GREENFIELD — Despite the cold temperatures, Republicans — including current county officials — came together to listen to tips and strategies for campaigning when one decides to run as a candidate for an open seat.
Joe Elsener, executive director of the Indiana Republican Party, and Megan Umlauf, owner of Cardinal Contact, presented their information at Brandywine Church Saturday morning.
Sen. Mike Crider, who is running for reelection this year, also came out in support of teaching others how to run a campaign and join local government.
“It’s really been an honor to represent for the last 12 years in the Senate,” said Crider, who described how he had walked the stitching off three pairs of shoes by going door to door.
“It’s all about getting out and working. And I will say that some of the most interesting conversations I had were at the doorway with somebody and it helps hone your message, understand what’s on people’s minds, and really it is to your benefit talking to the folks you’re going to represent.”
Crider introduced Elsener, who he had worked with in the past due to Crider’s district having a small portion of Marion County included.
Elsener, who presented first, shared that his career in politics started back in 2010, with most of his time spent with the Indiana Republican Party. He also had spent some time working with Governor Holcomb, and in 2021 was elected the chairman for the Marion County Republican Party.
Elsener explained the breakdown of the different levels of the Republican party and how someone can get involved.
Elsener said that, even at the local precinct committeeman level, they have the ability to effectuate who is elected for seats at the Republican National Committee level, and that people are eligible to run as precinct committeemen now up until Feb. 9.
“The PC (precinct committeemen) has a handful of jobs,“ Elsener said. “They elected local GOP leadership … They help fill vacancies in local offices … But most importantly, your precinct committee people are the grassroots point of contact.”
Elsener said that with those at the headquarters, it is important to be able to have PCs around the 92 counties to be able to help.
“That’s where this grassroots presence and this division of labor is all so so important,” Elsener said.
Elsener has said that there is also a process every four years where they will create a platform committee with representation from across the state and listen to input and finalize a party platform, a guiding document with principles to follow.
Elsener said that Democrats do a similar process, however it looks “vastly different” from the Republican platform.
A final point that Elsener made was no matter what status someone is, to get involved. That could be by running, showing up to events, knocking on doors and helping candidates, etc.
“Politics is math, 50 plus one. We want to grow the party. That’s really important,” Elsener said. “But show up — be part of the party… Really be invested, really be involved. Make sure you agree with the ideas and agree with the principles.”
When running, Umlauf’s job as a principal consultant is to help candidates craft their campaign plans, from vote goals, to budgeting, to message development and more.
Before opening Cardinal Connect, Umlauf worked with a direct mail and consulting firm in Indiana where she had gained experience working with all kinds of races, from state to local level.
Umlauf said that there is not such a thing as planning too early, such as writing a campaign now versus closer to the primary elections. Umlauf said one thing you can’t get back in preparation for an election is time.
“When you plan ahead and things get a little crazy, it’s a lot easier to make a decision or deal with the new information,” Umlauf said.
Umlauf said it’s also important to analyze the race, such as taking into consideration the environment, the history of previous elections and how many votes one person may need to win.
With messaging, Umlauf said that in order to differentiate, candidates need to be able to answer the questions: Why are you running and what will you do?
“This is the thing that you’re going to have to tell voters over and over again,” Umlauf said. “So if you can’t answer these questions, you’ve skipped a step. You need to be able to explain why you’re putting your name out there.”
Another tactic Umlauf shared is understanding voters and how a candidate’s supporters will vote, such as absentee and early voting.
“Because we’ve worked so hard for so long to encourage early voting, and because more people are experienced with early voting, they’re not going back to election day voting,” Umlauf said. “Absentee and early voting doesn’t really change who votes — your likely voters are still your likely voters — but it changes when they vote.”
The Hancock County Republican Party hosted the two speakers to kick off campaigning and are currently in the process of planning some future events, such as the Lincoln Day dinner, Hancock County Republican Party chairman Janice Slivey said.
Candidates wanting to register have until noon February 9. Public has until April 8 to register to vote in the primaries. Early voting begins April 9.
