what needs to be done and what kind of fight they are in for.
Candidates: Do you know what the numbers look like? How much of a shift do you need in your favor (or your opponent’s) to affect the outcome of the election? What areas do you need to focus on and which ones are safe? Do you share this information with your grassroots supporters so their efforts are focused where they are needed the most? All of these answers should be yes or there needs to be some changes made at the campaign level.
Grassroots: You need to have an idea what these numbers look like as well. Do you live in a safe area for your candidate or do you have a lot of work to do? Are there areas near you that need more work than others? If you don’t know, ask the campaign they should be able to tell you fairly quickly. If they don’t know ask them to find out so you can be as effective to the campaign as possible. No need to expend (waste) efforts in a safe area when a nearby precinct or neighborhood needs a voter shift in your candidate’s favor.
Tenet Four: “The use of sophisticated modeling to identify potential supporters and match them with issues that will persuade and turn them out. All kinds of publicly available information about voters can be used to predict which party or candidate someone will support, what issues will win them over, and the likelihood they will actually vote. There is no piece of data that can predict the behavior of a voter: it’s the relationship between all kinds of data points that can be revealing. Modeling is complex and difficult to do, but it can make a huge impact by allowing a campaign to focus its energies on voters who are truly up for grabs and on those who need extra encouragement to turn out.”
While this can be extremely time consuming for campaign staff and potentially expensive, this is where a campaign can really dial in where their efforts would be best focused. Much of the information can be researched out from the Census Department or general statistics that are publicly available. The cost generally will be getting someone who understands this type of statistical analysis or paying staff to sift through massive amounts of data to glean the necessary information desired. Tenet three gives a broad base of information and generally where to focus. This type of research allows a campaign to not only tailor the message, while keeping in sync with the overarching theme, but also down to a neighborhood level who can be shifted to the candidate’s favor and where efforts may be stymied or less successful. It also will show pockets of support for the opponent and may open up a possibility to pick off a couple of their supporters from time to time.
Candidates: This is where you decide of this level of specificity is worth the effort and cost. In other words, is the cost worth the benefit you will get out of it? If you are in a tight race or are the underdog, it may mean the difference between winning and losing.
Grassroots: You need to have an idea what these numbers look like as well. Ask the campaign if they have this information. If not, maybe this is something you can help collect and compile so the campaign staff can focus on other areas that need attention.
Tenet Five: “The campaign understands that there are right and wrong ways to criticize an opponent. Too many campaigns spend too much time going after their opponents in a scattershot way and on trivial issues.”
Criticism of an opponent, their actions, and their positions is a vital part of any campaign. But it can be done effectively, ineffectively or in a way that makes the campaign look petty and childish. Spending too much time criticizing an opponent can become ineffective and detrimental by causing the dilution of the message the candidate wants and needs to convey. It will also turn off potential swing voters a candidate may need. Be very careful dragging family members into the fray, it will backfire more often than not. Criticism of an opponent should be specifically related to issues relevant to the campaign or the ability of the opponent to effectively do the job. If a clear case cannot be made in this regard, think twice before publicly airing the criticism or a campaign risks the voters backlash or a so what attitude from voters thus again diluting the message.
Candidates: Never criticize in an emotional manner. It will backfire and you will look like the lesser person regardless of the validity of the charge you are making. Always be logical, accurate, and clear on why your opponent needs to be criticized and how it related to the campaign or the opponent’s ability to do the job properly. Don’t criticize just to criticize, it will lose its effectiveness after awhile and can eventually turn on you. Save it for important issues or behaviors for the best impact with voters. When criticizing your opponent, make sure to contrast your positions or behaviors with theirs. Avoid sarcasm at all costs.
Grassroots: When jumping on the bandwagon and criticizing your candidate’s opponent, be clear, deliberate, accurate, and logical. Avoid criticizing from an emotional direction, it very rarely succeeds and generally makes you and your candidate look bad.
Tenet Six: “The campaign has a strategic plan, discipline, and a bias for action. It is structured to keep momentum. Second-guessing, or allowing warring factions to develop inside a campaign, is destructive. A Rovian campaign sets goals and repeatedly checks performance against those goals.”
Having an effective strategy and plan is vital to a campaign’s success. It keeps the campaign going in the right direction and a good plan creates momentum in its implementation. Without a plan there is no direction for the campaign, staff, or grassroots supporters. By not having a plan, stagnation will become innate and the campaign will stall and potentially fail in the end. A lack of a plan can create confusion and frustration among the grassroots supporters making them less motivated and less inclined to help. Without a defined direction a perception that the campaign is adrift and leaderless can appear creating doubts in voters’ minds as to whether the candidate is actually qualified for the position. If the candidate can’t run a campaign, how can they be an effective elected official?
The absence of a plan, discipline, and momentum creates an atmosphere and environment for internal conflicts and power struggles. Everyone will have their ideas of how the campaign should be run and what direction it should be headed in. A good plan will not always deter such conflicts but it will go a long way in keeping them from becoming an issue that needs to be dealt with.
As with any good plan of action, there needs to be goals and performance evaluations. If you don’t know where you are going, how do you know when you get there? By evaluating the performance and accomplishing of goals, a campaign can see what is going well, what is not, and adjust accordingly before it becomes a crisis.
Candidates: Planning and evaluation is paramount to a successful campaign. You need to be meeting with your campaign staff regularly and discussing how the campaign is going. Allow your staff to speak freely and without fear of recrimination so you can get a clear picture of what is going on with the day to day efforts of the campaign. Trust your grassroots people when they come to you with a concern about your campaign plan. They are your eyes and ears on the ground. Be willing to make necessary changes to the plan when something in it doesn’t work.
Grassroots: If you see something that isn’t working say something. However, do it in a way that is constructive and always have a potential solution or two on how to fix the problem to offer up as well. Don’t get discouraged if your advice is not heeded. Maybe there is something there that you don’t know about and a change in the plan is not possible.
Tenet Seven: “The campaign depends on the broadest possible use of volunteer-friendly technology. Have enormous respect for and utilize Net Nerds, Applications Junkies, Tech Heads, and Data Dudes.”
Technology has become a vital part of campaigns. Ignoring it can prove fatal. Along with using technology in the campaign office, social media is becoming a growing factor in elections as well where a campaign’s presence is quickly becoming mandatory. Gone are the days where a campaign website was sufficient. Now a serious campaign needs to be on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at the very least. But a presence alone is not enough. Tech savvy voters want up to the minute information regarding the campaign, the candidate engaged in the conversation, and easily sharable posts. With the majority of people embracing and spending a great deal of time involved in social media activities, a poorly organized social media effort can be detrimental to a campaign. Such an effort by a campaign can be viewed as old-fashioned, out of touch, and not a serious contender. Done correctly, a social media effort can reach more potential voters than could have been done previously. It also gives an air of sophistication and legitimacy to even the poorest and smallest of campaigns providing the opportunity of bringing in new supporters.
Candidates: Beware. Ignoring or half-baking your social media efforts should be done at your own risk and peril. Make sure you spend some time each day personally joining in the conversation on your social media sites. Answer questions, comment on other’s comments, thank supporters, etc. Spending a little of your scarce time here can have enormous benefits.
Grassroots: Another area to get involved in. If a campaign you are working with and supporting is lacking in realm of social media, offer your assistance to get it up and running smoothly. If the campaign is already heavily involved in this area, create your own independent effort to support the campaign. Start a Facebook page or group either by yourself or with other showing support for your favorite candidate to help get the word out. Keep it classy and above board. Sarcastic or inappropriate comments about the opponent will have negative effects on the campaign you are supporting regardless if what you say is true or not (remember tenet five). Just make sure that you are very clear whether the page/group is affiliated with the campaign or not.
Tenet Eight: “The campaign is focused on collecting three vital resources: knowledge and information for the candidate; volunteers to persuade and get out the vote; and the money to make the other elements of the campaign possible.”
What more is there to say here? Information, volunteers, and money are the lubricants of a great campaign. A campaign needs all three to be successful.
Candidates: There is no reason you should find out about a major event that directly affects your campaign or the office you are running for from an outside source. Your staff, or a very select group of grassroots supporters, should be doing the research, watching the various media outlets, and notifying you of anything you need to know ASAP.
You should have a staffer whose sole job is to coordinate and organize grassroots supporters into an efficient asset for your campaign. Without an organized and motivated grassroots organization you and your staff will work yourselves to death doing okay in many areas without doing great in a few. There are many areas where grassroots supporters can take the pressure off of you and your staff. Let them!
Money is the root of all campaigns. With plenty of it much can be done with media buys, mailings, professionally printed literature, and additional staff. Without it, it will be much more difficult to get the word out effectively, have/run a campaign office, and many other activities will be curtailed or non-existent. While successful campaigns have been done on the cheap, money always makes it easier to do. Whether you like it or not, as candidate, you will spend a great deal of time dialing for dollars in an attempt to obtain as much funding as possible.
Grassroots: You should be involved in all three of these areas. This is where you will be the campaign’s biggest asset. Just find out where the campaign needs assistance in these areas and get to work.
Regardless of how you feel about Karl Rove, these tenets make complete sense and should only be ignored at the candidate’s own risk. A candidate should be willing to take advice and effective strategies from wherever they can find them and grassroots supporters can be involved and use many of the same principles and strategies that the campaign they support uses. Go forth, fight well, and be successful.
Posted via email from Conservative Dynamics
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