They don’t call it the establishment for nothing Establishment candidates won many races. They have the inside track on fundraising, endorsements, and organization. Notably, several winning conservatives, including Lana Theis, Jim Runestad, Jason Sheppard, and Triston Cole had substantial establishment support.
Be the establishment One answer to this is to become the establishment. Lana Theis and Triston Cole are both former county party chairs. It takes time to build political connections, but it pays off eventually.
Experience counts Elected experience is valuable for winning candidates. Lana Theis, Jim Runestad, Jason Sheppard, and Gary Glenn have all been elected to local office.
If at first you don’t succeed Tom Barrett, Todd Courser, and Triston Cole have all lost elections before, but gained valuable experience in the process. This time, they won their primaries. Candidates who lost this time should look for opportunities to run again in the future.
Build a brand Lana Theis, Gary Glenn, Cindy Gamrat, and Todd Courser are known across Michigan for advocating conservative causes. This provides a larger fundraising base to tap when you run for office.
Don’t Ignore Social Issues In recent years, conservatives have shifted much more emphasis to fiscal issues. While these issues are vitally important, conservative candidates should not ignore social issues. Notably, three conservative victors, Todd Courser, Gary Glenn, and Lee Chatfield, are all known as strong defenders of traditional marriage.
Don’t split the vote In several districts (45, 47, 58, 73, 104), several conservative candidates split the vote and allowed a more moderate candidate to win. Conservatives who care more about the cause than themselves should meet and agree on one candidate to support.
Money doesn’t buy elections Self-funding candidates have a bad electoral track record. Notably, Paul Mitchell and Brian Ellis, who both spent millions of their own money trying to get elected to Congress, lost handily. Self-funder David Trott did win, but that had more to do with Kerry Bentivolio’s weak campaign.
(10)Nuh Uh.
(2)
