tonight’s the deadline for campaigns to get their fundraising numbers submitted, and needless to say anyone who follows the campaigns of the various candidates running for Governor, Lt. Governor, U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and everything else is getting bombarded with fundraising appeals. Typically I don’t pay attention to such appeals, but two fundraising emails from the Lt. Governor race caught my eye, probably because of the approach they take to asking for money.
First, here’s the fundraising appeals sent out by the campaign of Henry Sanders Jr.:
Before you delete this email, read on, because this isn’t like the countless other emails you’ve gotten so far about today’s fundraising deadline.
Everyone is telling you how important today’s “deadline” is, acting like the world ends at midnight tonight. But it won’t, I promise.
This deadline is something political insiders use to judge each other. And, like most things insiders care about, it doesn’t matter one bit to real people.
Real people are dealing with real problems right now–not worrying about arbitrary deadlines. Real people are thinking about what really matters to their families–how to put food on the table and get back to work.
When voters cast their ballots this fall, they won’t be thinking about who had the biggest war chest in July. They’ll vote for candidates they believe will help get this economy back on track.
I’m not running to please the insiders or to play political games. I’m running to bring real-world experience and real solutions to the Lieutenant Governor’s office, and I need your help to win this fall.
So I’m not asking you to donate in time for a hyped-up deadline; I’m asking you to invest in my campaign so I can put my real-world job creation experience to work for Wisconsin.
Invest your time because you want a Lieutenant Governor who actually supports the grassroots–helping elect progressives to local office with our Farm Team program.
Invest your energy in a campaign that engages people from all walks of life–especially those whose voices have been silenced by the political insiders.
Invest your enthusiasm because you see Students for Sanders on ten campuses and know an army of engaged young people will help elect Democrats this fall.
And if you’re able, invest your funds because you think our state needs elected officials with real-world experience and real plans to create jobs and build the economy.
I like the approach the Sanders campaign takes in this email, because while it’s obvious that it’s still essentially a fundraising email, raising money isn’t the one and only point of the email. In linking to his volunteers page, Sanders makes it clear money isn’t the only kind of support his campaign is looking for.
However, while the Sanders email encourages supporters to donate their time, energy, and enthusiasm, Tom Nelson’s campaign is taking a different approach, first painting Nelson as an underdog before bluntly asking for money:
Being an underdog is nothing new to me. When it comes to campaigns, that’s all I know.
When I first ran for the Assembly in 2004, Republican and Democratic insiders alike gave me little chance of winning a seat held by a Republican incumbent. But through hard work and determination, I won. When I ran for Majority Leader, I was labeled an underdog because I was not the hand-picked candidate. But with hard work and determination, I won.
So it should not come as a surprise, that once again, I am an underdog, largely in part because I got into the race late. We had important work to finish in the Assembly and I was not going to begin this campaign until the people’s business was complete.
To make up for lost time, I’m going to approach this campaign like all of my other campaigns – with a lot of hard work and determination.
Please join our campaign by making a contribution of $10, $25 or even $100.
What’s interesting is that while the Sanders email includes links to his campaign’s volunteers page, Nelson’s full email contains 3 links, all of which link back to Nelson’s campaign fundraising page. I’m sure Tom Nelson’s Lt. Governor campaign would welcome volunteers, but the fact that the only mention of “joining” Nelson’s Lt. Governor campaign is by making a donation is certainly interesting.
Recent Comments