New: NYT is taking stock after a hectic primary season. I talked with campaign managers, candidates, and strategists from the biggest progressive upsets to come up with connecting threads 1/5
nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
The candidate: Obviously minority candidates have been more successful, but it's more than that. It's creating a narrative of life experiences that is not only inspiring, but matches that of the district
nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
Bold, clear messages: the knock that insurgent Dems are simply anti-Trump is outdated. Most of these candidates promised idealistic, progressive solutions that imagined the world as it should be, in their eyes. Not bogged down by political realities nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
Target everyone: Polls missed these candidates bc they changed the scope of typical primary electorate, targeting "high likelihood" voters and supposedly infrequent ones at similar rates. Grassroots first, consultants be damned nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
Innovate: Most of these are shoestring campaigns, forced to forgo TV. Investment in digital, i.e. those shareable bio campaign videos could make up that gap. Bell's campaign had volunteers write handwritten letters bc they couldn't afford standard mailers
nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/…
