Welcome back to the weekly Nuts & Bolts Guide to small campaigns! The old saying is that Republican voters fall in line and Democratic voters fall in love. There is a lot of truth to that statement. Along with that statement, we need to include something else. Voters in general like to hear some positives about your candidate’s accomplishments and reasons why they deserve to be elected.
Occasionally, you can run against the scandal of your opponent. This is not normal, however, and more often you can debate your differences on issues but you also have to offer the voters strong reasons to vote in favor of your candidate. I’m not someone who is shy about using ads that highlight the harsh truth of an opponent—sometimes called “negatives”—because I believe the public deserves to know. I also know that if a Democratic campaign doesn’t offer positives and successes, then our base sits at home on their hands and Republicans march to victory. To boil this down: It is early April. We need to start talking about significant successes.
We are in the middle of an unprecedented boom economy
This is not an April Fools joke. The April jobs report showed something that doesn’t get enough attention: We are in the middle of record job creation.
I want you to think about this: If Republicans had created so many jobs, lowered the unemployment rate to record lows, and cut the deficit by $1 trillion dollars all at the same time, what would they do about it? They would jump up and down and scream from the rooftops about how fantastic leadership from the White House has been.
It is time for Democratic candidates to embrace the narrative that Democratic elected officials deliver for their communities and are bringing home success while repairing problems the Donald J. Trump administration created.
Bringing good jobs to communities
We need to talk about what happened to the American work force and how the Biden administration is effectively managing the changes. The 2008 housing crisis caused by the Bush administration did not end in 2009. It didn’t end anytime soon thereafter. After the 2008 housing crisis, many of the construction workers left their construction jobs and either went back to school or found new lines of work.
During and after the Great Recession—between 2007 and 2011—2 million workers left the construction industry, either retiring or finding more stable work in another industry.
This has led to a new problem with housing: There simply isn’t enough of it. While we may or may not face a cooling down of the housing market, the fact that 99% of homeowners today now have a fixed rate mortgage in comparison to the fiasco of ARMs that took down the market in 2008, combined with a rising population and not enough construction, seems to mean we aren’t likely to see a crash. Instead, construction workers can find new opportunities in the economy that once let them down.
What makes this possible? It is a fact that thanks to strong investments in infrastructure under the Biden administration, more construction work is happening and companies are expanding to new locations around the country.
Intel’s project in Ohio alone will provide 7,000 jobs to construction workers, and when built, 3,000 jobs to Intel employees.
These are great jobs. This is a revitalization of the American economy as we see companies move development into the United States.
Would Republicans be quiet about these successes? No.
We still have a lot to do to motivate our base
This is not to say that we are getting everything we need. Off-year elections for Democratic presidents are difficult. President Barack Obama’s 2010 midterm election cycle looms as the horror story everyone wants to avoid. In order to do that, I believe we must start talking with excitement at every step about accomplishments, and we have to continue to add to the list of accomplishments as the administration moves forward.
Issues the administration can range from student debt forgiveness to environmental policy. With the House and the Senate so divided, the White House may need to go it alone in order to accomplish some of these policies.
I’m not the president—I’m running for a state house or local seat!
While you may not be running for a federal office, you need to motivate your base with some of the same concepts. Talk about what makes you or your candidate an ideal representative. Highlight successes.
Talk about what makes your candidate unique and connects them to the voters they will represent.
Getting our own base excited to vote is important; when we turn out, we win. If we sit at home, we gift the election to Republicans. It is just that simple.