There are clear principles for winning underdog campaigns against seemingly impossible odds.
There are clear principles for winning underdog campaigns against seemingly impossible odds.
The Harry Truman 1940 and 1948 campaigns and the George H.W. Bush 1988 campaign are case studies of what Republicans need to do in 2026.
The key principles are straight forward:
- Never give up, outwork your opponent, campaign tirelessly.
- Go to the people and talk bluntly about your opponent. Describe them believably—but in strong language that explains their unacceptability. Tie this unacceptability to the lives of your audience.
- Stay on constant offense. Force the news media to cover your repetitive consistent attacks even when they hate them and want to change the topic. Use the same language repeatedly so people pick it up and use it (Give them Hell Harry became a spontaneous theme in 1948).
- Never allow the campaign to be a referendum on you or your administration. Insist that it is a choice between two different futures and records. In this choice, you are better and your opponent is worse for the lives of the people with whom you are talking.
- Arouse and mobilize a coalition in which each component focuses on how much it opposes the other candidate. Avoid trying to forge the coalitions into a single unity (it would lead to hopeless infighting).
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