MD Elections 2014

[501st]

As I've said many times, we here can't do it.

Kvetching on internet forums only goes so far.

Spreading the word by social media is going to be the biggest piece, alongside pushing the concept personally to people you know and meet.

I've done that. But how do you ensure people follow up on it? Or that we are unified in what candidates we vote for. (the website only goes so far)

 

[dogbone]

As I've said many times, we here can't do it.

Kvetching on internet forums only goes so far.

Spreading the word by social media is going to be the biggest piece, alongside pushing the concept personally to people you know and meet.

I've done that. But how do you ensure people follow up on it? Or that we are unified in what candidates we vote for. (the website only goes so far)

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

and then say it again.

The biggest problem facing some of the folks we want to help is name recognition. People are used to seeing the names of the incumbents and unfortunately many will simply base their vote on that alone. We have to push our candidates' names enough for people to start connecting them with the position they are running for.

Why do you think you see the same ads for the same people over and over again, ad nauseum?

Because it works.

I don't like it. I think it sucks that a poorly informed vote counts just as much as a well researched thoughtful exercise of the franchise. But that is just too bad for me. All I can do is use that knowledge to help push in the direction I hope the state and nation will travel.

Did I mention that Tim Robinson is the Republican candidate for the Senate seat held by our dear fiend, Jim Brochin?

 

[TopShelf]

Giving donations to candidates helps as well, and the window to do so is now open

here is one for you:
http://delegatemike.com/donate/

 

[Crocman]

Working hard at the DINO thing in AA. No complaints but I can't hardly keep up with all the info. Is there a plan to publish a final list with our DINO strategy before the election?

 

[Mr H]

Working hard at the DINO thing in AA. No complaints but I can't hardly keep up with all the info. Is there a plan to publish a final list with our DINO strategy before the election?

Funny you should ask that, and I'm glad you did.

It probably belongs in the DINO thread (comatose, BTW), but I've been mulling over just how public DINO should be.

I had thought that just word-of-mouth would be right, to spread the word while keeping a low(ish) profile.

But then I thought to myself...

Self, there are many oddball groups out there spouting off in all kinds of bizarre directions. Would it be so bad if everyone knew what we were up to, and really put a scare in the D candidates?

I'll post this in a more appropriate thread for further discussion... but I'd love to hear the thoughts on it.

 

[dogbone]

Giving donations to candidates helps as well, and the window to do so is now open

here is one for you:
http://delegatemike.com/donate/

Yes, indeedie! A good place to send some "campaign ammo."

If you live in a "safe" district, with good people in solid shape for the elections, help out a pro-2A candidate in a "battleground" district and back our friends.

 

[No_comment]

I did a bit more research on 15. David Fraser-Hidalgo was appointed to the seat in 2013. He ran for the seat in 2010 and lost in the primary. Do you know his stance on 2A?

Topshelf: I've talked with Fraser-Hidalgo on 2A issues (actually it was more like him listening to me rant). He's an ex-cop who works mostly on energy issues, such as fracking in MD. If you want more information, please PM me.

 

[TopShelf]

Working hard at the DINO thing in AA. No complaints but I can't hardly keep up with all the info. Is there a plan to publish a final list with our DINO strategy before the election?

I do not have a plan for a final list. I have just been updating the posts as I find info, and as people post it up. There will probably be a handful of DINO districts where people can help candidates (E.G. - D15).

And yeah, there is a ton of info out there. Do you know what district you are in? Have you had time to research any of the candidates? If so, please post up what you know so that all can benefit from that information.
If you have done some research and have a specific question, you could post it up and maybe somebody will know the answer or be able to point you in the direction of one.

Topshelf: I've talked with Fraser-Hidalgo on 2A issues (actually it was more like him listening to me rant). He's an ex-cop who works mostly on energy issues, such as fracking in MD. If you want more information, please PM me.

Thanks! Do you mind posting up that info? I have been adding in links from the OP to what people post up. The post sizes are limited, so I can't type up a bunch of info directly in that post

 

[mxrider]

Funny you should ask that, and I'm glad you did.

It probably belongs in the DINO thread (comatose, BTW), but I've been mulling over just how public DINO should be.

I had thought that just word-of-mouth would be right, to spread the word while keeping a low(ish) profile.

But then I thought to myself...

Self, there are many oddball groups out there spouting off in all kinds of bizarre directions. Would it be so bad if everyone knew what we were up to, and really put a scare in the D candidates?

I'll post this in a more appropriate thread for further discussion... but I'd love to hear the thoughts on it.

I think we should shout it from the rooftops. Let it ring in their ears and their souls that we are here and we will fight them from every angle and front we can find.

 

[501st]

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

and then say it again.

The biggest problem facing some of the folks we want to help is name recognition. People are used to seeing the names of the incumbents and unfortunately many will simply base their vote on that alone. We have to push our candidates' names enough for people to start connecting them with the position they are running for.

Why do you think you see the same ads for the same people over and over again, ad nauseum?

Because it works.

I don't like it. I think it sucks that a poorly informed vote counts just as much as a well researched thoughtful exercise of the franchise. But that is just too bad for me. All I can do is use that knowledge to help push in the direction I hope the state and nation will travel.

Did I mention that Tim Robinson is the Republican candidate for the Senate seat held by our dear fiend, Jim Brochin?

That is doable for higher profile elections. But nobody really pays attention to state senators/delegates. At least in my area (D-15) there doesn't seem to be anything for the MD legislature candidates until the latter half of june right before the primary. Not sure what plans the candidates have after that, but it leave me concerned.

 

[Minuteman]

Great thread.

Every opportunity ask your fellow voters what district they are voting in. If they are not already registered as a DINO, direct them to this forum so they can see the difference we will be making in about a month. Generally vote in the Primary for any Democrat that is running against another Democrat incumbent (especially if they voted for SB281). Then in the main election (General) vote for any Republican (for the most part). Yes, this is only a rule of thumb, there are many details if you want to dig into the info. We are voting for Gansler in the Primary, but voting for any Republican in the General election for Governor.

 

[johnb007]

Is the plan to coordinate in each district, so we can select one candidate, to rally behind, to knock the incumbents out of the race?


Otherwise our votes may get spread thin across multiple candidates and the incumbent will still win...

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

 

[dogbone]

That is doable for higher profile elections. But nobody really pays attention to state senators/delegates. At least in my area (D-15) there doesn't seem to be anything for the MD legislature candidates until the latter half of june right before the primary. Not sure what plans the candidates have after that, but it leave me concerned.

While there likely isn't much happening on the surface, you can bet there is plenty of prep work going on in each candidate's campaign. Get in touch with them, see where they stand, and find out what you can do to help. In District 15, there may not be many D candidates which won't leave a bad taste in your mouth but you may be able to play the DINO game with one of them. Or seek out one of the R candidates and give them a hand.

No matter what you can contribute to their campaign, believe me they will be delighted with any help you can offer.

 

[TopShelf]

Great thread.

Every opportunity ask your fellow voters what district they are voting in. If they are not already registered as a DINO, direct them to this forum so they can see the difference we will be making in about a month. Generally vote in the Primary for any Democrat that is running against another Democrat (especially if they voted for SB281). Then in the main election (General) vote for any Republican (for the most part). Yes, this is only a rule of thumb, there are many details if you want to dig into the info. We are voting for Gansler in the Primary, but voting for any Republican in the General election for Governor.

Thanks! Agreed - getting the conversation going is key. As for the overall strategy, I have been thinking maybe one of the larger activist groups will come out with something. Is the Gansler strategy being discussed here somewhere?

Is the plan to coordinate in each district, so we can select one candidate, to rally behind, to knock the incumbents out of the race?


Otherwise our votes may get spread thin across multiple candidates and the incumbent will still win...

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

I have something along those lines in mind. There will be a handful of DINO districts where candidates can be identified for support. If you have time, take a look the OP's where districts are marked as "potential DINO strategy". Most of those districts still need to be researched, or need more research done. Jump on in Hopefully we can get to a point where we can put out a suggestion like: "D100, D101, D102, ... - if you have time and/or money, help out candidates A, B, C, ..."

 

[TopShelf]

Funny you should ask that, and I'm glad you did.

It probably belongs in the DINO thread (comatose, BTW), but I've been mulling over just how public DINO should be.

I had thought that just word-of-mouth would be right, to spread the word while keeping a low(ish) profile.

But then I thought to myself...

Self, there are many oddball groups out there spouting off in all kinds of bizarre directions. Would it be so bad if everyone knew what we were up to, and really put a scare in the D candidates?

I'll post this in a more appropriate thread for further discussion... but I'd love to hear the thoughts on it.

Sounds good to me! It would be nice to have a few of them replaced with more 2A-frienldly representatives!
I am not sure what would be the best overall strategy....hopefully somebody out there has some good ideas

 

[tsmith1499]

We're doomed in MoCo. There is NOBODY running against any of the Democratic incumbant's.At least as far as I can tell.

 

[TopShelf]

We're doomed in MoCo. There is NOBODY running against any of the Democratic incumbant's.At least as far as I can tell.

I know that districts 15 and 16 are MoCo, and there are a bunch of candidates running in those - http://electionsmaryland.com/elections/2014/primary_candidates/index.html

Will those candidates be better than the incumbents? That is TBD...

 

[501st]

I know that districts 15 and 16 are MoCo, and there are a bunch of candidates running in those - http://electionsmaryland.com/elections/2014/primary_candidates/index.html

Will those candidates be better than the incumbents? That is TBD...

Um, that seems like a pretty obvious yes.

 

[HKB]

I never jumped ship to join the DINO train (I live in Carroll county) so I am supporting Larry Hogan for gov.

 

[ShallNotInfringe]

As was previously mentioned, most people generally are motivated to go to the polls to vote for one or two people running. They have no real plan for how they plan to vote the remainder of the ballot or can be swayed, since they may not have done extensive homework on all of the candidates on the ballot. For example, they get to their assigned voting location with the gubernatorial candidate in mind.. Then they face the voting machine and start voting, then name recognition kicks in for the other candidates. This is especially true in primaries, when there are no D's or R's next to the names, since they are only voting within their party. Believe it or not, in relatively obscure races, and no name recognition, alphabetical listing wins - in other words, they will pick the first 3 in a list of 10 to move through the ballot. People do not know they are not required to make a selection in every category to complete a ballot. Some people are undecided on the entire ticket or most of it until they get to the ballot/voting location.

How do I know? I have been an election judge for several election cycles and will be again this year.

Sometimes people receive a sample ballot in the mail with the boxes checked for them based on what one faction recommends - they simply bring that in and follow the sample checks.

The Women's Voting League puts out a publication that is placed on tables inside the polling places that has information for folks to decide while they wait in line. This lists all of the candidates and brief summaries of them.

One of the most effective methods to affect an election is to get a ground game on for election day. Man the polling places with people and information, and advocate for their candidate(s) of choice. There are strict boundaries for this practice, for example you must be outside the polling place beyond a specific distance (will double check for MD) but it works. Engage people as they are approaching the polling place, makes a difference. Tell a candidate you choose that you would like to support them in this way and they will provide you with brochures, etc. to assist in this activity as well as be thrilled that you support them this way. More later.

I cannot participate in the actual activity (due to my role in the election), but am willing to assist in getting this organized. It's basically an "adopt a polling place" approach.

Anyone here who has said they want to take out the incumbent that voted for FSA 2013, should plan to get involved and take primary day off to partake in this drive. We can do this.