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June 17, 2008
Texas Monthly's Advice For Noriega
Greg beat us to the analysis, but over the weekend we read a rather eye-opening piece from John Spong in Texas Monthly, penned as a memo to the Rick Noriega U.S. Senate campaign.
Spong echoes a lot of what we've heard in recent months from pols and insiders around Texas. The Noriega campaign, to be charitable, remains a work in progress. Trouble is, of course, that Election Day is now only four and a half months away, so the campaign's improvement curve must be steep indeed if there is to be a chance of victory in November. The article is harsh, but in our judgment offers some fair criticisms.
Without a doubt, fundraising is a huge issue for the campaign. To be competitive in Texas, which is geographically enormous and has nearly 20 media markets, a statewide candidate simply must be on television, which runs seven figures a week for a thorough network buy. In fairness to the Noriega camp, however, they are facing the same Catch 22 situation that has confronted most recent Democratic statewide campaigns in Texas -- to raise big money, donors have to believe you have a shot to win, but to have a shot to win, you have to raise big money. That said, the campaign has so far apparently been unable to convince donors that it is worthy of serious investment.
We think that problem is still fixable, but not for long. Rick Noriega has the potential to be a formidable statewide candidate. He is a dedicated public servant in both the military and the Texas Legislature, and has a sharp poltical and policy mind. We think part of Rick's problem is that before he was an elected official, he worked behind the scenes on other folks' campaigns. Good experience, no doubt, but being a candidate is very different than being an operative. To have a chance at success, he must surround himself with good people and then let them do their jobs. As Spong says, Noriega must listen, not just to his wife (who is also a formidable political talent), but to his team as well.
Rick Noriega still, in our judgment, needs an effective campaign message. His speech at the recent State Democratic Convention showed improvement, but frankly was still not of U.S. Senate quality, either in rhetoric or delivery. His military service is laudable and worthy of note, but cannot be the one-note Johnny of his campaign's tune. We were pleased to see his Austin speech begin to move away from mercilessly beating that drum.
The Texas Monthly piece was a bit of tough love, but could be just what his campaign needs. We still believe Rick Noriega has the potential to perform a lot better than recent statewide Democratic candidates, and has a chance to win and shock the political world on November 4th. Realizing that potential, however, means honestly assessing what's effective in the campaign and what isn't, and that starts with the candidate.
Posted by houtopia at June 17, 2008 10:36 PM
Comments
It's getting late. Rick Noriega needs to hold some well organized fundraising receptions in Dallas, Houston, El Paso, San Antonio and Austin.
http://acropolisreview.com/2008/06/2008-democratic-senate-candidate-races.html
Posted by: ... at June 25, 2008 03:22 PM