Consultants for candidates in the 32nd congressional district utilize their experience in image-making in trying to elect Republican Pete Sessions or Democrat Will Pryor in the district that includes SMU.
Voter recognition is the strategy most candidates depend on. Candidates want their names and issues known. In order for a candidate to achieve these results, a political or campaign consultant is part of the campaign team.One of the main functions for a campaign consultant is to know who and what the candidate’s district is about. Political consultants rely on this information to craft the message and image of the candidate.
Beth Hernandez is an SMU alumnus and a political consultant for Mammen Pritchard. Hernandez is part of the consultant team that is working with the Will Pryor campaign against Pete Sessions in the 32nd congressional district.
“Each member of the team brings something different to the table,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez said the consultant team fills various roles. The two main team members at the beginning are the researcher and the pollster. Both draw information from the opponent and the candidate to determine where the opportunities and vulnerabilities lie.
“Opposition research is just as important as candidate research,” said Hernandez. “Both help craft the message.”
Hernandez said research helps to develop a message box, which has a two-part goal: what do you say about yourself and what your opponent says about you.
Hernandez said that television, radio and direct mail are the main sources for advertising in a congressional race. She says that television and print have a positive and negative — television is immediate and expensive; print is affordable and credible. Hernandez works with direct mail.
“With three weeks out,” said Hernandez. “Direct mail will play an important role in Pryor’s campaign.”
Kevin Burnette is the chairman and chief executive officer of Gulf Direct. He is a marketing consultant in the private sector and 25 percent of his business is in the political arena. One of his clients is Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Dallas). Burnette said that all good campaigns and all good advertising efforts are successful when they are the truest in reflecting the essence of their candidate or product of their service.
“The job of the campaign is to reflect and to amplify what Pete Sessions is and is not,” said Burnette. “You can sense when a campaign is trying to convert a candidate into being something he or she isn’t.”
Burnette is confident that the campaign has presented Sessions to the public in an efficient and effective way. He views politics as the daily practice of history and his role as putting one’s historical views in contemporary context.
“My job is to help Pete communicate how he interprets history,” said Burnette, “how he interprets priorities for the country that is derivative of his political philosophy.”
SMU faculty members Rita Kirk and Cal Jillson agree that the success of a campaign relies heavily on the role and function of a political consultant.
Cal Jillson is the author of Pursuing the American Dream and is a political science professor at SMU. Jillson said that the top race for congress in the country in 2004 was here in Dallas between Democrat Martin Frost and Republican Pete Sessions. It was the most high profile and expensive race due to the new districting plan in Texas.
Jillson said the problem for Frost was that he was a 12-year incumbent with a cut-up district. Jillson views today’s congressional race between Sessions and Pryor, a Democrat and first-time candidate, as a lesser challenge than what Sessions faced two years ago.
“It’s a very different race because in the Frost-Session’s race,” said Jillson. “It was two heavyweights, two very experienced politicians who knew the issues cold.”Jillson said Pryor’s major set back is not having the $4 million that Frost had for his campaign advertising. Pryor only has $300,000.
“For Pryor it will be more door-to-door and introducing himself and hoping for a good showing,” said Jillson.
Rita Kirk is chair for the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs division. She views political identification as a major determinant for voters.
“Anytime you sit down with a candidate, one of the first things you’re trying to figure out,” said Kirk. “is who is this person and what does this person have as a qualification that would somehow help other people decide that they want to vote for them.” In her experience as an analyst for political campaigns, she has seen voters select candidates based largely on common backgrounds, shared values and similar belief systems.
As a strategist for congressional and gubernatorial races, Kirk knows that a campaign’s success lies in an effective image and message.
