Did Trump re-write the campaign playbook?

Analyzing the Trump Campaign is an opportunity for conservative candidates to figure out the path to winning going forward. So did Trump just re-write the campaign playbook? Yes and No. It’s not so much of a re-write, but a reminder of things on which candidates need to be focused. The reality is you are not Donald Trump. Even though Trump ran as an outsider to first win the nomination against 16 quality candidates, we did not see down ballot outsider candidates having successful years. Do you know why? They weren’t as well known as Donald Trump. Candidates still need to have high Name Identification to be able to win. If you are thinking of running in the future, work on developing positive Name ID, so that you will have a good chance of winning when you run.

What Trump re-wrote

For some reason, many conservatives have run campaigns as shell-shocked turtles. When the left attacks, we try to hide and say “It’s not that bad” or try to ineffectively explain it away. But we need to attack the other side. Rather than accept the media’s narrative of events, Trump would reframe the debate. Part of what was refreshing for many Americans was seeing someone not back down to the classic Clinton attack machine. We can learn from this, that when attacked we need to respond and go on offense.

What Trump did right

Trump also executed some key campaign strategies that all candidates should learn from. First, you need to be in touch with your voters’ concerns. Trump understood that voters were frustrated with Washington D.C., so his message of draining the swamp resonated. You need to determine what the key issues are to your community and find a message that resonates with the voters you need to win.

Second, Trump came across as authentic (despite people having an unfavorable view him). As a billionaire from New York, most people wouldn’t expect him to connect with people across the country, but he was able to do so by speaking genuinely and compellingly to voters concerns. Find a campaign theme and message that comes across as genuine and fits you and your personality.

Third, you should use the media to get your message out. Though it was much easier for Trump than it will be for your campaigns, you can still make use of many of the social media platforms Trump used. Yes, the media is slanted, but they still want to cover compelling and interesting news that will increase their readership/viewership. So help them out and get your message out through them.

What Trump got away with (and you won’t)

Let’s be honest Donald Trump did a lot of things on the campaign trail that local and state candidates would not be able to get away with. In the first debate, Trump was hyper-defensive to nearly every Clinton attack. Knowing what to respond to is as important as knowing how to respond, and Trump’s unforced errors distracted from his efforts to promote his own agenda. He also criticized key “allies” and others rather than focus on the opponent he was running against. Don’t copy that.  

The Ground Game still matters. Trump was able to win despite lacking a strong ground game in many places. But again, Trump is an anomaly. He was able to stir the emotions of so many voters that they didn’t need a conventional reminder to vote. Studies have shown that knocking on doors in campaigns consistently across types of races still results in picking up a vote for every 14 doors knocked. GOTV teams are like special teams units, they can get you a field goal to win the game, but only if you are tied or down by 1-2 points. We’ll explore this concept more in Part 2 of this series, when we analyze the lessons from the other campaign, but suffice it to say when a candidate is so unpopular knocking on people’s doors who think she should be in prison is NOT going to magically turn them out to vote for her.

Invariably, first-time candidates and incumbents will look at what Trump did and wonder how his success changes the campaign playbook. Overall, Trump did not throw out the playbook, but highlighted many key components. His unique advantages as a media and business figure combined with a prevailing national mood are not easy to replicate.  Each campaign is unique and the key is that if you are running for office you must figure out what YOU need to do to win in your area. American Majority is here to help. Check out our resources page and the AM Online courses and keep up to speed on key campaign strategies.