Coyle Political Consulting

05/09/2016

I agree with campaign and fundraising guru Nancy Bocskor. Don't treat you donors like this.

Just because it works doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. This terrible piece of political fundraising, reported by the Seattle Times at Overdue bill? GOP hits new low with this fundraising appeal, crosses an ethical line by appearing overwhelmingly to be something that it's not. Here's the env...

07/23/2015

This may be one reason the Republicans are so laser focused on portraying Hillary Clinton as "dishonest". Their own favorability is declining and they trail Democrats 45-29 on who governs in an honest and ethical way. They are also seen as more extreme in positions 52-35. This is a serious weakness for them.

Survey Report The Republican Party’s image has grown more negative over the first half of this year. Currently, 32% have a favorable impression of the

07/15/2015

One thing to always remember, "SuperPAC" dollars don't go as far because they don't get candidate discounts on ads. It's always nice to have a 100 million dollar SuperPAC, but you have to know how to use that money effectively for it to really matter.

And the catch is named Citizens United.

06/04/2015

Here's why you should always take Beltway political reporting with a grain of salt. Despite weeks of "Benghazi!!!!" whining from the GOP, and multiple articles on how her numbers are just "sooo bad", the best any of the GOP field can do is tie Hillary Clinton, in NORTH CAROLINA. NC is a reddish-purple state. If Clinton was as weak as we are told, most of the GOP field should be leading her in this barely-swing state. The fact the she leads the GOP frontrunner, Bush, by 7 points should make the GOP sweat like they just tasted some spicy North Carolina BBQ.

For the most part Jeb Bush has been struggling in...

04/17/2015

CAMPAIGN INSIDER 6 questions for your first campaign hire By Rory McShane & Joseph Desilets Apr 16, 2015 0 comments The first hire on a campaign sets the tone. Bring in the wrong person and it could stunt your candidacy. The right personnel decision, meanwhile, can be the first step toward winning o…

04/17/2015

Tunnel Vision: I heard a lot about this when I was a paramedic. We were always cautioned to reassess the patient and treat the patient not the cardiac monitor. It is very easy to get hyper-focused on the obvious injury and ignore a much larger problem that is less obvious but will kill the patient before that badly broken leg does. This happens in politics too. I've read a book and several articles in the last few weeks on Democrats and their massive data machine. Data is a great tool. Door-to-door work is a must in campaigns. However, they are just PARTS of a larger campaign organism. I can tell you from experience, you can knock on 100,000 doors using data that was gathered that morning, but if you don't have a clear message or strong fundraising and your party hasn't been successful in creating an effective brand that the public remembers and the base is excited about, door-to-door isn't going to do much. The Democratic Party has plenty of very highly qualified specialists in data, field, fundraising and communications, but do we have a dearth of campaign generalists who can pull all of those sectors together so they can compliment rather than compete with each other? Perhaps. We certainly need both if we are going to win, especially at the state level. Of course, I say this as a generalist, but it is none the less true.

07/29/2014

Good advice here. I had the privilege of having Nancy as one of my professors at George Washington University. She's a wealth of information on fundraising.

06/11/2014

I argued last year with my professors and fellow students at George Washington University on the politics of this subject. I contended that even though 2/3 of the public supports immigration reform, the Republican Primary electorate represents the extreme of the remaining third that is opposed to ANY reform. The GOP is in a political "no-win" situation here because they must play to an extreme base that totally alienates large sections of the general electorate.

The House Republican leader succumbs to David Brat, a little-known conservative activist.

04/09/2014

I've been reading new poll numbers and reports for the last hour or so. There's something all of the 2014 "Doom and Gloom for Democrats!!" prognosticators are going to have to address, which is why so many of the 2010 class of GOP Governors (Maine, Florida, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin) are in such serious trouble. You can't predict a GOP wave with this many GOP chief executives in danger. There's something more complicated at work here.

04/02/2014

Although I disagree with the Supreme Court's decision of allowing more corruption to flow into our elections, I do not think it will help Republicans as much as some pundits claim. Why? Because despite all of their bluster about "government efficiency" and "business-minded" action, Republicans run some of the most inefficient campaigns the world has ever seen. They are overly-dependent on very expensive television advertizing campaigns that studies show are becoming less and less effective. Their fundraising efforts are very narrowly focused and unable to attract large numbers of voters. Republicans also do an extraordinarily poor job of targeting, as demonstrated by the expensive direct mail that I continue to receive from Republican candidates.

The Supreme Court took another step Wednesday toward giving wealthy donors more freedom to influence federal elections.

03/31/2014

Some context for these poll numbers that the "liberal" media is not providing. At 49/48 approval, "Obamacare" has more than twice the approval rating of Congressional Republicans who are at 22/72 in the Marist poll and 17(!)/76 in the Qpoll.

A new Washington Post/ABC poll shows that support for the health-care law has surged among Democrats, with 76% of Democrats supporting the law -- up 11 point...

03/24/2014

Here's an interesting article. The GOP has the luxury of having the most red-leaning Senate class up for election this year. In 2016 though, they face huge obstacles, especially if there's a Clinton at the top of the ticket.

THE FIX | A look at 11 Senate races most likely to switch parties this November.