Every election season, candidates and advocacy groups come together to form loose partnerships built on common goals.
Whether your candidate is looking to drive an issue all the way to the booth, or your advocacy organization has found the right candidate to champion your cause, these coalitions are often favorable for both parties.
But sometimes, we’ve learned, these partnerships can be problematic. Here are three questions to ask to determine if a partnership is worthwhile.
Does the candidate or advocacy group give you enough ROI?
Make sure your ally is bringing something to the table.
Campaigns: Look to see if their issues can expand your reach without alienating your base. One-issue groups can be easy fundraisers, but it is better to find groups that also trigger both sides of the isle. Associations with national memberships have to appease their entire base, so finding a group that can legitimize you in the minds of their members is a goal.
Advocacy Groups: Make sure your PAC has a questionnaire and leverage it to find candidates that will truly advance your issues. For a true champion, go beyond the basic questionnaire and take more time and careful calculation before sending a check. Once you have a champion, make a public statement to show your support.
Then coordinate the donation for a site visit, meeting with staff or a grasstops member or advocate. This will give you a chance to see how well the candidate interacts with your members/staff. And, don’t forget to reach across the aisle. Even if you are a one-issue organization, it can only help you.
What avenues does this partnership open for you?
It’s helpful to know what tools the partners each bring to the table.
Campaigns: Whether your candidate is a media icon or a virtual unknown, there is always an audience you are not reaching. If your candidate doesn’t know how to speak for healthcare, transportation, or financial services, find a non-partisan group that can give you the talking points to reach your audience and a podium to reach new audiences of influencers.
Industry press and internal publications can boost your candidates reach in a certain sector. If your campaign has the digital landscape mastered, but can’t reach new voters in person, find groups with upcoming conferences or regional events in your district/state/locality.
Advocacy Groups: Unless your issues are in the spotlight, earned media can be hard to come by. Find a candidate willing to bring attention to your issue through written articles, site visits, and interviews. Candidates need headline grabbers, so give them something to talk about. Having a candidate release an announcement at your location is a way to gain residual press. Digital town halls have become a great way to create buzz-on-a-budget. Get creative, and give the candidate a reason to include you.
What is the risk factor of this partnership?
No candidate and issue group can ever be completely aligned politically so make sure the expectations are clear.
Candidates: Picking the wrong topic can hurt you for a news cycle, but backing the wrong group can be fatal. A development group can seem harmless unless they just had a fight with the regional fast food chain. Before you decide to champion a group, make sure to do a lot or research. Ask your pollsters, and see how your constituency feels about a topic.
Advocacy groups: Candidates have a tendency to put their foot, knee, and hip in their mouths. This is a big risk you take, so ask to talk to the candidate before you decide to invite them in. If they are too quick to “drop the political act,” you can bet they will do it at the wrong time. Make sure your candidate will champion your cause no matter who is watching and won’t shy away from a difficult position at the first challenge.
Campaigns and advocacy groups can work together to advance their goals, but must do their research and establish a clear relationship from the beginning. Candidates and causes working together has associated risk that can be managed through expectation setting and recognition that they are not 100 percent mutually dependent.
Joshua Habursky is the director of advocacy at the Independent Community Bankers of America and chairman of the Grassroots Professional Network. Eric Storey the executive director/vice chairman of the Grassroots Professional Network.