That’s Why We Make The Phone Calls!
Mikal Williams, Democratic Nominee for Texas Congressional District 14
My apologies for the long hiatus, but I’ve been a little distracted by college basketball over the past couple of months (pro tip: always point to the passer) and also a little busy WINNING!
I’m happy to report that Workhorse Strategies is currently undefeated in elections. After winning my first race as a campaign manager by 126 votes a decade ago in rural Iowa, last month I helped squeak out my first victory as a consultant in Texas by the slimmest margin of 87 votes.
There were 10 days of nail-biting angst and waiting for votes to be counted without a concession from our opponent, but at the end of the day, the Associated Press deemed Mikal Williams the Democratic nominee for Texas Congressional District 14. Congratulations, Mikal!
Mikal and I connected in early August, and we got along swimmingly. Initially, our focus, as it should have been, was on raising money. I allowed our partnership to continue even after I learned of his affinity for Coach K. Though, by the April 2nd Final Four game, I had converted him into a UNC fan.
From August of last year to January of this year, Mikal and I zoomed between Baltimore, Maryland and Kemah, Texas for hours every week. I conducted donor research and sent out pledge follow-up emails while he dialed for dollars.
Mikal did what he was told and was diligent about call time, but he hated every minute of it just like every other candidate. But, with a little help from the dulcet tunes of Lynyrd Skynyrd to keep us sane, Mikal secured the funds he needed for campaign literature and signs.
Mikal captivated local Democrats through networking and attending local party events, functions, and meetings, but I firmly believe it was the final month of the campaign that sealed his victory.
In early February, we decided to shift our focus and strategy from fundraising to direct voter contact. Ballots were hitting mailboxes for the March 1st election, and Texas Democrats were starting to vote. Our goal was to have Mikal Williams on their minds.
Our fundraising call time morphed into direct voter contact call time to supplement Mikal’s ongoing field efforts, and as Mikal so eloquently stated, “Call time &%#*!@^ works, Boss!”
And work, it did! During the final month of calls, primary voters in Mikal’s district were writing down Mikal’s name, often as their ballots were sitting on their kitchen tables.
This is a long way of saying that if you’re not up for using your phone for anything other than monitoring what people are squawking about on Twitter, then maybe you shouldn’t be running for office. Because the hard part starts when you are actually elected and evaluated by the quality and responsiveness of your constituent services.
So much of politics is grounded in personal touches and relationships. You’d be surprised by how many people are shocked when their state lawmakers actually call them and ask about their concerns and well-being.
It might be 2022, but word of mouth is still alive and well . . . AND POWERFUL!
There are millions of ways to connect with potential voters, and my advice to any candidate would be not to place all of the proverbial eggs into one basket. Don’t neglect the phone calls, and make sure phones are at least one prong of a multi-faceted direct voter contact strategy.
Whether it’s begging for money, persuading influencers to endorse, or asking for votes, please be reminded that the little device you play Candy Crush on can also be used for human conversation and contact.
And if you want to throw Mikal a few bones for his general election campaign, here’s how to do it.
But then again, you can’t fuel a campaign with online donations alone, and “That’s why you make the phone calls, Boss!”
Monica Biddix
Workhorse Strategies, LLC
Principal and Founder
