Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Providing your voters a guide

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Friday January 13, 2023 · 6:08 AM PST

2023/01/13 · 06:08

Welcome to Nuts & Bolts, a guide to Democratic campaigns. I’ve helped write this series for years using information from campaign managers, finance directors, field directors, trainers, and staff, responding to questions from Daily Kos Community and staff members, and addressing issues that are sent to me via kosmail through Daily Kos.

Can you imagine a world without tour guides? I want you to step back from yourself and imagine a world where no one is available to tell you what you are looking at, what it means, and where you should go next. For a short while, it might be okay, but it wouldn’t take too long before confusion sets in and you would get lost. We rely on guides and recommendations in our daily life to determine where we would go to eat, who might be a good mechanic, what kind of car to buy, the latest game to buy or movie to watch. At any point this last week, did you go to a website like Yelp, Google Reviews, RottenTomatoes, or look up a review video on YouTube? If you did, it means you were busy consulting a guide that could help give you information about the process. How can guides help us in the process of electing more Democratic candidates?

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Friday January 13, 2023 · 6:08 AM PST

2023/01/13 · 06:08

Welcome to Nuts & Bolts, a guide to Democratic campaigns. I’ve helped write this series for years using information from campaign managers, finance directors, field directors, trainers, and staff, responding to questions from Daily Kos Community and staff members, and addressing issues that are sent to me via kosmail through Daily Kos.

Retirements are a part of the political process. Some members of Congress retire early, deciding to go home or that they have done their service. Others serve lifetimes. People can leave their statehouse or local elected office because of family issues or because they might need to leave their own district. It really doesn’t matter how someone retires; when they do, it creates an immediate surge of interest in who will run for an open seat.

Because this series focuses on small races that do not often get the attention they deserve, I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about the U.S. Senate or House—you can find great consultants who can help you. But let’s talk about what retirement can mean for a statehouse or local elected official.

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Friday January 13, 2023 · 6:07 AM PST

2023/01/13 · 06:07

Your campaign is getting started and you are looking to make a splash. You have your fundraising in order, your messaging, a candidate you like. Your party is with you, and your volunteers are taken care of, along with a great general plan of issues you want to discuss in the election.

Then, out of nowhere, Republicans nominate someone who spends time debating werewolves vs. vampires, and has so many issues in their closet that they must have decided to buy the house just for the double walk-ins. What do you do when you are faced with a clown candidate?

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Sunday November 13, 2022 · 3:34 PM PST

2022/11/13 · 15:34

MIAMI, FL - NOVEMBER 08: Employees of the Miami Dade County of elections department begin counting mail in ballots on November 8, 2022 in Miami, Florida. After months of candidates campaigning, Americans are voting in the midterm elections to decide close races across the nation. (Photo by Saul Martinez/Getty Images) — Ballots being received and processed

Welcome to Nuts & Bolts, a guide to Democratic campaigns. I’ve helped write this series for years using information from campaign managers, finance directors, field directors, trainers, and staff, responding to questions from Daily Kos Community and Staff members, and addressing issues that are sent to me via kosmail through Daily Kos.

Hundreds of thousands of ballots are rejected every election cycle because of small errors. These are not traditional problems like overvoting or undervoting, but more often linked to simple rejection because of signature mismatch or even returned in a stained letter. There are lots of things that can trip a rejection of a ballot. In many states, there is a practice that allows voters to cure their ballot. Because ballot curing allows for better participation in elections, it is fitting we find ways to cure ballots when it is possible.

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Sunday August 14, 2022 · 4:55 PM PDT

2022/08/14 · 16:55

Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) listens to Dr. Philip Nathan Jefferson, of North Carolina, nominated to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on February 3, 2022. (Photo by KEN CEDENO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by KEN CEDENO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) — Senator Warnock

Welcome to Nuts & Bolts, a guide to Democratic campaigns. I’ve helped upkeep this series for years, using information from campaign managers, finance directors, field directors, trainers, and staff, responding to questions from Daily Kos members, and addressing issues that are sent to me via kosmail through Daily Kos.

This week I’m taking on a tough subject. It is something that has a lot of disagreement and concludes with an unfortunate reality. When you decide to run for office, and when you are serving in office, you are going to face a lot of negative things being said about you, in the press, in mail pieces, and to your face. It can be very emotionally draining. While your followers and supporters don’t have to deal with it, you, as a candidate, are expected to toughen up to some extent and turn these moments around to your strength.

Christopher Reeves for Nuts and Bolts The Guide to a Democratic Campaign

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Saturday August 06, 2022 · 3:00 PM PDT

2022/08/06 · 15:00

Welcome to Nuts & Bolts, a guide to Democratic campaigns. For years, this series has responded to the questions of our community and offered up the opinions, insight, and learned lessons from campaign workers and executive directors all over the country. These lessons can offer us insight into how to avoid mistakes, how to make the best choices with the resources we have in a campaign, and how to win.

This week, I get to take on a subject I love so much that, as I write this story, my smile is nearly ear to ear and my eyes are probably glistening. What is it like to prove people wrong and feel the joy afterward?

Here in Kansas, we’ve been a part of this more than once over the last few years:

Electing the first Native American Woman to U.S. Congress—yes, only an hour ahead of Deb Haaland’s historic appointment to the Department of the Interior, but we’ll take it.
Electing Governor Laura Kelly on the same night.
This week, Kansas rocked the nation by defeating an anti-choice amendment—and we didn’t just defeat it, we demolished it.

Proving people wrong isn’t always about winning huge battles or an election; proving people wrong in an election can be breaking turnout models, changing the goals for counties and districts, and moving the needle when people tell you it is impossible. Ready to talk about breaking the impossible?

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Monday August 01, 2022 · 4:32 PM PDT

2022/08/01 · 16:32

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 6: Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams speaks during the annual North America's Building Trades Union's Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton Hotel on April 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. North America's Building Trades Union's is a labor organization representing more than 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) — Stacey Abrams.

It’s another Saturday, so for those who tune in, welcome to a diary discussing the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. If you’ve missed out, you can catch up anytime: Just visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide. It’s been a while since I’ve tackled a problem subject—highlighted with the Aargh!—something that can completely damage a campaign, an unforced error you should absolutely avoid.

This week I want to take on some unforced errors that will absolutely make you persona non grata for quite a while, because these errors will be seen by candidates and senior staff as unforgivable. Some errors extend beyond just causing the campaign a headache. Some errors speak to your level of attention, your care in helping a campaign, and your willingness to hurt a campaign if you feel it might help yourself. Do you want to see behind the curtain to the kind of mistakes that won’t just get you fired but will cause you to find yourself on the sidelines for a long, long time? Let’s talk about it.

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Monday August 01, 2022 · 4:04 PM PDT

2022/08/01 · 16:04

Former US president Jimmy Carter (R) and his wife Rosalynn applaud a villager at the tsunami-devastated village of Thachatchai in Thailand's southern Phuket province, 01 November 2006. Carter and his wife met with members of the fishing community in southern Thailand where 96 houses were rebuilt or repaired by the home-building organization and the villagers after the 2004 deadly tsunami. AFP PHOTO/ Saeed KHAN (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP) (Photo by SAEED KHAN/AFP via Getty Images) — Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter are the epitome of good campaigners.

Welcome to Nuts & Bolts, a guide to Democratic campaigns. When you think about Democratic campaigns, we think of successful campaigns, big and small, the efforts that went into them, and the work put in by the campaign staff and volunteers. We want to remember the blood, sweat, and tears that were poured out in support of a candidate—and the victory speech on election night.

In many cases, all over the country, candidates enter a race knowing they have no statistical shot of winning before the race begins. They run anyway because they want to give Democratic voters a chance to pull the lever and signal their opposition to what is happening. They want to show that a district isn’t 100% Republican. They work hard for their campaigns to train staff, to learn the realities of a campaign, and they help campaigns up and down the ballot by turning out voters in their districts who otherwise might not vote.

In some districts, Democratic voters feel as though their vote just doesn’t matter since they never elect a representative. But after redistricting, there are opportunities to talk to them again and ask them to turn up and see what has changed. We can talk to voters about why supporting downballot candidates is meaningful and how it can help a candidate for governor, senate, or the house of representatives. These are noble and lofty goals, and we should support the candidates who take on this task. Still, we also have to sit down with them and say, “Please, for your own sake and sanity, don’t make these mistakes.”

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Friday July 15, 2022 · 6:48 AM PDT

2022/07/15 · 06:48

Welcome to Nuts & Bolts, a guide to Democratic campaigns. Over the years, with the help of campaign staff, managers, volunteers, and organizations, I’ve worked to compile some of the best practices that have come from campaigns in the past. While many of the great campaign approaches will be well found in campaign training programs (which I encourage anyone to take if they’re campaigning), Nuts & Bolts is geared more toward an outsider’s point of view regarding local elections.

We are fresh off of the 4th of July holiday and headed into the race to November. For many small races, campaigns have summer moments: 4th of July, Labor Day, county fairs, city parades, and major community activities. When you are running a smaller campaign, reaching out to the community means taking advantage of every single moment to gain visibility. This week, let’s talk about taking the show on the road and making the most of your travel.

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

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Friday July 15, 2022 · 6:47 AM PDT

2022/07/15 · 06:47

How often have you heard Harry S. Truman’s phrase: “The most important job I ever held was that of precinct committeeman”? If you are involved in local and state politics, you may have heard this phrase quite often. Depending on who you ask within the Democratic establishment, precinct committee persons can be incredibly important or of very little consequence. What made Truman believe the position was important? How do we make a position like a precinct committee officer meaningful?

In this series, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about how to staff someone else running for office. This week, let’s talk about a race where even laypeople can put themselves on the ballot and make changes for a better Democratic party.

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

Community

Friday July 15, 2022 · 6:47 AM PDT

2022/07/15 · 06:47

This week is rough, and many of us are reeling at the changes our country faces at the hands of an unelected Supreme Court. Despite holding the other elements of the government, the legislature, and the presidency, that does nothing to stop the wealthy few in robes, five of whom were appointed by Republican senators representing less of the U.S. population than Democrats do, and presidents who didn’t even win the popular vote. When we look at our campaigns this fall, how exactly do we address Roe v. Wade? What does the fall of Roe mean to the November elections, and how do campaigns bring this discussion to voters and turn out our base and people who don’t always vote?

This week in Nuts and Bolts, we need to talk about justified anger, and how to find a way for voters to channel their displeasure into votes, votes in their state that can make a huge difference in preventing this nightmare from expanding.

Christopher Reeves for Daily Kos

Community

Friday July 15, 2022 · 6:47 AM PDT

2022/07/15 · 06:47

UNITED STATES - MAY 19: Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore., conducts a news conference at the House triangle to push for repeal of the country-of-origin labeling (COOL) requirements for meat products, May 19, 2015. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images) — Kurt Schrader

This week in Nuts & Bolts, we get to tackle a subject that has left decent candidates facing a double-edged attack: What happens when party members, former incumbents, turn on Democratic candidates and refuse to support them? More importantly, what happens if these same party members go on to endorse Republicans or denounce Democrats?

Oregon residents are currently facing this with Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader, but the same has held true in places like Nebraska, where Brad Ashford refused to back Kara Eastman after he was defeated in a primary to recapture his seat.

What do you do if you are on a campaign and discover that prior electeds—or even current electeds—in other seats decide that they don’t want to help because they view you as too progressive, too young, or upset that you may have prevailed in a primary? Let’s get down to it!

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Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Providing your voters a guide

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Retirements

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Take advantage of bad candidates

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: what is ballot curing?

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Toughen up

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: There is a special joy in proving people wrong

Nuts & Bolts: Aargh! How to make sure you never work in a Democratic campaign again

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Please don't make these mistakes

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Taking the show on the road

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Precinct committee races

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: Stripping health care must have consequences

Nuts & Bolts—Inside a Democratic campaign: When the past won't move out of the way