50 State Strategy: Getting On-the-Ground Perspectives

Sorry to interrupt the VP discussion and debate party, but on to more important things ...

I will be going to the Minneapolis a week from now as part of the Alaska delegation, and I can't be more excited for my first convention. As I think about all of the different delegations I'll be meeting, I realized that many of our counterparts inside the Beltway on other blogs have made bald assertions and claims about the differents races in different states without knowing the real details of the political environments in those states.

I have written a couple of posts on the importance of building a GOP farm team, identifying targeted issues and up-and-coming conservative leaders in each state, county, and city. Because I have received a lot of positive feedback about this subject, I have decided to contact all of the state party chairmen before the convention to get on-the-ground reports about what's going on in each state and what we should be paying attention to. Here are the questions I've asked them to answer:

• What are the 3 most important races to watch from any level? (Statewide, congressional, legislative, city council, etc.)
• Who are the up-and-coming leaders in your state that no one knows about yet?
• Are there any ballot initiatives that are important to conservatives in your state?
• Everyone knows that the issues of the day are energy, the economy, health care, Iraq, national security, etc. What are the issues that are unique to your state that John McCain should pay attention to and respond to?
• The internet and new media have developed new features and facets within many parts of a campaign organization (GOTV, fundraising, communications, etc.) Which one part of a campaign or party organization would you like to see young, Web2.0 savvy Republican develop tools for?
• Over the next two months, what demographic subgroups should pollsters and operatives pay attention to when measuring progress in presidential and statewide races?
• What are the keys to growing the GOP in your state?
• If you consider your state to be a swing state, what unique characteristics about your state might push McCain over the top, or Obama under the victory threshold?

I hope to get some answers soon. I look forward to the good discussion about different ideas that different state parties might have ... as my mother told me when I was little, "Sharing is caring."

OK, back to the party. MSNBC is reporting that Kaine and Bayh have been informed they haven't been selected ... and a police car is in Joe Biden's driveway. Patrick's dream might come true.