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The personal aspects do emerge to a degree in the 'town halls' and similar fora. Being 67, I have a lot of stories to share from the 'old days'.
You probably don't know that WA passed a full-spectrum marriage act this past year. The incumbent did himself no favors with his Republican Party base by voting for it. Essentially, we hold the same position there, so he has neutralized that issue. We have a full-blown marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot this year. If asked, I will support it, but that's not a hot issue as far as I can tell. Most people that I know - from a wide spectrum of political philosophies - think that marijuana proscription has been an expensive waste of energy and lives.
Both my opponent and I are strong on education and women's issues, so, again, no advantage. I do intend to target youth, which, I admit, can be daunting for me. I find them very wary of old folks. Can't blame them really, but it makes connection difficult. I'm trying, though. paul spencer
Does humour work in Washington - or at least get people talking about you? Think of a few zany angles that will provoke interest rather than be off putting. If you are paying for newspaper ads, the least they can do is interview/profile you.
In general people will vote for someone they know something about - anything - rather than someone they know nothing about. What's your name recognition compared to your incumbent opponent? It can come down to something as trivial as that. Index of Frank's Diaries
What you need to appeal to uncommitted voters is a presence on apparently unaligned or "non-political" sites singing your praises - facebook pages etc. Local community sites, a personal campaign site emphasising your personal qualities and community ties rather than your political identification.
Committed Dems will vote for you because your a Dem. Everyone else will vote for or against you because of how you present yourself to them as a person - and a strong party identification may even be a negative for them.
You are a multi-dimensional person, not a party apparatchik. You have to appeal to a multitude of different people on a variety of different levels. Only a small minority of people will vote for you on purely ideological grounds, and only a few more on perceived competence.
The swing vote is typically composed of low information voters who are looking for some hook or symbol by which they can differentiate between two candidates they know little or nothing about - and who will then promptly forget about their choice and get on with their daily lives far removed from any consideration of politics
You have to give them some reason to vote for you in that one glimmer of consciousness when they are actually deciding how to cast their vote. So they have to have some positive association with you:
You probably don't know that WA passed a full-spectrum marriage act this past year. The incumbent did himself no favors with his Republican Party base by voting for it. Essentially, we hold the same position there, so he has neutralized that issue.
Absolutely NOT!
Talk lots about your support for Gay Marriage. Your base will support you but by highlighting the issue you will further alienate him from his base. He's the one who shouldn't be talking about it!
(Unless political hardball isn't your style, of course) Index of Frank's Diaries
You probably don't know that WA passed a full-spectrum marriage act this past year.
There is a voter referendum coming up on that, right ?
So the topic will become important in the elections ?
Btw, I'll be in WA end of July, what election events are planned for that timeframe for me to attend 8-) ? 7 years to go !
I will let you know. Looks like you have a straightforward e-mail address here. paul spencer
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