Two Nebraskans with ties to the direct marketing industry lost political races on Nov. 5. Stormy Dean, a Democrat vying for the governor’s mansion, failed to unseat incumbent GOP governor Mike Johanns by a 69%-27% spread, while in the state’s 2nd Congressional District, Democrat Jim Simon lost to incumbent Republican Lee Terry, 63% to 33%.
Dean had taken a leave of absence from his position as chief financial officer at InfoUSA to make the gubernatorial run. Simon is a member of the Simon family that founded Omaha Steaks, and established the company’s online marketing and sales strategy.
Their expertise in Congress would have been welcome. Direct marketing had been a hit-or-miss proposition in a number of congressional races this season, as exemplified by a number of races around the country.
Inbound telemarketing was a hit for Republican Rep. Clay Shaw (FL-22). Crooner Pat Boone attended a fundraiser at Shaw’s house, where he amused himself by picking up the phone each time it rang and announcing, “Hey, it’s Pat Boone.” Democratic Rep. Champ Walker (GA-12), however, hit a snag with outbound telemarketing when he called Annette Carr. Carr listened to his fundraising appeal and then said, “I think the House is in good hands.” Carr is a senior staffer to GOP Rep. Phil English (PA-3).
Another Democrat, Martin Frost of Texas’ 24th District, sent out an invitation to a fundraiser that asked respondents to RSVP as soon as possible to Lindsay Rachelefsky. The problem was that the response card accidentally listed “Crossfire” host Bill Press’ phone number. According to Press, after the first two dozen calls he started telling respondents that Lindsay was dead, and after the second two dozen he told callers the event had been canceled.
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) merits mention for shameless exploitation of a family member. A fundraising letter ostensibly from his 11-year-old grandson asked lobbyists to send “Grandpa” a birthday card for his 60th birthday — and pointed out that including a campaign contribution would be extra-special nice. (“Grandpa,” by the way, turned 71 on Oct. 23.)
Two East Coast Democrats ran into trouble with photograph-based direct mail pieces. In Maryland’s 8th District, Democrat Chris Van Hollen sent out a mailer that featured a mock Time magazine cover, with his picture in the “Man of the Year” position. (Van Hollen had received a small mention in an issue.) Time’s lawyers contacted him and told him to cut it out.
In the New Jersey 5th, Republican-turned-Democrat Anne Sumers sent out a letter than included a photo of herself and retiring GOP Rep. Marge Roukema to 80,000 independent and GOP households. Roukema noted that the picture was probably taken while Sumers was still a Republican.
Democratic Rep. Barney Frank (MA-4) described how he often uses poems to thank his campaign contributors. He is especially fond of limericks (“There once was a congressman from Newton/whose friends kindly sent lots of loot in./So when the right-wingers/assailed him with zingers/his own horn he could afford to be tootin’) and haikus (Congressman B. Frank/asked his friends to send money/and was glad they did). He likes these forms because they have “the enormous virtue of being a hell of a lot shorter than a sonnet.”
Finally, there is Rep. Max Sandlin, a Democrat who represents Texas’ 1st District. Sandlin earned Chile Pepper magazine’s “Zestiest Legislator” contest by eating eight hot peppers and chugging a bottle of Tabasco sauce. There’s nothing direct marketing-related about this, but it’s worth noting that Sandlin lived through the experience.
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