Brett Rogers/ Contributing writer
In what I do to make a living, part of what I do is videography. Though I make promotional videos for businesses, about half of that work is shooting commercials for political candidates.
Each time I shoot, I get to spend some very personal time inside a candidate’s life. I get to know their spouse, children, friends, associates… My job is to amplify their voice – to really capture them in the best light and tell their story.
Most of the candidates for whom I work are first-time candidates. They watched from the sidelines for a while and then something urged them to jump into the race. Too much taxation, frivolous spending, the unavailability of the person currently in the office… something lit a fire under them to run.
But the one to watch is the spouse. The spouse has to be mostly silent, show up for photos and a few events, and endure the inevitable negativity thrown at the one they love. It’s not all negative – everyone running has supporters. But some will be mad that a person stepped forward to challenge the current office holder, and will escalate their criticism from policy to personal. It’s the personal attacks that get the spouse. They want to run to the defense of their family, but in large part, can’t really do that. That’s up to the candidate and the candidate’s campaign team to determine if and how to respond.
Too many who run for office start their race with a simple announcement – perhaps on social media. But the majority forget to secure a domain name, have a decent website built, get professional photos and video done, ready their push cards and campaign gear… while the person in office still has plenty of that from the last time they ran for office and won. It’s rarely an even race.
Most voters look at an election as a sprint from, say, six or eight months (at most) until the election itself. But that’s not true at all. From the moment that the incumbent wins election, they’re already running for re-election: gathering more contacts and donors, currying favor and making deals, and garnering more name recognition through media articles about their time in office.
Generally, name recognition is what wins a campaign. And because the challenger doesn’t have the head start that an incumbent has in terms of time and money, it’s quite an uphill battle.
When I shoot a client, they usually become a friend, and I might get phone calls throughout the campaign and hear of how it’s going. After all of the energy spent, if they lose, it’s almost always a hard loss. I try to remind them throughout the campaign that if they gave it their all and can finish with no regrets, they’ll have an easier time seeing how their voice and message changed the political climate in some way.
Though I don’t know him personally, consider Ron Paul, who ran for president three times. Though he lost, he’s one of the most influential politicians in the last twenty years. No matter how large the race, a good candidate’s message will ripple into the body of voters and impact the future.
If you plan to run for office, good for you. My advice: prepare. Get your campaign in order before you announce so that you are ready to meet the people who want to know of your campaign. Make sure you have the solid support of your spouse. Remember that your best message is what you plan to accomplish for the voters while in office. And then give it all you have. Running for office will change your life, and sometimes the lives of others.
Brett Rogers is a well-known political activist throughout Texas and resides in Marion County by Lake O The Pines. He publishes NETX.News and believes that smaller government is better government. He can be reached at brett@rightrally.com. His opinions are his own and do not reflect those of the Jefferson Jimplecute.