Background

Governor Christine Gregoire was elected to office in 2004 by 129 votes after three weeks and two recounts. The 2008 contest promised to be a slugfest in a rematch against Dino Rossi.

Governor Gregoire was committed to taking the battle to Rossi, and launched her re-election campaign with a four day bio diesel bus road trip through Rossi-country in rural Washington. She planned a symbolic stop in the Tri cities region for a telephone town hall with her constituents.

We wanted to show Governor Gregoire was substantive, personable and willing to engage the debate—a wonk with the smooth touch who could mix it up when necessary.

Our company produced a telephone town hall, combined with a webcast that targeted likely Rossi voters. This was one of the few times we have simultaneously used these technologies. Constituents could listen in on the town hall via their phones; watch the webcast on their computers, or do both at the same time. It was an excellent means of making the Governor accessible to the people. During this telephone town hall, callers were able to ask questions of the governor, answer survey questions posed by the Governor or just listen to her speak. At the conclusion of the call, they could leave voice messages for her campaign. Of the 8,800 people we contacted, 1216 people attended and listened to the dozens of questions asked of the Governor during the course of the call.

Governor Gregoire excelled in this environment because of her mastery of issues and ability to think quickly. Not all our clients are as nimble and would not be candidates for a video simulcast on the web (one of the great benefits the telephone town halls is the ability to mask a speaker’s shortcomings with issues or retail politics.) Her campaign built on this message of visibility and accessibility from the telephone town hall and withstood a sustained series of attacks during the campaign. Governor Gregoire went on to defeat Dino Rossi 53% to 47% in November.