I am pleased to give you some basic but critical advice in answering the first part of
your question where you specifically ask for political advice and political strategy tips .
However, I am not sure what you mean when in the second part of your question, in which you ask what are some” election voting poll favors.” That is not a term I have heard used in three decades of national
political consulting or managing campaigns. I even tried looking up that phrase on Google and elsewhere and the only answers they had that matched were in regard to which
political poll of voter`s favors in a particular election.
I am hopeful that the advice I provide below, which includes 10 Basic, But Fatal Campaign Mistakes All
Political Candidates Must Avoid is they want to have a chance to win. Feel free to follow-up regarding the second part of your question or about anything else.
I have never used this site and have no idea if you can follow-up or not. However, you can always reach me at
rlee@rogerleegroup.com
Don`t Manage Your Own Campaign
You have heard the legal bromide, 𠇊 lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” The same is true for candidates in even the smallest of campaigns.
The job of a candidate is a fulltime job, with fundraising and meeting targeted voters, often sandwiched around family. A winnable candidate never tries to run his or her own campaign. The candidate is too close to the campaign and too emotionally attached to make good objective strategic decisions.
A wise candidate hires an experienced campaign manager and lets the manager develop and recommend the campaign`s winning strategy. The job of a general campaign consultant or on-site campaign manager is to develop a campaign plan, timeline and budget, based upon research and past voting behavior. Then it is the campaign manager`s responsibility to see that the campaign plan is fully implemented. The manager must also organize, prioritize and support the efforts of the candidate. It`s also a fulltime job. No one can simultaneously do both jobs effectively.
Don`t Lie About Your Record on Your Resume
That means don`t fudge, don`t embellish, and don`t think you won`t get caught. With today`s easy Internet searches, it`s just too risky. Your credibility can only be sacrificed once. The list of politicians whose careers have been ruined by lying about their past is long and ugly.
Don`t Let Friends Create Campaign Materials
A friend who writes ad copy, a graphic artist pal, or a relative who photographs all the family occasions is almost always a bad choice to put in charge of your signs, flyers and brochures. There are exceptions, but very few. Campaign advertising has its own rules, its own requirements, and its own unique purpose. These are not the same as in any other advertising pursuit. If you want effective campaign materials seek out a campaign professional, such as a direct mail consultant.
Don`t Answer “Why Are You Running?”
…until you can do it in no more than three short, simple, coherent sentences. Teddy Kennedy forgot this basic rule in 1980, and destroyed his campaign for President on national television in less than two minutes. If you can`t answer that question effectively, you probably shouldn`t be running.
Don`t Depend On Others To Fundraise for You
For most candidates; asking friends, relatives and strangers for money is the least pleasant aspect of campaigning. But, it is essential -- absolutely necessary. Letters and events won`t work alone. If you can`t ask, don`t run.
Don`t Be Sensitive About Your Press Coverage
So many candidates, even seasoned public officials, are sensitive to what they perceive as negative or insufficient press. That`s understandable, but it is rarely ever because the press has conspired against the candidate.
I used to cover local politics and know dozens of reporters for papers, radio and TV. Trust me, they don`t care about you. If they don`t cover you, it`s because they don`t think you`re news and that`s often true. If you take an attitude towards them, you`re done.
Don`t Expect Too Much from Friends & Family
Your friends and family are probably like most Americans – suspicious and even intolerant of politics. Any help they give is likely out of love and support for you, not for your campaign. Respect that and remember: win or lose, they`re still your friends and family first.
Don`t Rely on Volunteer Committees
This could be rule number one. Volunteer committees don`t have the time, the experience, or even the willingness to make important strategic campaign &decisions. They can however, if unwisely empowered, kill just about everything that the campaign needs; while at the same time create internal dissension or misplaced deliberation.
Don`t Ignore New Strategies & Technologies
Every election cycle, some campaigns develop and effectively use new approaches to voter contact activities that make the difference between winning and losing.
Before the 1982 California governor`s campaign, as before all November General Elections, both major
political parties in California mailed out ‘vote-by-mail” request applications to all of their party`s registered voters in the state. These “request for an absentee ballot” applications had to be filed out by hand and mailed back. Each party usually received about a 3% response rate of return from their voters in the state.
In the 1982 Governor`s campaign between Democrat LA Mayor Tom Bradley and Republican George Deukmejian, the Republican Party used, for the first time ever, an absentee ballot application that was pre-filled out by computers. In addition, they also provided each Republican voter in the state with a postage-paid free reply envelope. All that Republican voters had to do was sign the application and drop it in the mail.
The result was the State Democratic Party still received their usual 3% return of absentee ballot request forms from Democratic voters in the state. But the Republicans, who lost the governor`s race on election night, won the election once the absentee ballots were later counted because with their computerized system the Republican Party received a dramatically increased response rate of nearly 10%.
Obviously technology has advanced dramatically since 1982. But that is not the point. Nearly every year for the past two decades new technologies have been developed that would increase a
political campaign`s chance to win. Especially in recent years, with the development of Web 2.0 technologies, it has been evident to everyone; first with Howard Dean`s presidential bid and last year with the Obama campaign that these advances, if implemented, can become the deciding factor in almost any competitive election.
However, it is important to note it is not just the Internet where new strategies and technologies have been developed and employed; specifically in the past few years campaigns have had the advantage of more efficient and effective door-to-door canvassing methods, new and innovative voter contact strategies, improved ability to target voters more accurately, and much more.
Only a fool of a candidate would not allocate sufficient resources to maximize the use of these new technologies, no matter how well the candidate
Don`t Think What Voters Tell You Is True
For many candidates, what they hear from voters, community leaders, and friends and neighbors is different than what they will be told by their manager, staff, and advisors. Trust the people closest to you and especially the professionals, to whom you pay for their expertise. Their job is to tell you the truth and help you win. The public often tells you what you want to hear or what they want you to believe without regard to its value to your campaign.
-------------------------------------------------
About the Author:
Roger Lee has over two decades of experience in Democratic politics. He has served as an on-site campaign manager, senior
political strategist, field director, GOTV consultant, and national direct mail consultant. Throughout Roger Lee`s career, he has directed or managed
political campaigns from coast-to-coast, from statewide, congressional, state legislative and major city mayoral races.
The winning percentage for all the campaigns Roger has directed or managed is nearly 90%.
Moreover, Roger has served as the direct mail consultant to presidential campaigns, starting with the Clinton-Gore campaign as well as to the DNC`s National Coordinated Campaign on behalf of other presidential campaigns in nearly all of its cycles.
Roger has also served as the direct mail consultant to gubernatorial campaigns, highly competitive congressional and state legislative races. Roger is proud to have won more than two dozen “Pollie Awards” – the Oscars of the
political industry – for his work, from the American Association of
Political Consultants.
In addition to candidate clients, he has worked for Democratic Party Committees as well as for progressive organizations such as the DNC, Democratic Governor`s Association, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Emily`s List, NAACP and NARAL Pro-choice America, among others.
More information is available on Roger`s website
http://www.RogerLeeGroup.com
Corporations
