It’s another Saturday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a Saturday Diary of Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic Campaign. Each week, we discuss issues that help drive successful campaigns, and once a month we look into “Horrible mistakes you should avoid” (last Saturday of a month). If you’ve missed prior diaries, please visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide.
Our candidate, Jessica Jones, is busy making her run for state senate. When she originally announced her run, launched her media, and began recruiting volunteers and staff, there was no one else interested in the race. With two weeks before filing day, though, Jessica received a bit of unwelcome information: someone else filed to run for state senate within her district. Now, instead of planning for the general election, Jessica needs to think about how she is going to approach a primary challenge.
Many Democrats see a primary challenge as a near doomsday threat. Some Democrats will tell you the primary challenge divides limited party resources, stops the state and county parties and many PACs from getting involved, and it could result in a candidate they do not want. More than once during a campaign, I hear the pitch, “Is there any way you can talk to XYZ and get them to drop out before the filing deadline?”
In most cases, the answer is no. People are free to decide to run, and you, as a candidate, have no control over it. Rather than lament about why your primary opponent should drop out, it is time for Jessica Jones to realize there is only one certain way to get her opponent to drop out, prevail in a primary.
Who Is Your Opponent?
Some of the tools we’ve discussed here in regards to your general election opponent are just as important in a primary race. You should begin your primary race by handling your opposition research. Why is your opponent running? What issues are they running on?
If Jessica’s state senate race did not start with an open field of numerous Democratic candidates, a last minute, low-budget candidate is often the most common primary opponent she will face. Understanding why her opponent is running and what issues motivate her opponent is a good place to start.
Sarah Smith, Jessica’s campaign manager, has a list of the issues Jessica’s primary opponent has taken on Facebook, social media, and the opponent’s own website. There are some differences, but as a late filer, Jessica’s opposition, likely, does not have enough time to define themself. This is why Jessica began working on her campaign early.
If your opponent is in fact, a recent Republican coming over to meddle, your campaign will take a very different approach, in comparison to a life-long Democrat who is agitated about one specific issue.
So, That Fundraising Thing..
Throughout the series, I have talked about the importance of early fundraising. Well, early and successful fundraising is certainly a way to keep a primary opponent from ever joining the race, but early and successful fundraising also insulates you against a last-minute challenge.
If your fundraising has been successful, individuals within your county party and affiliated organizations will definitely be aware of it. This makes gathering recruits and institutional support, even without their direct endorsement, far easier.
This is why your campaign cannot be lazy; an active, aggressive early campaign is certainly a way to prevent last minute challenges, but an early campaign also leaves you in a position to easily prevail in a primary, if a challenger emerges.
Don’t Moan About It. Work Harder
A primary opponent is not a reason to complain, despair or quit. If you have ever asked a Democrat to run a primary campaign against another Democrat, sometimes with good reason, you cannot despair at the idea you might face a primary for a state level race.
Instead of embracing despair, use a primary opponent as a tool for your campaign. A primary opponent can be the catalyst to help raise your name ID and encourage campaigns to work harder. A primary opponent may help motivate volunteers, friends and others to get more actively involved in your campaign and to work harder to help you win.
Set Your Goals
While you may have a primary opponent, keep your focus on using your primary campaign to continue your field plan aimed at a turnout against your opponent. Democratic candidates with primary opponents may divide their voter base. In a general election, they figure, they must motivate low and mid-propensity voters in order to prevail, but in a primary they assume the secret is to focus on high-propensity voters only.
Depending on how you feel in your campaign, this is a good chance to test your strategy to make sure voters use advanced voting, early voting, absentee voting or other strategies used to motivate low and mid-propensity voters.
If you have done good legwork over the last few months, with your ongoing campaign, do not change to focus entirely on high-propensity voters. Yes, you may pay special attention to it, but use your primary opponent as a means by which to test your campaign’s ability to chase the ballots of low and mid-propensity voters. This will allow you to test how well those efforts are working out for you, and identify how you can be stronger in a general election.
Final Thoughts
We focused this week on a last-minute challenger. Late this summer, we are going to have a different series on another candidate--a Democrat who is running an insurgent campaign, as a challenger to an incumbent Democrat.
Jessica Jones, though, is a candidate who has already assembled a well-managed campaign, and she is looking toward the fall, when a last minute filer jumped in. Making sure she does not panic, and she continues to run her race from a position of strength is important.
Jessica enters a primary challenge with a well-thought-out campaign, already significantly ahead of her last-minute opponent in fundraising and campaign awareness. Rather than panic at the idea of a newcomer into the race, Jessica needs to evaluate this as a hurdle she will work hard to clear, on her way to the general election.
Next Week: Let’s Do Field The Right Way. (With Videos!)
Nuts & Bolts: Building Democratic Campaigns
Contact the Daily Kos group Nuts and Bolts by kosmail (members of Daily Kos only).
Every Saturday this group will chronicle the ins and outs of campaigns, small and large. Issues to be covered: Campaign Staffing, Fundraising, Canvass, Field Work, Data Services, Earned Media, Spending and Budget Practices, How to Keep Your Mental Health, and on the last Saturday of the month: “Don’t Do This!” a diary on how you can learn from the mistakes of campaigns in the past.
You can follow prior installments in this series HERE.