Background

In the fall of 2008, the Kansas House Democratic Caucus needed comprehensive polling to survey voters in each of their targeted districts on hot button issues. The floundering economy coupled with the Obama fundraising machine limited cash flow for the Caucus.

With limited funds, the Caucus couldn’t afford polling in every target district. The Caucus needed a cost effective way to measure public opinion in each targeted district to tailor its direct mail programs. The Caucus also planned to use the collective results from the individual surveys to understand trends that would be helpful for other, non-targeted races that had little to no resources. And of course, the caucus needed candidate-versus-candidate breakdowns to help allocate funding

We worked with the Caucus to conduct affordable, concise automated surveys in eight state House districts. The surveys gauged voter responses on party identification, candidate preference and key issues priorities through a telephone key pad response to each question. We asked a series of seven questions, including demographics, to determine which districts were in danger. We produced cross tabs on all the results by age, race and gender for each district. Then we aggregated the survey data into a single report, giving the Caucus a “bird’s-eye” view of political trending across the state.

The Caucus used the survey results to prioritize spending on mail and electronic media in districts. Additionally, the Caucus developed standard mail pieces on issues that were consistently important in every district surveyed.

The surveys assisted the House Caucus in crafting plans to retain current seats. As a result of the information obtained from the survey, the Kansas House Caucus was better equipped to run a competitive race in November. In the end, our surveys proved to be effective tools for the campaigns as Kansas House Democrats picked up six seats in November.