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9/15/2010
How to win a campaign - most every time
I’m going on no sleep for over 24 hours. Worked in the polls yesterday; the complex ballot kept our crew at the polling place until after 9:30. Then on to the Litjens Victory Party. And a victory it was in the 56th Assembly District. (No Dem opponent, so Michelle Litjens will be the next Representative in the District.) Don’t have much time this morning – just want to say that winning a race depends on tons of factors – but one thing is for sure – a race is awfully hard to win without wearing out a few pair of shoes – and without great organization.
In its endorsement of her opponent, the Post-Crescent maligned Litjens as “Establishment” and lamented her Republican Party work. (Of course, they also said she lacked empathy. Unbelievable. In the next two years, they will get to know her willingness to lead, to go out on most likely several limbs to make life better for the Fox Valley.)
Let it be known Litjens has been active in her community for decades, working to make it a better place for small business, for families and for taxpayers.
And hard work. My gosh. Litjens knocked on 8,500 doors. Way more than it seemed her opponents did. That wins elections. And organization. Had a plan. Worked her plan. That’s a winning formula. Most always.
Even her opponent recognized the organization. Let this be a message for candidateseverywhere.
She has a much more organized campaign," [Jim] Pleuss said. "She had a lot of big name Republicans that helped her because she's very involved in the Republican Party."
A lot of big name Republicans? Well, I don’t know about that. I do know that Litjens has volunteered for countless candidates for years – and some of those countless candidates helped her in her race. Good.
The Fox Valley is so very fortunate to have Litjens – agent of change! – in the legislature. Good again.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
Sleep well Jo. You deserve it.
I am still a bit disturbed about the ballot being difficult.
Re: Ribble. I am surprised about his margin ov victory. I thought McCormick would have had a large support base.
I wonder what Kagen is thinking this morning?
David (Wed Sep 15 08:37:43 2010)
Jo, the 56th is not my district, but I was gunning for Litjens. I also have to agree with Pleuss sentiment that the Republican Party establishment made a big difference for her - which there's no question she has earned. In her case, I'd say that the establishment support is NOT lamentable, and specifically because I think she's been working to bring it back to it's core principles, and without a strong 3rd party, that strategy may be the only hope for restoring our State and our Nation. I congratulate Michelle for all her hard work and dedication, and I look forward to helping her light some fires under the feet of some of the RINO's in the assembly, my own Dean K. included.
I was disappointed to see Neumann lose the gubernatorial primary, but I am VERY pleased to see the strong message he brought to the arena - that the GOP needs to get it's act together, because conservatives aren't afraid to cross them. From here on I'll be supporting Scott Walker, and I want him to know that I expect him to put principle before the Party.
Very excited about Reid Ribble's win, too. And Kleefisch. And although I preferred Westlake for Senate (endorsed by Pro-Life Wisconsin), I expect Johnson to do a fine job in both retiring Feingold and working hard to restore the Nation.
All in all, watching primaries all over the place, I am VERY pleased and excited to see GOP endorsements conceding to honest-to-goodness citizen representatives across the nation. There is something great going on here, a momentum building for America that I have great hope in.
Jo, thanks for all the work you do to keep us informed.
Andrew Ellis (Wed Sep 15 08:38:37 2010)
This fall election is going to be so much fun. Chris Hanson looks like a formidable candidate to replace Penny Bernard-Schaber.
David (Wed Sep 15 08:54:36 2010)
Michelle earned her respect among the 56th residents (like me) and the "establishment" through hard work and adherence to conservative principals. She out hustled everyone in that race...she was never complacent, she was always thinking of ways to attract voters.
As for Reid's win....
Consensus in it's simplest of terms is this "I don't love, but I don't hate it. I can live with it."
I supported a different candidate, but Reid won. I can live with that. I may not agree with Reid on some issues, but I can agree on 80%. I don't think I agree with Steve Kagen on 50% of the issues.
I can get behind Reid, however, had Terri won, I would not have supported anyone. It a character issue there.
Dale (Wed Sep 15 08:58:57 2010)
Jim called to congratulate Michelle this morning but I too would like to commend her on a race well run. We met for coffee with her when Jim first chose to run and were impressed and as Jim has said all along - we have no problem supporting her if she wins! She is very intelligent, knows the issues, has a wonderful personality and the same values we have. We ran into each other many times on the campaign trail and it was always friendly - I'll miss seeing you Michelle, honestly. Perhaps when your out "doing doors"... Congratulations and God bless you in Madison as you represent us. God has other plans for Jim and we look forward to seeing how life unfolds - nothing happens without a reason. We both worked hard and ran a good clean race that we can be proud of.
mary pleuss (Wed Sep 15 11:10:21 2010)
Congratulations to all of the people elected that will govern as Republicans. In 1994 the Republicans took over the House of Representatives but increasingly became democrat lite which disappoints republicans and leads to voter discontent and lack of support.
Times are tough, government needs to start acting like the private sector. Harley davidson employees just took a 5 to 7 year pay freeze. Elected Republicans the Challenge are you going to bring the real world economics to Madison?? We shall see? PS Also keep a keen eye on what PACs donate to candidates. Bring the Shin back to Wisconsin or the voters will turn on you just as they are going to do on the democrats this cycle!!!!!
Jay Schroeder (Wed Sep 15 11:33:29 2010)
I would like to congratulate all the candidates because I know from first hand experience how much time, effort, and money that goes into running a campaign. Some of the candidates have been doing this for over a year and have sacrificed countless hours that could have been directed to their families.
These families deserve a lot of credit in their support and understanding of the time and effort it takes. I think the most depressing time when you lose a campaign is when you have to take down all your signs over the next several days. So let us not be critical of anyone who ran but thank them for running and providing us a choice.
Now is the time to "circle the wagon" and get ready for the November 2nd election. Sad as it may be to the losers, we must remember the ultimate objective. So if you get a chance today to call the candidates that lost and encourage them to keep involved, it will go a long way to meeting our ultimate objectives.
Mike
Mike Thomas (Wed Sep 15 11:52:09 2010)
Thank you Jo for your kind words and thanks to everyone who supported me. A big thank you to Jim Pleuss for calling me today. That is not an easy call to make, it takes a big person which you are. We both ran very clean campaigns and we can be very proud of that.
We had AMAZING volunteers working on this campaign. Many volunteers had never participated in a campaign before. About 20 attendees at our victory party last night I had either met at their door or at an event. Many had never attended a political event before in their lives! That kind of grassroots participation shows me that this year, we the people are standing up to be counted. We are tired of the status quo Republican vs Democrat. We are ready to make the changes necessary to do what is right for Wisconsin and America. Thank you for the opportunity to fight for those changes in Madison.
Michelle Litjens (Wed Sep 15 19:13:56 2010)
Congratulaitons to Michelle.I have had a good conversation with Michelle today because of my return to work I wasn't able to speak to her yesterday We agreed on every topic we talked about, most important we were in the race for the looks of optimism in our childrens eyes they now have and do not want that optimism taken from them!! Good luck Michelle you have many opportunities ahead of you, and don't drink the koolaid in Madison!
Jay Schroeder (Thu Sep 16 12:18:57 2010)
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