Putting the Republican Party on Offense
By RON NEHRING
Within the Republican National Committee, there has been a great deal of discussion surrounding whether our party needs a 50-state strategy to reassert itself nationally. It's an important question. The answer: It depends on how one defines a 50-state strategy.
Elections are won and lost on the margins, so if one defines a 50-state strategy as allocating resources equally among 50 states based on population, or some similar formula, the answer would be no. From an Electoral College standpoint, resources will inevitably be allocated first to those states that are on the margin, with an eye toward reaching 270 electoral votes for our team in 2012. Yet if we define a 50-state strategy to mean that our party makes a national commitment to building the strength of our party in every state, the answer is yes.
The difference is this: In the first model, only a de minimis level of attention is directed at any state where the November 2012 outcome in the presidential election can today be reasonably assumed.
A better approach is to realize that our party has a direct, national interest in ensuring that in every state and congressional district, we have the ability to organize and communicate and perform the basic campaign functions that are vital for any modern political party.
Simply because a state is not likely to be "in play" in the 2012 presidential election does not mean we have no national interest in any congressional, state legislative or local election in that state. In fact, precisely the opposite is true: Building organizational and communications capability - and expanding the ranks of congressional, state and local officials from our party -makes it more likely a state will be competitive in a presidential election down the road.
Of course, election year resources will go to the battleground states. Fine. Yet we have three years and thousands of congressional, state and local elections before then.
A proper 50-state strategy has at its centerpiece the principle that every American should be within reach of an effective state party organization that can communicate, persuade and organize on a large scale. Operationally, this means developing a portfolio of organizational and communications functions that each state party should be capable of performing, plus a related set of functions for county and district party committees. It should be developed through a working group of state party chairmen, national committee members and campaign experts. While there are differences in each state, and within states, there are certain common functions that any modern political party needs to perform to be competitive.
Turning theory into practice means ascertaining each party's capabilities and developing a program to help each state be prepared for the 2010 midterm elections. While we build our party in each state, we must concurrently identify targets of opportunity -congressional, state legislative and local seats that are within reach. In every case, we should take the steps necessary to ensure the county and district committees in those communities have the organizational structure and communications capabilities to maximize our opportunity for victory.
The Republican National Committee has built an impressive array of tools in recent years: sophisticated voter files, volunteer databases, methods for distributing online content and more. Every congressional, state and local candidate carrying the Republican banner needs to be dialed in to benefit from these tools. The same is true for our state parties and local party committees. We’re not there yet, but if we want to generate a tremendous force multiplier for our candidates at every level, we need to be.
Finally, the structure we build can only be as strong as the message. The electoral landscape is changing, and research is needed to determine how we can best apply our solid principles to today's issues and communicate with greater impact in ways that resonate with voters on the level of the personal values that drive decision making.
For example, our national party was hammered in 2008 in many suburban areas. A national emphasis on determining how we can more effectively compete in these regions should be a given. Yet the 50-state dimension would enter in when we ensure all of our candidates receive the benefit of this research once it's developed.
Should our party concentrate resources in just a few target states or drive organization and communications capability-building across the country? The answer is both.
Ron Nehring is chairman of the California Republican Party.
