Analyze the 2018 U.S. Congressional election as if you were a political consultant hired by one of the candidates (whichever one you like) to assess the conduct of their campaign.
Select a candidate, and given your familiarity with public opinion and the American political process, review their strategies for winning votes in different parts of their state or district and among the various segments of the electorate. You may also wish to analyze the reasons for the relative success or failure of your candidate in the election, and make recommendations as to how they could have performed better, however that isn't necessary.
Good advice should be tailored to the specific attributes of your candidate and the nature of their state or district in addition to knowledge of the American political system. Your comments can focus upon specific issues that will have particular appeal in the district or state you choose, the appeal to particular interest groups, the management of a media campaign, fund-raising or whatever other campaign concerns you think to be important.
Answer:
A political consultant’s roles are primarily giving political advice to political clients and assisting them with some research on factors such as the nature of voters and how to appeal to them, the prevailing political trends and how they may influence running of campaigns and ultimately how to have an upper hand over one’s competitors . These functions are however not limited, for on numerous occasions, the functions of a political consultant are tailored or customized to suit the particular needs of a client. Different clients will have varying needs owing to the diverse nature of politics depending on the region, the level of elections such as whether they are for senatorial, presidential or congress among other elective positions, the voter base and the existing political trends of particular region.
As a political consultant, I was hired by political candidate by the name Ilhan Omar who was contesting to be elected to the United States House of Representatives. Her area of interest is Minnesota 5th congressional district. I acquired some background information about her which would be essential in strategizing for her win. Ilhan Omar is a Somali American of age 37 years. She is not a political amateur for she has been involved in politics in the years preceding the 2018 Congressional elections. She has been a legislator for Minnesota since her win in 2016 on a Democratic-Farmer- Labor ticket. She has also been a campaign manager for notable politicians Andrew Johnson, who was successfully elected to the city council and also Kari Dziedzic who was seeking a reelection as a senator. This vast experience in politics, coupled with her experience as a civil servant in government institutions would be very instrumental in her campaign approach.
The next key area would be looking Minnesota 5th district and the issues affecting the area. This would be critical points in her campaign manifesto. With Minnesota having a historically known high voter turnout, the real challenge would be getting their attention by relating with the issues affecting the civilians. After some research, as the political consultant I came up with key areas which Ilhan Omar needed to focus in her campaigns. They included the Opioid epidemic which has been claiming the lives of the people of Minnesota since the year 2016, the state of senior care facilities, funding of pensions , assurance of safe working environments a far as sexual harassments are concerned and MNLARS.
Addressing the issue of Opioid would be a major campaign tool. Having worked in the health sector for some time, she was better placed to give the electorate some hope in how she would fight for the epidemic to be eradicated. She needed to lay out steps by which she would work with the relevant stakeholders in the health industry. This would be appealing to the voters because the epidemic had been causing a great cause of alarm and panic across the state.
Senior care facilities in Minnesota had been reported to have cases of abuse. The relevant authorities had been failing to follow up on the comments and complaints from the public and it had become a bone of contention among the previous legislators. As a campaign strategy therefore, Ilhan Omar would therefore needed to address the issue and gain the attention of senior citizens. It wouldn’t be just as a vague promise but prove her outlined policies in how she would get the concerned agencies to end the abuse in the care facilities. She would also need to give a clear outline of how she would create transparency and accountability in the facilities.
Tackling the debate of pension which has been ongoing in the state would be another area to handle in the campaigns. The existing unfunded liabilities needed to be settled and policies which promoted equity established. Even though in her capacity she wouldn’t have much influence on the matter, being able to show her concern and willingness to help would give the voters and especially the retired and senior citizens receiving pensions the confidence that they will have a defender of their interests if they elected her.
Sexual harassments in the working places had been a major problem in the state. Using the example of filed complaint against legislators Representative Tony Cornish and Senator Dan Schoen who had been accused of sexual harassment in 2017 , Ilhan Omar would broaden the discussion to not only include women in state politics but also women in general. Sexual harassment is usually one of the sensitive topics in the society and more often women lack their counterpart who can stand up to the vice politically. She would then identify with the struggles of women in the workplace and in general and outline her guidelines in how she intended to corporate with the law enforcers and assist assaulted women find justice. Also she would outline her policies on how she would get employers and labor unions to put in place measures which would guarantee safety of women in work places, and subsequently heavy punishment for sex offenders. This strategy would definitely attract the women voters raising her probability of winning.
The systems of MNLARS had resulted into wastage of state funds because of their ineffectiveness. It was the wasted budget funds which companies contracted to install had mismanaged which had displeased the civilians. The concern of the public was the reason as to why the government had not taken the initiative to recover money paid the companies of used legal means to force them redo the systems but was instead planning to eject more funds in the project which was already ineffective. Ilhan Omar would therefore appeal to the voters on the account that she would use her position, if elected to get to the bottom of the debacle. This would be an effective way to draw the attention of the tax payers by the promise of overseeing proper management of their taxes.
Other than those key areas, it would be paramount for the female politician to use her life story not just as a campaign strategy but to also give hope to the electorate. It is a known fact that human beings in general like a leader who offers them the hope of a better tomorrow and it becomes even more effective if their own life stories as a perfect example. Her life journey beginning from her life in her motherland in Somalia, to being raised without a mother who had passed on in her childhood, to being a refugee in Kenya following a civil war in Somalia to being an American migrant and how she has risen in her career, would be the ultimate piece of hope to give the voters. Just like former President of the United States Barack Obama who had appealed to the voters by his message of hope and summarized by his famous slogan, “Yes we can”, her story would inspire the voters to know that it was possible to keep improving things for the better under her leadership.
The methods of campaigning were critical. They were the instruments by which her policies on the above issues and her message to the voters would get to them. She needed to have laid out mediums of communication which would be effective in passing her message clearly to the voters. Some of the channels which would be effective would be the media, public rallies and direct interaction with the voters. Media would entail creating advertisements to be aired through television and newspapers. Using branded shirts or caps and distribute to her supporters would be an effective way too. The use of social media was paramount to reach out to the young eligible voters. She would need a social media management team to maintain platforms such as instagram, whatsapp, facebook, snap chat and twitter among any other commonly used to pass campaign messages. She would also print fliers, brochures and posters and have her campaign team put them in strategic places which will ensure that her message gets to as many people as possible.
Public rallies coupled with efficient public address systems in densely populated places would mobilize a lot of people and create awareness within the masses of her political agenda. She would use these public rallies to interact with the civilians as she advanced her ideologies to them and also listen to their grievances. More interactions would increase her chances of winning the love of the voters for they will consider her relatable and approachable, a quality that is desirable for leaders.
Sourcing of campaign funds would be important in ensuring the smooth flow of her campaigns. As her political consultant, it was my advice that she list down all her sources of campaign funds bearing in mind that the source of campaign funds for any politicians are usually of keen interest to the competitors who can use them as points of maligning her name. She would therefore need to have clean sources of campaign funds which are not linked to any corruption or embezzlement. One sure and clean way to source for campaign funds would be to plan for fundraisers and invite friends and well wishers. This way, she would also make the electorate feel involved in her campaigns and ultimately in her success which was quite predictable.
There would be some loop holes to take care of lest they ended up ruining her chances. These were areas which her competitors would use to gain leverage against her. One of the areas would be her personal life. She would need to keep her life affairs such as her marriage and any other which wouldn’t add any value to the campaigns, private from the public. She would also need a committee to oversee the execution of these campaign strategies which I had provided as a political consultant.
A committed implementation of these strategies would ensure that she gains the love of the electorate and subsequently their votes. Some personal skills such as charisma, patience and tolerance, a show credibility, positivity, good communication skills and humility from her and her campaign team would win over the electorate. She would need to seek a motivated and committed campaign team which would be willing to traverse all the regions of the Minnesota 5th congressional district with zeal and enthusiasm. Her campaign team would also require an assortment of members such that there will be youths, the middle aged and some respectable senior citizens. This would ensure that every electorate would have their equal who can communicate to them effectively.
She would need to make the electorate believe in her agendas and her capabilities. To make them believe that she bore the solution which the 5th congressional district was in need of. To create the sense of togetherness between her and the electorate and make them feel that they can trust her as a leader. She would need to make them feel part and parcel of the policies that would be implemented and prove that they were entirely for their benefit and would cater for their interests.
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