Ask Dr. Bob: “Should I knock on every door?”

Dear Dr. Bob,

I have some great volunteers and I am very grateful for their help. But they’re getting mixed messages from my campaign. My campaign manager says that when we’re walking door-to-door they should hit every door in an area because you waste too much time fiddling with a walking list to make a difference. The party says that’s nuts. They’re pressing me to use the walking list and just go to homes with registered voters who vote most often. Who’s right?

Walking Around

Dear Walking Around:

Seems to be a crop of “campaign managers” who should go back to high school and practice on those elections a bit more.

In this case, your party people are correct: use the walking list.

If you don’t, you really will waste volunteer time (and yours) leaving literature with people who either can’t or don’t vote. I remember one candidate who was so thrilled to be campaigning that when we sent him out to walk neighborhoods, he stopped at every home and really enjoyed the “spirited front door debates” he experienced.

He was clobbered on election day. But he probably had the best campaign experience of anyone that cycle. So, make a choice: get elected or get an earful from non-voters.

One last thing: Always wear comfortable shoes.

About Bob Grossfeld

Robert "Bob" Grossfeld has 30 years of experience as an award-winning, political strategist and media consultant. He has twice served as Senior Advisor to Members of Congress, Special Assistant to the Arizona State Senate Majority Leader, and Communications Director at the Arizona Department of Education as well as the Arizona AFL-CIO. He also launched and was the Publisher of the groundbreaking online political paper, 'The Arizona Guardian." He has produced award-winning media campaigns and strategies for ballot measures, candidates for Congress, Legislature, municipal offices, and Native American Tribes. Bob is President of POLITICARE and Founder of The Media Guys
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