How to Win a Democratic Primary in El Paso

I've been keeping on eye on several campaigns and rumored candidates now for a few weeks to observe what their campaign activities look like.

If I could, I would try to do that with every candidate, but I just don't have the resources to.

Honestly, I am baffled at some of the stuff I see. And don't see.

So I thought I would write down some free advice to any candidate out there that is interested. Take it for what its worth.

#1- Get off your ass. We are approaching mid-October. If you seriously think you are going to be able to win an election, you should've started by now. If you haven't, what the hell are you waiting for. You are burning daylight...

#2 - Make sure you have the right team and money. If you don't have both of these things, it ain't gonna happen. There are only a few people in town that know how to run a campaign. You need someone who knows how to develop and deliver an effective message to voters. But above all you need someone who knows how to do the tough grind work of the actual campaign.

#2a - I can't emphasize this enough. LISTEN TO YOUR CAMPAIGN MANAGER! Seriously, they will save you from doing stupid stuff. As a candidate, its very easy to lose objectivity when making decisions. Make sure you tell your campaign manager EVERYTHING they need to know. Even if its embarrassing, you need to have that important talk with your campaign manager. They can't advise you how to effectively deal with a bombshell if you don't tell them about it ahead of time. Remember, like in boxing, its the punch you don't see coming that is usually the one that means "lights out".

For example, I wrote previously about HD 75 candidate Hector Enriquez recently and how he was passing out a "white paper" that featured a picture of Enriquez with President Bush. If he had a campaign manager, he probably would have advised him to not pass it around because its a) a Democratic Primary, b) Bush is not only a Republican, but the most unpopular one since Richard Nixon c) the headline isn't something teachers would like too much.

3. Know why you are running and be able to effectively communicate why you are running in a couple of sentences.

4. Know the issues affecting your district. You need to connect with voters and you have to be able to show that you know what the job entails and what policies they influence. Often you hear candidates talk about things that are not something they have influence over in their respective offices. Nothing screams "unqualified candidate" like a city council candidate that talks about education. City reps don't do anything having to do with education. That's just one example, but you get my drift.

5. Act like you are trying. I wrote about signs recently and the one thing you can notice about them right away is that they look homemade. There are lots of designers in town, so pay for a professional design. There are lots of things you want to convey with campaign designs and there are legal requirements that must be met. Its not worth the hassle to try to do it yourself. Plus, if people see you are half-assing your signs, what does that say about you as a candidate?

6. Ask questions!If you don't know the answer to something. Ask someone who might know. You should always have someone that will tell you like it is to bounce stuff off of. The more brutally honest they are with you, the better.

That's all I have right now. Except for one last thing. I know everyone likes to think that they can go after people that don't traditionally vote. That's not a bad idea, but frankly, you don't have the time to at this point. The time to get those people engaged was a long time ago. New voters are hard to get to the polls, unreliable, and cost a lot of money.