1. How do you feel that the campaign is going in Bay County?
I think we have a strong campaign in Bay County. Our volunteer numbers have grown tremendously since June, and with the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential nominee, our conservative base is now fully energized! We are currently hosting a Super Saturday every weekend at our Victory Office with phone bankers, sign wavers, and precinct walkers. In October, the Bay County Republican Party promoted McCain/Palin as well as our local Republican candidates in booths at the Bay County Fair and Oktoberfest. This weekend we will be hitting the beach to promote our campaign at the Seafood Festival at Frank Brown Park. All in all, I think we have great momentum and look forward to victory in November.
2. Did you attend the Palin rally in Pensacola? If so, what were the highlights for you? How many tickets were given away?
I was unable to attend the Palin rally in Pensacola due to school schedules for my daughters, but many of our volunteers and supporters from Bay County were able to attend. I heard she did a fantastic job! However, a few of our faithful supporters were unable to get in due to limited seating at the venue, which is extremely unfortunate. They had waited several hours in the rain and wind and were very disappointed. I have relayed our concerns to RPOF and the state chairs to ensure that this type of thing does not happen at future events. I believe our local victory office distributed between 750 - 800 tickets in Bay County.
3. Have you been able to meet the goals set for the local party from RPOF? About how many phone calls have been made?
The goals set for the local party from RPOF are extremely ambitious! We are being asked to make 55,000 phone calls, recruit 1200 volunteers, and get 52,000 votes for McCain. Even though we have not met all of our targets, we have a dedicated group volunteers who working hard to help us achieve victory in November. We average between 700-900 phones calls per week and will be asking our organized coalitions to help us increase these numbers each week. As we get closer to the final weeks of the campaign, every phone call we make and every door we knock on will make a difference in our grassroots campaign!
4.Has communication improved between RPOF, McCain 08 "National" and your operation? Are you getting the supplies you need, or is the local party still paying for them?
Communication has improved between RPOF, McCain 08, and our local campaign. In fact we have a weekly conference call with our state chair to get campaign updates, event information, and status on campaign supplies and materials. We got a couple of large shipments of collateral this week, including over 800 signs and a large supply of bumper stickers. The only problem is that shipments have very erratic, which makes planning a challenge. Our local party has met our cap on campaign contributions under current campaign laws. However, we have been very fortunate that private individual donors have stepped up and purchased materials on their own including signs, t-shirts, buttons, etc... to ensure that everyone who walks into our victory office leaves with something.
5. What were your impressions of the second McCain-Obama debate, compared to the first one?
I personally preferred the format of the first debate, as well as the moderator, Jim Leirer, better than the second. Even though the town hall format is usually my first choice, I have to say that I felt the exchange between the candidates and the moderator was better in the first one. I felt that John McCain showed his strengths in foreign policy and reduced spending/earmarks quite effectively in both debates. I also liked the fact that he was more specific on his economic policies as well those on energy independence and healthcare reform in the second.
6. How has the reaction been from undecided voters in your opinion?
The reaction from the undecided voters in our county has been mixed. In fact, I believe most are leaning toward one candidate or the other at this point. Since we call all undecided voters, no matter their party affiliation, most tend to be leaning toward their registered party candidate.
7. What has been the response among younger voters to McCain-Palin 2008?
I am thrilled to see more and more young voters come into our offices every day looking for a way to help with the campaign. I have also had the opportunity to participate in Project Democracy through the Supervisor of Elections office that encourages voter registration in the local high schools. Through my visits to area high schools, I have seen a great deal of momentum change to our side since the announcement of Sarah Palin. More young voters are now signing up to volunteer and we have many who are helping us distribute materials at both GCCC and FSU-PC. In fact, I have young volunteers who are helping us establish Republican clubs at both campuses. We also have a faithful group of young voters who wave signs for us every weekend at various locations. So, with these efforts, as well as the establishment of blogs and networking sites from my eCampaign Coordinator, Eric Wall, I feel that we are doing a much better job of reaching more young voters who want to get involved.(I really appreciate that-ed.)
8. Do you have access to any internal Republican polls, locally or state-wide? If so, what are they indicating?
Although I do not have access to any state-wide polls, our local data shows that we are doing very well. In fact, I think we can win Bay County and Northwest FL. My biggest concern is the I-4 Corridor, which is where elections are won or lost in this state. Therefore, the campaign is concentrating a bulk of their efforts in this area and targeting each of those counties to ensure victory in November.
9. Do you have a chance to talk with campaign leaders in other area counties, such as Washington, Walton, Gulf or any others?
Our Regional Victory Representative, Anthony Pate, keeps me informed about the various activities in surrounding counties. We also try to coordinate with them when making collateral orders and organizing local events to increase efficiency and lower costs. It is also nice to get a variety of new ideas to reach voters and increase grassroots activities. Our local leaders will be attending the Quarterly RPOF meeting in Orlando on October 17. This is also a great time to meet with other county leaders and discuss best practices for coordinating the final weeks of the campaign.
10. What has been the response among women voters?
We have had a phenomenal response among women voters after the announcement of Sarah Palin. She has certainly energized our base and infused excitement into the campaign. We have also had a large number of former Hillary supporters come into our office proclaiming their support for Sarah Palin. In fact, we can't keep enough Palin materials on hand to satisfy the never-ending demand! I guess that is a good problem to have! So, yes, the response has been extremely positive and we have been able to sign up numerous new women for the Women for McCain Coalition and as new volunteers.
11. For people considering volunteering, what is your most pressing need at this time as we head into the final stretch of the election?
Our most pressing need at this point as we head into the final stretch of the election is for phone bankers. The state is currently making about 200,000 phone calls per week. This week they raised our statewide goal to 250,000 phone calls, which means they will be calling on our local victory offices to increase our call numbers.
Many people may not be comfortable making cold calls. However, we have a great script that is easy to deliver and equip callers with cell phones and bubble sheets to record their responses. The phone lists consists of voters from Bay County only! In fact, we can pull off a list of voters from individual precincts, if callers are more comfortable calling people in their own neighborhoods. Our Victory Office Day Managers will provide phone bank orientations to anyone wishing to help us with this vital campaign function.
Another pressing need in the final weeks of the campaign is for precinct walkers. In order to get the vote out, we must conduct our campaign door-to-door to reach as many voters personally as possible. It is a proven fact that people are more likely to vote when they are contacted personally and asked for their vote. I believe this is true in small towns as well as large cities. You can not discount the effectiveness of personal contact with the voter. So, I ask all precinct leaders and volunteers to consider canvassing their precincts as we approach early voting and election day.
If you have any further questions concerning the campaign, please feel free to contact me at (850) 774-6705 or via email at mrsak1995@aol.com
Melissa Hagan
McCain/Palin Co-Chair (Bay County)
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