QUAYLE FOR CONGRESSObservations on aspects of a successful political campaign

Jessica Cruzan, Centre College

Phone Banking

A large part of the inner team is making phone calls and reaching out personally to voters. We spend hours on the phone calling voters and identifying who they plan on supporting. We even speak with voters clearing up questions they have and informing them of our candidate’s platform. We make thousands of phone calls a day.

Yard signs

Placing a yard sign in your yard is one of the easiest ways to be a part of the outer support. As a member of the inner team it was usually easiest to convince a Quayle supporter to place a free yard sign in their yard. We were always delivering yard signs to different residences. Yard signs are especially important because it helps the campaign place the candidate with a face in someone’s neighborhood so if they don’t personally get to meet the candidate, they can always speak to their neighbor about why they made their choice.

Organizing Outer Support

A final important duty of the inner team is organizing outer support. We repeatedly call volunteers asking them to come in for just an hour or spreading information to the i-Team.

Meet and Greets

Another effective, yet time consuming, way of reaching out to voters is social gatherings. The inner team primarily plans meet and greets with supporters at their residences but we also research locations for breakfasts with the Congressman or ice cream socials. At all of these events the candidate will speak for a bit about key issues and then the rest (and majority) of the time is dedicate to opening the floor to questions. Giving voters time to personally meet and question the candidate usually results with positive reactions and new support for the campaign.

Neighborhood Walks

Walking neighborhoods is a very effective way of informing the public about our candidate but not as efficient as phone banking. Speaking to a person face to face makes a world of difference when discussing politics.

DUTIES

A candidate’s inner team can make or break a campaign. As an intern, I was welcomed into the inner team. I was able to observe that they progressively increased my number of jobs and level of responsibility as trustworthiness is key to an inner team member.

INNER SUPPORTThrough the efforts of the inner team, an outer ring of support begins to form. Constituents may also help with this process. Outer support can come from anyone and at any time during the campaign. The inner team is constantly working to expand outer support.

OUTER SUPPORT

TYPES

Volunteers

A huge part of the outer support are volunteers. They commit time to the campaign making calls or walking neighborhoods or just stuffing envelopes. In a way depending on how often they come and versed in the platform of the campaign, these volunteers can become an extension of the inner support team.

Video Endorsements

Supporters are also given the option of filming a video endorsement in which they briefly spoke about why they decided to support Ben Quayle. This also puts a face of a voter with the candidate. Members of the i-Team help spread video endorsements as well.

i-Team

Being a part of the i-Team is also a small time commitment and makes a huge difference in getting the word out about a candidate. Members of the i-Team would repost articles on Facebook and Twitter and this would spread the message to many circles of voters in the district.

ABSTRACT

This summer I worked on the congressional reelection campaign of Ben Quayle. This opportunity allowed me to observe what it takes to run an effective and hopefully successful political campaign. The process must begin with an electable candidate. Important characteristics of an electable candidate include conveying confidence through actions, honesty, communicating well, and intelligence. The candidate must bring together an inner team of trustworthy, hardworking, and dedicated individuals. Initially, the team’s goal is to get organized and begin generating public interest. This often involves more than simply posting campaign signs and hosting public social events. Through interested public individuals, the campaign begins its outer team. The campaign relies on these individuals to reach out to the masses and explain their support for their candidate. This expansive group can more easily get information out to the community and possibly generate more members for the outer team. Part of the outer team focuses on finding key supporters who can host fundraising events. Other key supporters will provide endorsements. Endorsements are another key part of the campaign and must be heavily promoted. As the campaign progresses, there will most likely come a time where issues will be debated. Success in a debate will continue to generate even more support, while poor performance can bring a campaign to a rapid and unhappy ending. The campaign process can be long and arduous. The inner team must be able to read the level of effort and the results in order to pace the campaign to ultimate success.

THE CANDIDATE

Ben Quayle has deep ties with the state of Arizona. He is the fourth generation in his family to live and work in Arizona. Ben Quayle has a diverse background in both law and business. After graduating from Duke University with a major in history, a minor in political science and a certificate in markets and management, Quayle attended the Vanderbilt School of Law. After graduating

Although Quayle was very successful in the financial legal community, he wanted to return home to Arizona, where he is the fourth generation of his family to live and work in the state. Upon returning to Arizona, Quayle was admitted to the Arizona Bar and

joined the firm of Snell & Wilmer. Ben Quayle’s experience in the legal world

was both informative and fulfilling, however, his entrepreneurial spirit

guided him away from the legal practice and he set out to start a company of his own. Shortly after leaving the legal profession, Quayle and his brother,

Tucker Quayle, formed Tynwald Capital. Tynwald Capital is an investment

company based in Arizona that focuses on purchasing and operating small businesses. As a small business owner, Quayle knows how difficult it is to thrive in any environment, but especially during the current economic downturn.

from law school, Quayle moved from Arizona and was admitted to the California Bar. In California, Quayle worked at a law firm and focused his practice on commercial litigation. In this position, Quayle obtained a unique perspective about the enormous costs businesses absorb in this litigious society.

In addition to Quayle’s professional accomplishments, he is actively involved in the Phoenix community. Ben Quayle was a member of the Executive Council to the Phoenix Boys & Girls Clubs, a member of the foundation board of Phoenix Children’s Hospital, along with other civic minded organizations.

Coalitions

An important duty I was given as a part of the inner team was helping to form coalitions. This meant bringing together groups of people with a common interest to support Ben Quayle

such as healthcare professionals, small business owners, etc. These supporters can then host events for other undecided voters who are a part of that group. These coalitions are large group outer support.

We also call people to begin forming coalitions. And even delivering yard signs expands our outer support. It is our duty to make sure that the outer support is focused and has all of the resources necessary for them to achieve what they are working towards for our candidate.