MEMO from NRCC


TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: NRCC COMMUNICATIONS
DATE: NOVEMBER 3, 2010
SUBJECT: LOOKING BACK AT THE 2010 CYCLE


The message sent by the American people last night was the response to nearly 22 months of a reckless, job-killing spending agenda on the part of House Democrats as the economy suffered under their watch.  While it was Democrats that created the political environment that eventually became their downfall, it was House Republicans that defined that agenda from the very beginning and provided the resources needed to achieve our goal of retiring Nancy Pelosi.
 
As the Washington Post recently noted: “at the start of the 2010 campaign, House Democrats' 39-seat majority seemed insurmountable.”  Knowing this, House Republicans moved forward with a significant effort to ensure that we had enough resources and candidates in place so that – if the political environment were to change – we would be in a position for victory.
 
Doing so would require us to build a political organization to provide Republican candidates with the resources necessary to gain the majority.  The first step in that process was to expand the playing field of qualified and competent candidates, helping them build strong campaigns, and putting them in a position for victory.  We had to improve every campaign that we touched, and we did so with a team effort.
 
BUILDING THE NRCC TO WIN
 
While Democrats were still celebrating President Obama’s historic electoral victory in January 2009, it was evident that if Republicans were to win the majority it was going to take a team effort from within their ranks. With that in mind, Chairman Sessions sought to make the NRCC more inclusive for the entire House Republican Conference and enlisted Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) to serve as his Deputy Chairman. Creating a structure of regional Member teams dedicated to recruitment, fundraising and incumbent retention, Walden and this team played a critical role in helping the NRCC take advantage of opportunities sooner and prevent problems earlier.  After making the NRCC more inclusive for Members, the next step was to develop programs and projects that would enhance Republican opportunities nationwide.  Among these:
       
CHANGING MENTALITY AND STRUCTURE
 
One of the first steps in building a political organization designed to play offense was to change the mentality and structure of the NRCC.  Knowing that we would be outraised by Democrats for the cycle, several steps were made to ensure that we would not be outgunned in terms of staff.  Traditionally, the bulk of committee staff is hired in the election year, with the off year used to build up resources on a slim budget.  Knowing that we did not have the luxury of allowing Democrats to outgun us in 2009, the NRCC took steps to strengthen its Communications and Research departments, as well as establishing a new eCampaign department to improve the capability and use of new technology.
 
RECRUITMENT
 
Under Rep. McCarthy’s leadership as NRCC Vice Chair for Recruitment, “Young Guns” was built as a program to help candidates meet a series of goals and benchmarks to help them on the road to victory.  To help convince candidates to run, Rep. McCarthy – along with Chairman Sessions and Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) – traveled the country to recruit “community leaders” who had a brand outside of party politics but were committed to changing the direction of Washington and this country.  After surpassing a goal to recruit 80 candidates in key races, Leader Boehner set a more ambitious objective of 100.  At the end of the day, McCarthy and the team at the NRCC were able to help get a Republican on the ballot in 431 of the 435 House congressional districts. 
 
RESOURCES
 
Heading into this election cycle, there was never any doubt that Republicans would be outspent by Democrats on both the local and national level.  The challenge was to ensure that we were competitive against our counterparts at the DCCC.  To start filling this fundraising gap, NRCC Finance Chair Jeb Hensarling took the lead on expanding our national network of donors, utilizing Members and Leadership in regional fundraising events, and employing Republican allies and surrogates to campaigns nationwide.  The results speak for themselves:
           
RETIREMENT STRATEGY
 
The NRCC understood firsthand that, in order to make a good election cycle a great one, Republicans needed to force more open seat opportunities in Democrat-held seats.  To do so, NRCC Communications developed a retirement strategy to put pressure on senior Democrat lawmakers who might consider throwing in the towel.  Rep. Dennis Moore’s (KS-03) announcement in December 2009 set off a string of retirements in the months to follow; including John Tanner (TN-08), Brian Baird (WA-03), and Bart Gordon (TN-06) in December.  In all, Republicans claimed victories last night in all 13 of these competitive Democrat-held open seats.
 
EMBRACING THE MOVEMENT
 
The townhall protests that erupted in August 2009 provided the first visible signs of the anger and frustration that Americans of all political parties were feeling.  While Speaker Pelosi and other Democrat leaders criticized these citizens as “un-American,” the NRCC embraced the movement and highlighted the rude awakening that vulnerable Democrats were receiving with daily emails entitled “Recess Roastings.”  Events held by Reps. Baron Hill (IN-09), Steve Driehaus (OH-01) and others became instant YouTube sensations and were proof that Democrats had a much bigger problem on their hands than they originally expected.
 
SPENDING STRATEGY: EXPANDING THE PLAYING FIELD
 
The NRCC spent a total of $54 million in 90 congressional districts.  While that figure is a significant increase from last election cycle, the more important fact is not what we spent but how we spent it.  It was always expected that Republicans would have fewer financial resources than Democrats this cycle, but we were able to make up for it with a significantly wiser spending strategy.  By investing resources early in key races that expanded the playing field, we forced the Democrats into a game of “Whac-a-Mole” that required them to constantly play defense in an unsuccessful effort to stop the bleeding.  Here’s how political observers viewed it:
     
REAL WORK BEGINS
 
While many deserve credit for this victory, the American people proved once again that they control the levers of power in this government.  For the last two years, Democrats failed to recognize that there is a difference between campaigning and governing.  Republicans have listened carefully to the public’s outcry and now accept the responsibility that comes when voters entrust a party to govern according to the will of the people. We are proud to stand with the American people as they send a message to Washington by taking the Speaker’s gavel away from Nancy Pelosi.  Now the real work begins. 
 
 
###