GOP dropped the ball. Need to invest in ground game. Early voting has radically changed elections in America.
We are running TV blast the masses campaigns and we need to laser focus on our hip pocket voters.
Those margins were all doable. RNC dropped the ball.
To expand on your point, we need a professional ground game. Historically, the GOP effort has been based on volunteers. Unfortunately, Ed and Gladys handing out donuts and flyers at the “Victory” headquarters (or leisurely knocking on doors over the weekend) are no substitute for trained, paid staffers who are on the street every day.
Case in point. A friend of mine is an IT manager for a major bank; he works from home in Newport News, VA. Over the last two weeks of the campaign, field reps from the Obama campaign knocked on his door no less than four times, asking if he planned to vote, needed a ride to the polls, etc. By comparison, he received zero contact from the GOP during the same period.
Volunteers are great and they can make major contributions to a campaign. But if the GOP is really serious about a ground game, they need full-time paid staff—and a plan that extends well beyond the election season.
One more note: I was told that elements of Obama’s field staff never left Ohio after the 2008 campaign; they’ve been in place for the past four years, working for Democrats, gathering data and performing other tasks. With that level of organization and effort, it’s no wonder their turnout was much larger than we expected.