When it comes to public policy, elections have consequences. And when it comes to elections, WINNING is all that matters. Not your opinion, the candidate’s opinion or the Party’s opinion.

It should go without saying, but it still needs to be said. You can’t govern if you don’t WIN.

The only people that get to govern are people in the government. That’s why it’s called “the government”. And you’re not a part of the government unless you get elected to it.

Losers don’t get asked for their opinion when the government sets budgets, tax rates, immigration policy, education policy, etc. The winners don’t care what the losers think. They’re losers. By definition, they couldn’t get an Election Day majority that shares their opinions to show up to the polls when it mattered.

Focus On Winning!

That’s why good candidates – and good political parties – spend so much time, effort and resources focused on winning elections.

It’s why political parties in America were formed. It’s their mission and definition of success. Because, if a large enough coalition of people with common beliefs and goals get together and support specific candidates, they have a better chance of making sure that those candidates WIN.

If you can’t win, then you need to find a reason “why” that doesn’t involve blaming the opposition.

Was it an unwinnable race to begin with, resulting in a waste of resources? Could we have communicated a message that was more relevant and resonated better with voters? Could we have organized better to turn out more voters. Could we have raised more money to better afford to communicate and organize? Did we do enough to unite the Party, or was it divided?

Winning brings opportunities for change. Losing brings more to complain about.

If you care about policy, focus on winning. Period.

It’s been said that there are only two ways to run a political campaign: unopposed or scared. But just what exactly does that mean?

It means that before you get in race (or as soon as you do) you do everything that you can to freeze out any potential competition in the campaign, or if you do have competition, you go 110% all-out, all the time and do anything and everything that you need to do in order to win and leave no stones unturned.

Run Unopposed

Having competition can be expensive, and it makes winning more problematic.  It’s better to invest time and effort early on in order to avoid it rather than having to spend the extra time and money it will cost later.  It’s why so many candidates and elected officials will focus so much on fundraising and putting as much money in the bank as possible, as early as possible, in order to scare off potential competition.

It means working to pick off as many critical allies and resources as early as possible and to leave nothing (or no one) that might encourage a potential competitor, (from major donors to big name endorsements or critical volunteers).  Anything that could help their ability to successfully organize or raise money. Leave them discouraged from even thinking about running.

Run Scared

If you can’t avoid competition, then commit to running all-out like you’re being chased by a pack of wild dogs.  Leave nothing undone and no resource unutilized.  Be as fast and overwhelming as possible.

It doesn’t mean that you’re fearful of others, it just means that you’re flat out doing everything that YOU have control over.  That you’re NOT going to let anyone outwork you. That you’re going to leave it all on the field.

That kind of commitment attracts others.  Whether it’s volunteers or donors, people like to be with someone who looks like a winner.

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Whichever way it works out, the larger point is that if you’re going to run, RUN!  Anything less invites defeat.

 

It’s a fundamental truth of politics that if you don’t win, you can’t govern.

You can’t implement policy if you aren’t elected to a position that allows you to do so, or if you don’t have sympathetic elected officials that are willing to help.

With that being the case, it’s critical that conservatives know the basics of effective campaigning if we expect to see our ideas implemented in government.

The good news is that the fundamentals of a successful campaign of any type is the same today as it was thousands of years ago.

Julius Caesar once said that the only thing needed to conquer the world was “men and money”. Modify that idea slightly by adding “message” and you’ve got a good thumbnail sketch of what political campaigns are all about.

They’re known as “the Three M’s”:

• Manpower: Do you have the supporters that can build a successful campaign organization?
• Money: Do you have the resources to run a campaign that identifies, informs and mobilizes your supporters – and gets your message out?
• Message: What are you saying? And does it motivate people to get involved?

These three elements are universal to all campaigns. They don’t change. That means that you should arrange your campaign accordingly (time, staff, etc.) around those areas of responsibility.

Regardless of whether a campaign is national, state or local in scope, the objective is the same. To win.

Having the most devoted and numerous volunteers, the most money (or enough) and the most compelling message goes a long way towards that goal.