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A donor in Ohio told me my stump speech was too defensive
He said 'you sound like you're apologizing for winning.' So I cut all the soft language and started leading with policy wins. Has anyone else had a donor call them out on messaging?
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andrewt4114d ago
That "stop sounding like you lost when you actually won" line really stuck with me. I had a buddy who ran for county commission and he was doing the same thing, talking about compromise and bipartisanship all the time. A donor pulled him aside and said "you got 58% of the vote, why are you acting like you squeaked by?" He switched to leading with the property tax freeze he got passed and people started actually listening at town halls. Your mileage may vary but there's something to be said for not apologizing for winning, I guess.
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the_ben16d ago
Leading with the Medicaid expansion numbers killed it for me in rural PA districts. People there actually use those services more than they let on in public, so when you frame it as 'we cut uninsured rates by 15% in your county' instead of 'we saved the ACA' they suddenly stop tuning out. The trick is finding the policy that directly hits their monthly reality - property tax relief, road repair funding, school lunch programs. Donors just want you to stop sounding like you lost when you actually won the damn thing.
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