NEW MEXICO 2000 COORDINATED CAMPAIGN
THE ISSUE
During the 2000 presidential election, New Mexico was one of five
national battle ground states targeted by Al Gore.
Early polling showed the New Mexico electorate to be
equally divided between Gore and Bush. In addition
to acting as a bellwether state for the presidency,
the New Mexico Democratic Party also had Senate and
House seats to defend. In addition, over the course
of ten years, the once strongly Democratic State Legislature
had eroded to a slim majority and was at risk for further
loss. The New Mexico State Democratic Party retained
Burnside & Associates to design and implement a statewide field
program to target and turnout enough voters to win
the state of New Mexico for the presidency, as well
as for all local Democratic candidates.
THE SOLUTION
Burnside & Associates created and led a truly coordinated campaign
structure that represented all Democratic candidates
in New Mexico. The state was divided into three geographic
regions based on voter targeting, priority races and
geography. Burnside & Associates:
- Designed and executed a comprehensive Voter Contact/ Vote-By-Mail program. The program focused on a combination
of face-to-face, phone and mail contact to stimulate a statewide
target of 95,000 medium propensity Democrats.
- Constructed a statewide data information system to
support the program. Remote offices input daily voter
contact information, which was uploaded nightly to
the base office in Albuquerque. The master file was
enhanced and purged daily, thereby maximizing resources
by eliminating from the target voters who had already
cast ballots while adding in new contacts that were
made each day.
- Implemented culturally-specific programs in base areas. Worked with local
Chapter Houses and community gatekeepers to engage
different groups into the overall turnout program,
including Hispanic, Native American, Gay & Lesbian, Youth and Senior efforts.
- Recruited and organized more than 2,000 volunteers for the New Mexico State Democratic Party.
- Delivered more than 32,000 Occasional Democrats before or on Election Day.
THE RESULT
Burnside & Associates' field and Vote-By-Mail program provided a slim margin of victory for
Al Gore - 366 votes to be exact. For only the second time in history,
the presidential candidate who won the state of New
Mexico lost the presidency. Additionally, local Democrats
gained two State House seat and the U.S. Senate and
House seats were retained by Democrats. Moreover, for
the first time in a decade, the New Mexico State Senate
did not lose a single Democratic seat. Burnside & Associates was the only national field-consulting firm in a bellwether state in 2000 that won.
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