Trey Grayson for Secretary of State!
(Remember Florida in 2000? Having the above office is VERY important)
Linda Greenwell for State Auditor!
Posted on 08/12/2003 4:20:24 PM PDT by Republican Wildcat
Combining modern Internet technology with old-school groundwork, state Republican Party leaders are fanning out across the state and setting up shop in ten key cities (including Florence), in a bid to elect the state's first Republican governor in more than 35 years. The statewide initiative, which party officials call "Team Kentucky," is a take on a similar strategy used in last year's statehouse and congressional races.
Organizing on a local level, the party will mobilize state, local and federal Republicans to promote its statewide ticket, headed this year by gubernatorial candidate Congressman Ernie Fletcher.
Team Kentucky will start with door-to-door and voter education efforts, culminating with a 72-hour campaign blitzkrieg of phone calls and advertising in the hours before Election Day on Nov. 4.
State Republican Party Chairwoman Ellen Williams said Northern Kentucky is a crucial component in Republican victories this fall.
The party has opened a regional office in Florence at 8185 Mall Road at the Circuit City Center.
It was one of the first; others are planned for Louisville, Lexington, Ashland, Paducah and three more cities. The Florence office, comprised mainly of volunteers, will link the state's Republican candidates with Boone, Kenton and Campbell county voters.
"We have a very hard-working, focused group of people who understand a need for a change in Frankfort," said Williams, echoing a major Fletcher campaign theme.
Though only a few dozen staffers work out of the office now, the party has a database of about 200 area volunteers to call on.
Some workers have already passed out candidate information in Boone County's Richwood, Mount Zion and Triple Crown areas, with plans to cover the three-county region in the coming months.
"(Senator) Jim Bunning has really built a powerhouse up there. We credit him with a lot of the change and the momentum (in Northern Kentucky)," Williams said from her Frankfort office.
Though Democrats outnumber Republicans in Northern Kentucky, voters often put Republicans in local, state and national offices.
Each of the three major Northern Kentucky counties has a GOP County Judge-Executive, and Republicans comprise a slim majority of the Northern Kentucky's state legislative delegation. In 2000, the region elected President Bush by a large margin.
State Treasurer candidate Adam Koenig, a Kenton County commissioner, and one of two Northern Kentuckians on the statewide ballot (Park Hills attorney Trey Grayson is running for secretary of state), said the party's regional office is invaluable to his campaign.
"It's a focal point where I can leave literature and campaign signs and people can go there to pick them up," the Villa Hills Republican said. "It's tremendously helpful. The state party has been wonderful."
The party also has a Web site at: www.teamkentucky.org. It lists the seven Republican candidates for statewide office, and includes their pictures, campaign phone numbers and a link to their Web sites.
Users can sign up for e-mail campaign updates and give the party their contact information. Potential workers can use the site to volunteer for anything from walking in local parades, answering phones, stuffing mail or making campaign contributions.
Party spokesman Scott Jennings said this is the Republican's first try in reaching volunteers statewide via the Internet. It's a cheap and quick way to reach voters, he said.
"A number of campaigns are using the Internet to organize on a grassroots level. It's cost efficient and gives us a chance for rapid response. -- And not only do we get their contact information, (the site) allows us to see exactly how they want to help us," Jennings said.
Williams said grassroots campaigning became a big part of the Republican arsenal over the last five years. It takes local workers to get voters to the polls.
"It will play a huge role. We're organizing down the precinct level in most cases," she said.
Barbara Haas, chairwoman of the Campbell County Republican Party, will be one of those walking neighborhood streets for the GOP ticket.
"We'll do phone banks, door-to-door and yard signs," she said. "There will not be a door not knocked on."
Haas is also working out details for "Physicians for Fletcher" fundraiser she plans to host next month in Campbell County (Fletcher is a doctor).
She said it will be one of several Fletcher fundraisers in the region. The gubernatorial candidate held a fund-raiser in Erlanger last month that netted nearly $130,000.
Haas said the state party is eyeing Northern Kentucky because of its recent population explosion -- Census figures show it's the state's fastest-growing region -- and the accompanying influx of GOP-leaning voters.
"We've grown more and more, and we're a very Republican area," she said. "This is an important part of the Fletcher campaign."
But if the May primary was any indication, it could be difficult to engage voters, whether Democrat or Republican.
A total average of only 9.6 percent of voters turned out in Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties to vote on statewide offices, a number even more dismal than the statewide average of 17.6 percent.
"Obviously Northern Kentucky is a strongly Republican area -- and getting out the vote is going to be extremely important," Koenig said.
Haas said as the campaign season heats up in the fall, more voters will tune in. She also said Northern Kentucky's two candidates could pull in more voter interest.
"I really think Northern Kentucky is a pretty engaged area, and there will be an awful lot of people working hard to make sure they know about this election," Haas said.
Trey Grayson for Secretary of State!
(Remember Florida in 2000? Having the above office is VERY important)
Linda Greenwell for State Auditor!
Keep up the good work RW !! Go Kentucky GOP !!
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