As noted in the past, I got my initial formal political education at the Campaign Management College run by Newt Gingrich and Joe Gaylord back in 1996 – shortly after the pair successfully engineered the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives in 1994.
And the duo now have a new book out, “March to the Majority: The Real Story of the Republican Revolution,” detailing Gingrich’s journey to winning a GOP majority for the first time in 40 years and becoming House Speaker.
Not only is Newt a great storyteller, but the book is loaded with practical advice on running a winning campaign. For example…
“This is a lesson for candidates today: Even if you are in a seemingly impossible district – and no one knows who you are – get out there and run like hell. Find volunteers, go out and talk to people, practice fundraising. You may not win your first election, but you will start building for future elections.”
Indeed, Gingrich lost his first two campaigns for Congress. Third time was the charm.
Here’s another…
“We went to as many Friday night football games as possible. And we continued our rule of ‘go where the people are.’ This is a mistake that candidates still make all the time today. Don’t ask people to come to you. Go to them.”
How about your handshake?
Gingrich recounts spending a day with a new campaign manager who told him at the end, “You know, you shake hands like a Yankee.” Not exactly a good thing if you’re running in the southern state of Georgia. Gingrich writes…
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The rest of this post is in July’s issue of Psephology Today, along with…
- How to use ChatGPT to write a much more catchy voice-mail message for your campaign or organization
- How to write a compelling “origin story” to help voters and donors relate to you better
- How to get volunteers to stick around forever
- 12 keys to raising more money in the mail
- Some hot tips for your donor newsletter (you do HAVE a donor newsletter, right?)
- And much, much more
Take advantage of my $1 trial offer to Psephology Today and I’ll mail you July’s issue along with a ton of other great campaign tips and special reports. Click on the link below…
