All those candidates

by | May 25, 2017 | Editor's Blog | 3 comments

Across North Carolina, Democratic candidates are clambering to get into the fray. Even though the election is still almost 18 months away, Democrats have announced their intentions to run in at least five Republican-held Congressional districts. Mark Meadows (NC-11), Virginia Foxx (NC-05), Robert Pittenger (NC-09), David Rouzer (NC-07),Ted Budd (NC-13) and George Holding (NC-02) already have challengers. Others are seriously considering running against Richard Hudson (NC-08), Mark Walker (NC-06), Patrick McHenry (NC-10), and Walter Jones (NC-03).

The number of candidates and likely candidates shows the enthusiasm among Democrats. They’re fired up and ready to take back Congress. That’s good for the party but such early interest also comes with pitfalls.

It’s very early for candidates to be announcing, especially for Congress. Historically, most campaigns begin gearing up in the fall prior to an election year. The campaigns lay ground work and raise a bit of early money and then begin campaigning in earnest in January and February.

Campaigns are marathons, not sprints and candidates need to carefully pace themselves. They also need to monitor their resources because no matter how early they start, the real action is not going to begin until late summer 2018.

Sustaining excitement around a candidacy for a year and half can be difficult. Campaigns are building processes. Most start with little name recognition or organization and put it together over the course election cycle. Candidates need their popularity and enthusiasm to peak just before the election, not in the spring or summer preceding it. They need to be wary of both burnout by the campaign workers and overexposure among activists. Familiarity may not breed contempt but might diminish excitement.

Candidates also need to be wary of spending resources too early. Once a campaign is launched, it starts using money. With campaign contribution limits, money out the door is not easily replaced. At this point in a campaign, candidates should resist hiring much staff and focus primarily on fundraising. Bank the money, don’t spend it. The single best reason to launch a campaign this early is to get a head start on fundraising. If the early money gets spent, the early launch is a wasted effort. Next May or November, very few voters will know if the campaign was started in the spring of 2017 or winter of 2018.

The longest campaign I ever worked was a statewide US Senate campaign. We started laying the ground work in the summer of the odd year and officially launched after Labor Day, 14 months before the General Election. Kay Hagan, the last successful Democratic US Senate candidate, started her campaign in mid-October 2007 and she had a May primary. A Congressional district in North Carolina is roughly 1/13 the size of the state.

The enthusiasm among Democrats is encouraging and seeing candidates is heartening. However, candidates need to pace themselves. They should build slowly and steadily. They should be stingy with their money. Remember, campaigns are about voters and most of them aren’t tuning in anytime soon.

3 Comments

  1. Frank mcguirt

    Thomas, you give good advice. I hope my friend Dan McCready is listening.

  2. I.b. woods

    Who has filed against Holding?

  3. Jay Ligon

    The stakes are very high, and the opposition is extremely committed. The Republicans are aggressively pushing the idea that the richest Americans do not have enough, and the poorest Americans have too much. Let us hope that Democrats will be motivated enough to show up for the mid-terms.

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