Political Strategy
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Introduction
Jane “Bitzi” Johnson Miller is a Texan, having been born to the family of a former Texas governor Mr. Joe “Big Daddy” Johnson. Big daddy was the governor of Texas from 1954-1958. Despite the fact that she is the granddaughter of the man who did great things as the principal man in the state in the past, she is a conservative republican having supported several Republican candidates over the years while upholding republican doctrines. Her republican roots and beliefs make her the perfect candidate to represent the party in the forthcoming elections. She is the right candidate because she knows the problems and challenges of the people having grown up here.
She is a hardworking woman. She has supported her two kids to adulthood on her own since her separation from her husband. She has also been in the corporate world, having owned a software company, which she started on her own. She later sold her company to Dell at $2.5 million. Her success in life means that she can lead the state to prosperity so much needed by the populace. She is a friendly person that loves interacting with people and lending helps whenever necessary. Her wealth is clearly defined making her the only person among all the contestants to be transparent about their wealth. This situation will help in a transparent way she will handle the states’ finances.
Cultural and regional support
Since Jane is a Republican, much of her vote will come from Republican strongholds in the state. Much of the population in Texas is republicans but as history will prove, this development cannot be relied upon. Like any other state, Texas is divided into three political areas the democratic stronghold for example San Luis, Republican stronghold that includes Dallas and Houston and the swing areas (Hammet, 1992). Republican strongholds, take a larger part of the state, but it is the swing areas that will decide who wins the election. It is, therefore, very advisable to have extra campaign work in these areas. The use of billboards, TV adverts, and even newspapers should be considered since any candidate no matter the party affiliation can capture votes from the swing areas. These swing areas consist of mostly black people with no political affiliation. Bitzi will find it hard to get support from democratic zones since there is a tradition in Texas that once one is belongs to a particular affiliation, he/she remains in that affiliation. It is not to say that Jane cannot campaign in such areas, but much effort should be put into these areas. House to house campaigning is then suggested. The cultural beliefs in this society that a particular social order must be followed will help Jane win this election since her father was a governor of the state in the past (Tolleson, Sue & Jeanie, 1994).
Demographic support
Since the start of the empowerment of women, women have started supporting their own positions in the society. Texas is not the odd one out; the women will avail themselves in large numbers to support their own. The campaigners should note down all the phone numbers of these women so that during the polling day, they are called to ensure that they report to the polling station and participate in the voting process. The campaign strategy will involve convincing the Latinos and the African-Americans who constitute the majority of the swing voters in this state. A proper campaign strategy will deliver these votes since they are not aligned in a particular direction politically. Another group that will vote for her is the white higher income earners since most of them are diehard republican supporters (Hammet, 1992).
Rallies should be used to address the African-Americans and the Latinos because their large number will mean high campaign costs. A proper guideline of the plans for the state for the time Jane will be in office should be well articulated and should include all the issue that affect this population. This campaign strategy should also include the women. Dinners for fundraising should be organized for the high earners so that funds to support the campaign may be realized.
Campaign themes
Since the group that needs convincing is the one which holds the swing vote that is the Latinos and the blacks, the theme of the campaign should center on the reduction of poverty. This will entail reform of the educational sector by reducing the fee to accommodate the poor, reduction of taxes and overall development of the economy. These issues will appeal to this group because of the poverty index in their midst. These people would want to elect a person that would alleviate the suffering brought about by poverty, by improving their standards of living through economic empowerment. Education for the poor has been elusive, and any leader who pledges a reduction in school charges endears him/her to this populace. The higher in this community will want to keep their seats safe and so Jane will promise them the same. Jane will also provide ways in which she plans to deal with these issues one by one so that the voters see the sincerity in her words. She should also volunteer to help one or two of the kids in the neighborhood complete their schooling as an act of charity that will wow the voting population. The policy to be used should be all-inclusive so that all the voters are gathered for in the campaign and in the government to be formed after the campaigns (Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services, 2009).
Win or lose
The facts that Bitsy is a republican means that she has an improved chance of winning since most people from Texas are republican. The door-to-door campaign strategy coupled with other strategies will give a good result in the end. Dallas Morning News claims that despite the funding that white received for the campaigns, Texans saw him as old and out of touch. New York Times, alternatively, says that white lost because Texans are republicans by nature. Fox News, on the other hand, says that the fact that most Hispanics did not vote enabled Romney to win the elections (Dallas Morning News, 2010; New York Times, 2010; Fox News, 2010). Since Jane is not old and is a republican, the probability of her winning the ballot is high. The three articles point to the same factor that the whole paper has been discussing, and that is the weight of Republican support in Texas and the importance of the region with swing votes. Since Bitzi’s campaign, strategy involves getting and wooing the swing voters; the guarantee for her to win the election is high.
References
Hammet, J., (1992). Computer mapping helped Clinton campaign target voters. InfoWorld 14
Romney wins again, (2010), Dallas Morning News, retrieved from http://www.news.morningdallas.com/texas elections/
Texas elections, (2010), Fox News, Retrieved from www.fox news.com
Texas Politics (2009), Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services. Austin: University of Texas at Austin
Tolleson, R., Sue & Jeanie R., (1994). Claitie and the lady. Austin: the University of Texas Press.
White’s downfall, (2010), The New York times, (2010) retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/bill_white/index.html
