Chris Georgacas named top political influencer

Goff & Howard President Chris Georgacas was recently named one of Minnesota’s top political influencers by Campaigns and Elections magazine. On the list, he joins Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Congressman Erik Paulsen, former U.S. Vice President Walter Mondale, and others.

Chris is widely regarded as one of Minnesota’s top public affairs strategists. He has been involved in Minnesota government, civic affairs, and politics for more than three decades, including serving two terms (from 1993-1997) as state chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota. Earlier this year, the Republican Party honored Chris with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Following a transition of leadership in the Emmer campaign, Chris became chairman and helped Tom Emmer become highly competitive in Minnesota’s gubernatorial race.

Congratulations to Chris on this well-deserved honor.

Your vote matters

Election Day – Tuesday, November 2 – is approaching quickly. In a state of more than five million people, some wonder if one vote really matters. It does. Hundreds of federal, state and local elections in the United States have been decided by less than a percentage point, including several races in the past decade.

• The memorable 2008 Coleman/Franken Senate election was decided by a margin of only 312 votes.
• In 2008, an election for the Alaska House of Representatives was decided by one vote following a recount.
• An election for the Oklahoma House of Representatives was decided by only two votes in 2006.
• A gubernatorial election in Washington State was decided by 133 votes in 2004.
• A primary election for the Ohio Senate was decided by 22 votes in 2004.
• A U.S. House of Representatives election in Colorado was decided by 121 votes in 2002.
• George Bush narrowly won the Presidential election in 2000. He won in Florida by 537 votes and in New Mexico by 366 votes. The margin of victory was less than 5% in 12 states and between 5 and 10% in 10 states, making it the closest Presidential election since 1876.
• Going further back in history, Minnesota’s closest statewide race was decided by only 91 votes. In Minnesota’s 1962 gubernatorial election Karl Rolvaag defeated Elmer Anderson by a margin of 0.01%.

Although the state gubernatorial race has been getting a lot of press over the past few months, there are also several important city and county referendums and races that might not have grabbed the attention of the media. Because fewer people vote in these elections, it is even more important that voters make informed decisions and vote. The Minnesota Secretary of State website has sample ballots listing who and what will be on your ballot.

On November 2, remember to go to the polls, because your vote really does matter.

Saint Paul Chamber Gubernatorial Candidate Forum

Goff & Howard is sponsoring the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce’s Gubernatorial Candidate Forum. The forum will be held at Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Saint Paul on Wednesday, September 8, from 5:30-8 p.m. Join us and other members of the business community to hear Mark Dayton, Tom Emmer, and Tom Horner give their perspectives on health care policy.

To register, contact Kay Baker at kbaker@healtheast.org.

Vacationing in August? Don’t forget to vote

August is when many Minnesotans take vacations from hectic work schedules. But this year Minnesotans who are planning to be away from the state on Tuesday, August 10 will miss the chance to vote in one of the most highly contested Minnesota primary elections in recent history – unless they plan ahead.

This year, Minnesota passed a law moving the primary election from September to August to comply with a new federal law lengthening the legally required absentee balloting period for military and overseas voters from 30 to 45 days. Under Minnesota’s former political calendar, the primary election would have occurred on September 14, leaving only three days for candidates to campaign before absentee voting for the general election is required to open on September 17.

With as many as five candidates vying for one spot on the ballot, each vote is crucial to help narrow the field of candidates for the general election. Those who will be out of town on August 10 should make sure they request an absentee ballot in time to vote before then. To cast an absentee ballot, voters must already be registered (the registration deadline was July 20), but they can still register at their polling location on the day of the primary election if they will be in town.

More information about the primary elections, voting districts, and voter registration can be found on the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website.

Do political ads on television matter anymore?

It’s official: the first political ads for the 2010 election have started invading our screens and monitors. As we brace ourselves for a five-month barrage of political messages, we can’t help but wonder, do these ads really work? Millions of people go to great lengths to avoid commercials by fast-forwarding with DVRs or watching shows on the Internet. With the rise of social media, tweets and Facebook ads are giving candidates new ways to reach audiences. The GH Spin wants to know what you think about political television ads. We’ll share the results here.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Social media use on the Minnesota campaign trail

As a libertarian Republican, I’m not in the habit of reading the MN Progressive Project blog. But “The Big E” has done some nice original work in comparing the social media presence of the gubernatorial and select congressional candidates’ campaigns.

The ever-changing meaning of change

The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press just released a new study that tests Americans’ reactions to words and phrases that are used frequently in political conversations: “capitalism,” “civil liberties,” “civil rights,” “family values,” “libertarian,” “militia,” “progressive,” “socialism,” and “states’ rights.”

Here are the results, so look away now if you want to rank the words yourself from most positive to least positive impression.

1. Family Values: 89% positive/9% negative
2. Civil rights: 87%/10%
3. Civil liberties: 76%/14%
4. States rights: 77%/15%
5. Progressive: 68%/23%
6. Capitalism: 52%/37%
7. Libertarian: 38%/37%
8. Socialism: 29%/59%
9. Militia: 21%/65%

As expected, Democrats and Republicans differed in their reactions. Democrats were more favorable than Republicans to “civil liberties,” “civil rights,” “libertarian,” “progressive,” and “socialism.” Republicans responded more positively than Democrats to “capitalism,” “family values,” “militia,” and “states’ rights.”

But one word is conspicuously absent from the survey. It is perhaps the most used – or overused – word in politics: “change.” It was spoken so frequently during the last Presidential election that it became part of an Obama speech drinking game.

The word “change” also illustrates well that people’s reactions differ depending on who you ask and when you ask. “Change” generally has more positive connotations with younger people than older people, according to a February 2010 Pew study. During the 2008 elections, most voters would have probably said that change in American politics primarily meant a break from political leaders of the past. Those same voters today might instead associate political change with transforming Wall Street and corporate leadership.

Before the politicians of 2010 become overly fond of using any particular words, I hope they consider that words and connotations are ever-changing. If there is a politician out there who wants to talk semantics strategy, I’m all ears.