We received this letter from one of our Founding Members, Adam Pence, who’s running for Precinct Committeeman in Olathe, KS. If you don’t believe that the efforts of a determined “majority of one” can carry the day, then you need to read this letter. He gives some very good canvassing strategies that all of us can use in future campaigns, especially those of us in contested Precinct Committee primary races (Kansas’ primary election is this coming Tuesday, August 5).
By the way, Adam is looking for assistance for his efforts this weekend, and he would really appreciate it if people took him up on his appeal for help. If you’re interested, let us know at freedom@hfapac.org.
I wanted to give you an update on my wife and I’s campaign for precinct committeeman and committeewoman for Olathe 4-9. John Frear and I passed out about 170 flyers to houses in Liz and I’s precinct.
Since there are other people out there that are running for committeeperson spots, I wanted give you information to pass along to them as for what John and I thought went well and what didn’t. I also wanted to put out a call for help for anyone that would like to help John and I this weekend.
Our strategy on Saturday was to go to all of the homes of Republicans that are members of Kansans for Life. Knowing that KFL members are very politically active, we felt it was essential to visit these homes first. Our thinking is that if I could convince only a handful of KFL to vote for my wife and I, then we would, in effect, taking a vote away from our opponents. So, we figured each vote could potentially be a two vote swing in our favor. We passed out a total of 54 flyers on Saturday.
On Sunday, the strategy was to target everyone in my area that are considered to be influential. The walking list that John and I used showed exclamation points by the names of those considered to be influential. By going after these households, the hope is that some of them might tell their friends or neighbors to vote for us. In all, we passed out a total of 120 flyers on Sunday.
By targeting these two sets of Republicans, we felt like it was the most effective use of our time, since these people would be more likely to vote in the Primary.
We were able to more than double the number of houses hit on Sunday by some efficiency gains that we made with some modifications to our walking strategy. John used Google maps API to plot out each of the target houses on our map. We also had the benefit of a GPS unit for some houses that were difficult to locate. It was very helpful to have a competent map reader and driver that could drive me to each house, and then check the names off on the houses we visited. He was also able to help with the note taking.
My basic pitch to each person was as follows:
Hi, my name is Adam Pence. My wife and I are running for precinct committeeman and committeewoman for this area. We are both life long Kansans. I was born and raised in Olathe, and she was raised in Shawnee. We are trying to become more active in the community and within the Republican party. I wanted to make sure you had our flyer, so you would know where we stand on some of the issues. We would appreciate your support on August 5th.
Looking ahead to the coming weekend, John and I plan to go out Saturday and Sunday and hopefully visit another 250 houses or more. My wife and I are in a large precinct with almost 1000 names. We would like to hit all of the Republican houses in our precinct. This is a numbers game, and I really think my wife and I can win this, if we hit every house. If even a tenth of these houses turn out for us, I think it will be the difference to put us over the top.
I mentioned 250 or more, because I think John and I could realistically handle that many. But, if I could get the help of one or two HFAC members to assist me, then I think we can do even more. We walked from about 11 am to 5pm on Saturday and Sunday and would likely do the same this coming weekend.
Thanks.
Adam
