Global Strategy Group takes a congratulatory bow after yesterday’s Democratic victory in NY26.
In an email sent out just now, they wrote “this win marks our fifth victory in a Congressional special election in row” and “GSG is now 11 for 11 in elections held in 2011.”
But they are quick to note many other people deserve credit for Hochul’s victory too:
“While the victory was stunning, one thing that has gotten a bit lost in the political punditry is the quality of the candidate and her campaign on the ground in Western New York. Kathy Hochul ran a brilliant campaign and thrived with the national spotlight upon her throughout. Campaign Manager Adam Sullivan was a steady hand who ran a tough, disciplined race against two self-funding opponents and outside groups who poured millions of dollars of advertising into this campaign. We’re proud of the work we did on this race, but we didn’t do it alone. This was a great team effort with Steve Murphy, Jon Vogel, and Mike Reilly at MVAR who produced great ads, and Ed Peavy and Adnaan Muslim at Mission Control who developed persuasive mail. At GSG, Jef Pollock and Nick Gourevitch served as pollsters and strategists on the race.”
Here’s the email:
Global Strategy Group (GSG) congratulates Kathy Hochul on her upset win in yesterday’s special election in New York’s 26th Congressional District. GSG is proud to have worked closely on this race that was described as a “Democratic triumph” in media coverage this morning:
- “Democrats scored an upset in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts on Tuesday, dealing a blow to the national Republican Party.” – New York Times
- “(In an election) carefully watched by national political strategists, Democrat Kathy Hochul won what had been a Republican seat Tuesday in upstate New York, lifting Democrats’ hopes for the 2012 campaign.” – MSNBC
- “(Hochul) defied political experts who had given her little chance of success and ground out a stunning and surprisingly comfortable victory.” – Buffalo News
While the victory was stunning, one thing that has gotten a bit lost in the political punditry is the quality of the candidate and her campaign on the ground in Western New York. Kathy Hochul ran a brilliant campaign and thrived with the national spotlight upon her throughout. Campaign Manager Adam Sullivan was a steady hand who ran a tough, disciplined race against two self-funding opponents and outside groups who poured millions of dollars of advertising into this campaign. We’re proud of the work we did on this race, but we didn’t do it alone. This was a great team effort with Steve Murphy, Jon Vogel, and Mike Reilly at MVAR who produced great ads, and Ed Peavy and Adnaan Muslim at Mission Control who developed persuasive mail. At GSG, Jef Pollock and Nick Gourevitch served as pollsters and strategists on the race.
Yesterday’s victory continues two streaks that we are very proud of at GSG. The first is that this win marks our fifth victory in a Congressional special election in row – a streak that dates back to 2008 and one that includes three victories in upstate New York (Scott Murphy’s special election win in NY-20, Bill Owens’ special election victory in NY-23, and now Kathy Hochul’s victory in NY-26). These campaigns are always exciting to be a part of and we’ve been honored to work with the DCCC in maintaining their strong special election record.
The second streak is that GSG is now 11 for 11 in elections held in 2011. Earlier this year, GSG provided research and strategy that helped guide three candidates – Sly James for Kansas City Mayor, Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle, and Chris Abele for Milwaukee County Executive – to important victories. We’re very excited that this string has continued, with seven more wins in elections held in three states – West Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania – last week.
In West Virginia, GSG helped acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin win the Special Democratic Primary Election made necessary by the election of long-time GSG client Governor Joe Manchin to the United States Senate in November. GSG’s polling team, led by James Delorey, is proud to share this victory with campaign manager Joe Shafer, and the consulting team which included Karl Struble of Struble Eichenbaum Communications, Joe Hansen of AMH, Chris Allen, John Rohrbach of Bullseye Interactive, and John Hutchens of Media Strategies. Tomblin will face Republican nominee Bill Maloney in a special General Election on October 4th.
GSG also polled for challenger Dr. Felix Roque in his bid to unseat incumbent Mayor Sal Vega in West New York, New Jersey. Roque and his slate ran a strong contrasting campaign on the key issues, describing the Mayor’s tenure as one of missed opportunities and blown chances, and drove home the need for a change. GSG’s Jeff Plaut led the polling. Joe De Marco did a fantastic job as the Campaign Manager and Andrew Kennedy of Kennedy Communications handled an effective direct mail effort.
And in elections held last week in Pennsylvania, GSG’s Joe Hickerson provided the polling that helped lead five candidates to wins. Candidates included Mark Squilla and Bob Henon for Philadelphia City Council, Chelsa Wagner for Allegheny County Controller, Mike Vough for Luzerne County Judge, and Tom Leighton for Mayor of Wilkes-Barre.
GSG is proud of all of the candidates we’ve helped lead to important victories in 2011. Please join us again in congratulating Kathy Hochul on her strong victory in NY-26.
Global Strategy Group
Campaign to WinSM
www.globalstrategygroup.com
