And look what happened this time around. West Virginia, (mostly lower 47% voters) gave Trump one of his most massive and impressive victories. Isn't that ABSOLUTE PROOF that Romney deliberately threw the election, by not campaigning to voters who want to better themselves?
Each situation will be as unique as the operatives that they send.
My experience with GOP staff has been very positive in two different states.
1. GOP #1: Well seasoned long term campaigner ran a smooth campaign, flexible, worked hard. She was very efficient and pleasant, no drama.
2. GOP #2: An incompetent and inexperienced daughter of someone very special. She was spending most of the time decorating the office!! No lists, no phone numbers, no phones, no copiers, nothing. This is in a county with millions of voters. Kept the office closed on Sundays. She was using volunteers for voter’s registration drives in areas resulting in signing up hundreds of DEMOCRATS. I swear it was so bad, we thought she must have been a RAT-plant.
After many complaints in early October through the state party chair, GOP sent a young man. This long-haired dude turned the entire campaign around to a win. He was a highly perceptive awesome campaigner. He worked round the clock and was flexible. Most importantly, he came with a generous budget and was able to hire several more people and direct them accordingly. He was a godsend. We signed letters of recommendation for him; he had a bright future ahead.
The Trump campaign needs to make no assumptions. And take nothing for granted. They must evaluate each of the 200 GOP operatives and make sure they are qualified, competent and LOYAL to him. That is my advice. (And assume GOP has back-ups to replace the occasional dud.)
I just reread your post. I wouldn’t count that experience as Romney wanting to lose.
The idea of campaigning is to spend your time and money wisely. Get the most voters in the shortest amount of time. Target republican precincts and drum up that vote.
Know when to cut your losses. Not waste as much time in areas with a very low return. Plus, they want to protect their staff and volunteers from rat-abuse, it can be demoralizing. It’s depressing to call 100 voters and get disconnected or cursed out 85/100.
Cleveland and West Virginia’s populations of potential swing voters is very different. However, rural Ohio and WV would not be so different.
Trump appeals to blue collar workers, regardless of how they are registered or not registered. He will be successful in a broader geographical range.