The Elly Report: State Committee

Candidate Recruitment

Recruiting candidates for every elective office each cycle is the first step towards rebuilding the Republican Party in Massachusetts. Town Committee members should focus their efforts on identifying and fielding candidates for every office, from Selectman to School Committee to State Representative. A Democrat should never be awarded an office without opposition. If there is a Democrat on the ballot, there must be a Republican on the ballot.

Recruiting candidates for municipal and legislative office is the most important responsibility of each Town Committee. Fielding candidates at all levels will make a significant, tangible impact to the overall health of our state Republican Party.

Five main reasons why you should put great effort into recruiting candidates:

You can't win if you are not in the game.
Unopposed Democrats have a free hand to assist other Democrats.
Fielding candidates for all offices greatly helps other Republican candidates running at different levels of the ticket.
Even if victory is unlikely, fielding candidates keeps your Party's machinery well-oiled for the day when a viable candidate emerges.
Fielding candidates supplies the local & state GOP with current data about voting patterns.

As leaders of the Republican Party, our town committees must begin to find and develop the best possible candidates for legislative and municipal offices.

How to Find and Recruit the Right Person: Identify Characteristics of the Ideal Candidate

Establish a Candidate's Committee to identify the characteristics of the ideal candidate for all offices. Some basic characteristics are inherent in all political candidates while others are related to the particular district. Defining the characteristics of the so-called "ideal candidate" helps maintain focus on the most important characteristics a candidate needs to run a successful election campaign.

Character: The candidate must identify with the people in the district and must believe that he or she will represent them better than the incumbent. Candidates must have, or have the ability to earn, the respect of the community at large.
Charisma: In many respects, local elections are popularity contests. The candidate should be a person who is likeable and who enjoys interacting with others. Candidates should have the ability to motivate others to participate in the campaign.
Personal Network: Candidates should have strong community ties and a personal network enabling them to draw on the immediate support of 6-10 people willing to dedicate their time to support the campaign.
Sales Skills: Running for office means constantly asking for something. Candidates must be willing to ask people for their money, their time, and their vote. Candidates with sales experience are ideal, as they have developed a thick skin and are able to deal with rejection and keep pressing on.
Support Base: Candidates need a base of support to draw upon. The base can come from a number of areas, and the support base of the incumbent should be studied when identifying attractive support bases for your candidate:
- Geography: Candidate comes from the most populous town/ward/precinct in the district.
- Ideology: Candidate was involved in a hot local issue, like leading the fight on a Prop 2 1/2 override.
- Demography: Consider age, gender, and influential ethnic groups in the community.
- Professional: Candidate would identify with a large, influential professional group in the district such as lawyers, small business owners, or a particular industry that the community depends on for employment or property taxes.
- Fire-in-the-Belly: Above all, the candidate must have the drive to win.

Identifying Potential Candidates

Committee members should begin gathering information about potential candidates. Based on the criteria the candidate committee has pinpointed, members should begin consulting fellow Republicans, business and community leaders for ideas. Be sure not to limit yourself to individuals who have been active in Party circles. Among the sources of potential candidates are:

Current and former Republican elected officials, even if elected to nonpartisan office.
Former candidates, as they have some degree of name recognition.
Business owners: compile a list of all business owners & check their voter registration using the Campaign Portal to narrow the list.
Community activists & civic leaders.
Lawyers & insurance agents often have numerous community contacts.

The Candidate's Committee should meet to discuss identified potential candidates and begin the process of reaching out to those individuals. The committee may want to compare its potential candidates by determining a few desired criteria they would like to see in the ideal candidate. Begin by reaching out to the most ideal candidate first.

Selling Potential Candidates on Running

The Candidate's Committee members should contact the prospect and request a meeting between themselves, the prospective candidate and the local Party Chairman.

In the meeting, the Candidate's Committee should indicate how their name was raised as a potential candidate and highlight how they meet various characteristics of the "ideal candidate." Describe the political landscape, the opponent's potential weaknesses, and explain why voters might seek change. If possible, gather past data on the district, including the performance of past local and statewide candidates, as well as fundraising numbers for past local candidates.

Emphasize the role the Town Committee will play in the election and outline the strategic plans you have for the Party in your community. Outline specific commitments that the Town Committee will make on behalf of the Republican candidate. These commitments may be in the form of offering the manpower of your 35+ committee members, a commitment to donating $1,000 to the candidate's campaign, or a specific goal of spending $4,000 on in-kind assistance on behalf of the candidate. However, it is important that you do not over promise or commit to anything you cannot deliver. Committee's that don't live up to their end of the bargain will develop a poor reputation and will have a hard time recruiting candidates in the future.

These meetings, even if they do not result in a candidate, are critical to building your Party organization. The prospect is likely to be impressed with your commitment to building the Party and if they don't run may pass along the names of other potential candidates, join your Town Committee or make a financial contribution.

If you are recruiting for a legislative race and have an individual who would be a terrific candidate but remains undecided, contact your State Committee members or the State Party Headquarters to set up a meeting with members of the staff.

If you have any questions about candidate recruitment or need assistance at the local level please contact either your State Committee members or myself and we will be happy to help.