Grand old party in the park

The Republicans of Minnesota SD44 put on their annual picnic in the park Thursday evening, complete with barbecue, catching up with old friends, and candidates, candidates, candidates — more great candidates than I can remember at a single SD44 picnic. The candidates who will face a primary election next Tuesday asked for the full support of the party faithful in attendance, who endorsed them at the state convention earlier this year in Rochester.

Republican-endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate Mike McFadden was relaxed and smiling after meeting voters at Farmfest this week in Morgan, Minn. McFadden talked about his farm family roots and listening to farmers talk about government over-regulation and high taxes. Unfortunately, I didn't notice McFadden's colorful campaign-graphic decorated pickup truck until it was leaving the parking lot, so I wasn't able to take a photo of it for the blog.

No doubt in spite of trying, the Republican-endorsed candidate for Minnesota Governor, SD44's own Jeff Johnson, failed to be in two places at once. So his top campaign surrogate, Johnson's wife Sondi, conveyed Jeff's greetings and heartfelt thanks for SD44's loyal support of his campaign. (There was no sign of the family bulldog and Jeff's political alter ego, Chester.)

Randy Gilbert, the Republican-endorsed candidate for state auditor and the only candidate who is actually an auditor, was very happy to report receiving positive press and support from regular folks on the Iron Range (including Gilbert, Minn.!), a traditional DFL stronghold.

HD44A Rep. Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth) and candidate for House District 44B Ryan Rutzick  stressed the need to win back control of the state House (the Senate is not up for reelection this cycle), and how close Republicans are to do just that (a few thousand more votes than in 2012 to flip a handful of seats from DFL to R).

Currently in her fourth term in the House, Anderson among friends is as approachable and humble as any mom in Plymouth, but in off-the-cuff remarks about, well, pick the issue, it's soon clear that she is a principled legislator and formidable adversary on the floor of the House or the campaign trail. Rutzick is an energetic (Anderson called him "Type-A") businessman with early fundraising success (including money in the bank and no debt). Unlike Rutzick, the three unendorsed DFL candidates for HD44B are fighting to survive next week's primary election.

Patti Meier, GOP Senate District 44 chair, urged the well-fed activists at the picnic to sign any one or all of the several sign-up sheets for various campaign activities and fundraisers, including parades, the peripatetic tasks of literature dropping and door knocking, and phone calling. (I described the last of these in my previous post.)

Gala co-chairs Sheri Auclair and Jennifer Rowe were pleased to announce that the SD44 event of the season on October 10 at the Medina Country Club will be hosted by talk radio hosts Jack Tomczack and Benjamin Kruze.

A new way of smilin' and dialin'

Ronald Reagan starred in a 1960s black-and-white film that showed off what was then state-of-the-art get-out-the-vote (GOTV) technology: typewritten lists of voters and telephone numbers, and rows of dedicated volunteers dialing (as in rotary dialing) each call to ask for their vote in the next election. Unfortunately, every phone bank shift I have ever worked has relied on pretty much the same system: what Mr. Spock might characterize as “stone knives and bearskins.”

This week, I worked a shift at a GOP phone bank to remind folks to vote in next Tuesday's primary election for our endorsed candidates. I am happy to say that Reagan wouldn't have recognized it.

The volunteers still do the smiling, but the computers do the dialing. The software can even leave a voice mail message while the volunteer moves to the next call. These two simple innovations should significantly increase the number of voters reached per hour and make the volunteer's job much easier and less error-prone.

This year, it's easier and more convenient than ever to plow through a couple hours of phone bank calls, and more productive to boot. Contact the Minnesota GOP or your local BPOU (Senate District or county) to sign up. (Paper lists, pencils, and push-button telephones are still available if you would prefer them!)