Building Digital Strategies for Down Ballot Incumbents

Incumbent candidates face a leg up in comparison with candidates running for office for the first time. Generally, most elections favor incumbents because of the home team advantage, rooted in familiarity and an already established confidence in their capabilities. Voters see incumbent candidates as experienced, and more likely to win a role in office because of it. In turn, this mindset helps raise funds, which can make or break a campaign.

At BCom, we’ve helped candidates win elections and also maintain their digital presence after the campaign ends. Incumbency guarantees a headstart, but it doesn’t secure a win, making a robust digital strategy all the more necessary.

The way voters see candidates has changed drastically over the past decade. However, the goal has never changed: win. We pride ourselves on providing up to date campaign tactics for our clients.

Here is a look at how we build digital strategies for some of our incumbent candidates.

State Senator Adam Morfeld

Senator Adam Morfeld is known as a progressive leader in a state that leans conservative. Senator Morfeld’s platform covers everything from creating affordable healthcare to medical marijuana, to Medicare for all.

Going into the 2018 election, Senator Morfeld was running unopposed, presenting our team with a unique challenge: craft a strategic digital plan that would boost his platforms for a seat that he already had in the bag.

Luckily, Sen. Morfeld possesses an excellent social media following that he regularly updates with legislative happenings and events. His social media clout proved vital in a district that is mostly made up of college students. Between Facebook and Twitter, Sen. Morfeld boasts more than 15,000 followers. Not only does this statistic demonstrate his popularity among young voters, but it also gave our team a stable platform on which to craft a strategy.

While working with the young senator, we crafted posts that featured a sharp, modern, and sometimes humorous tone. This sat well with his constituents.

Jan Hartl

Jan Hartl, a Republican incumbent, successfully ran for re-election as County Treasurer in Wilson County Texas in March 2018. Jan has served as the Wilson County Treasurer for the past 12 years and came to BCom seeking help with her re-election campaign. Our task was to reach as many voters through digital ads as possible in a short period, enhancing Jan’s brand awareness and reaching rural constituents.

We designed and created graphics to help Jan get out the vote and spread her campaign’s vision. We also kept Jan’s social platforms up-to-date with graphics and photos. Our team utilized Facebook Ads for the Hartl campaign to reach voters across Wilson County. These ads shared information about Jan’s campaign and her success stories as County Treasurer for the past 12 years, as well as voting general awareness.

Jim Begley

The goal for Jim Begley’s re-election campaign was simple: raise awareness of his role, knowledge of the campaign, and exposure to a wider audience.

Jim Begley is a committed public servant who came to us in need of help with his re-election campaign to the Omaha Metropolitan Utilities District [MUD] board. Nothing beats experience – and Jim Begley has plenty of it. As he geared up to run for a second term, our team worked to show how much Begley had accomplished and how he made the board a more transparent organization.

Reach and exposure were the primary goals of the Begley campaign. Our team achieved this goal by putting ads out that exhibited his solid record and links to his new website. Our work also put forth awareness for his campaign and the platform he ran on. As a continuation of our efforts, we constructed regular email updates about his campaign and encouraged followers to go out and vote. Even when another MUD board member ran for Jim’s seat midway through the campaign, our team had established him as a strong candidate. As a result, Begley was re-elected for MUD Board in 2018.  

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