Matt Rosendale, MT State Senator: Steps for a Successful Campaign

Gathered around the dining room table, the Rosendale family discussed current political matters, both local and larger, during which young Matthew was encouraged to share his opinion. At the end of each week, those same issues would appear in the weekly newspaper that Matthew’s parents had started from scratch. Serving as one of the main news sources in the town, the Rosendale newspaper gave Matthew a front-row seat to politics from an early age. This unique position came with a lesson that stayed with Matthew as he grew up, had a family of his own, and then began his career in politics.

The Lesson: “I was raised with the attitude that if you have the ability to change something then you have the responsibility to change it. It was not acceptable to ignore your responsibilities.”

Montana State Senator Matthew Rosendale is one of the many candidates that have participated in American Majority’s candidate training and gone on to win their campaign. He states that the training furthered his understanding of campaigning and helped him to be a more effective legislator.

“I hope that everybody whether they ever want to run for office or whether they’re just concerned about their community, state, and nation, would attend one of these sessions so they can understand the impact that each individual truly can have beyond just placing a vote.”

Matthew Rosendale was nearing the end of his campaign for Senate when he discovered that American Majority was hosting a campaign training in Glendive, Mont. Though Rosendale initially went to simply “support the organization and…pick up some new ideas,” he ended up with lessons that reoriented his campaign priorities.

American Majority primarily re-established the importance of grassroots organizing over fundraising for Rosendale. He observed that a candidate will never be able to buy enough media to raise recognition to where it needs to be for a campaign. “Start with enthusiastic grassroots support, then with the funding you can also take care of your media needs,” Rosendale said.

“The focus of anyone’s campaign, whether it’s a public awareness campaign or a campaign for election…initially needs to be focused on making sure you get a broad base of support to execute it,” Rosendale continued. He emphasized this approach over trying to go out in 6 different directions at the outset of a campaign.

This is even more important as the campaign gets larger, “because you yourself are not going to be able to have face-to-face contact.” Rosendale recognizes that it is geographically impossible to meet with everyone that has potential to vote for you. Having a support team in place that’s enthusiastic about your ability to legislate will take care of those problems for you.

Grassroots organization and foundational support are not just important for those involved in campaigns. “Whether the campaign is about an issue or a candidate you still need to use certain principles to make it effective.” Growing in his role as a legislature, Rosendale has found these tools useful for many different endeavors.

Rosendale believes that both seasoned political officials and those brand new to the world of politics will benefit from American Majority training. “If you’ve played a leadership role in an organization you should already understand these concepts, [but] it still helps to refresh.”

Rosendale hopes to continue to pursue politics in the location that he feels he can be the most effective. “Where I can have the most impact, that’s what’s next for me.”