Welcome back, Saturday Campaign D-I-Y’ers! For those who tune in, welcome to the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. Each week, we discuss issues that help drive successful campaigns. If you’ve missed prior diaries, please visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide.
We’ve been following our fictional candidate, Jessica Jones, as her campaign moves through the election cycle in her efforts to win a state Senate seat. A few weeks ago, Jessica completed her primary. It was a last minute primary challenge, but still one that she took seriously and worked hard to win.
This week, we’re going to be talking about kumbaya—how to build a bridge with your primary opponent and work to win a general election.
Before we get to the points here, realize every race is different. People are free to decide whether or not they want to run and they may do so for many reasons. They may have a specific cause or piece of legislation they believe in that drives their campaign. They may have chosen to run because they believed they would be a better candidate. They could also choose to run because they just don’t like you.
Not every situation can be fully resolved; but in order to be the most effective with the general election audience in a few months, you need to work to make sure those voters who didn’t vote for you in a primary election come home and vote for you in the fall.
Before You Break Bread, Find the Issues.
After a break post-primary, your candidate or staff will want to arrange a meeting between the candidate and their primary opponent. Unless the race was especially ugly, the candidate should thank them for their efforts in their race and be gracious in victory. Jessica Jones faced an opponent who chose to run because they believed they would be a better candidate than her. They were older and had run for office before, though unsuccessfully. Meeting with her primary opponent, Jessica Jones goes out of her way to thank her opponent for her service.
Before Jessica took that meeting, however, her staff worked to make sure she had seen the content used by her opponent in a primary to try to win the race. Her opponent likely focused on specific items or policy statements, and these items will shape the discussion between them.
Even though the race is over, the issues your opponent campaigned on do not go away. Understanding what helped drive the voters for your primary opponent is a big part of making a solid approach to your former rival.
Significant donors and support? You need them.
Having your opponent endorse you is a nice touch to help unify your efforts for the fall. Just as important is identifying the donors and support staff that worked to give Jessica’s primary opponent a chance in the race.
Now, here is where we have to note something important. If Jessica Jones’s primary opponent had no campaign to speak of, and they didn’t break 25 percent and raised no money, then you can take most of this diary and boil it all down to a meeting over lunch, if you feel like it.
But Jessica Jones opponent raised real money into her primary fight, and she had some support within the party thanks to her runs for office in the past. So, Jessica needs to reach out to the staff and support that her opponent had and she needs to pitch them for their support in the general election.
People who donated money or sweat equity into a primary are the party activists you need on your side if you want to prevail in the fall. Reaching out to them and discussing their issues helps to unify them behind your efforts. That alone makes this a worthwhile investment of the campaign’s time.
Ok, here’s the what if…
The best case scenario is to unify your party behind you now that you are a general election candidate. If your opponent, however, resists all attempts to try and meet to help unite in hopes of a general election, don’t force it. Move on.
In some cases, a primary opponent can be a crank. It happens. If your primary opponent is uninterested in helping to promote the party after the primary election, your campaign needs to hum a favorite melody, grab something to drink, and move on.
In cases where the primary opponent doesn’t want to help, don’t dwell on it. Move on.
Final Thoughts
Building a plan to unify your support is important if you want to have the best shot in the general. The majority of people in a democratic primary will naturally unify. The reason is simple: even if they liked your opponent more than you, they agree with your democratic positions far more than the Republican opponent.
In state house and state senate races, you’ll find a lot of constituents know your candidate personally. They may bump into them at a grocery store or have seen them at a community event. Showing your constituents you are prepared to try and unify your party through respect can go a long way.
Next week is the end of the month. As always, on the last weekend of the month, we offer the AARGH! series, on mistakes you should avoid, along with the main Nuts & Bolts on best practices.
On Nuts & Bolts: Community Forums & Debates!
On Nuts & Bolts AAARGH (late afternoon): You wasted money on that? Gimmicks.