In “Solar,” a newly employed solar field worker described hundreds of green jobs created with Reid’s help.
last serious race. This meant that thousands of voters didn’t know him well. Second, the state’s largest paper—the Las Vegas Review-Journal—was determined to defeat Reid, and other news coverage too often focused on his role as major- ity leader, positioning him at the center of partisan debates rather than at the center of Nevadans’ everyday concerns. These factors combined to drive Reid’s poll numbers into dangerous territory and encouraged an array of hostile groups to actively work for his defeat.
Strategic Imperatives The Reid campaign made three important strategic deci- sions in early 2009. To win, the campaign had to use paid media to begin to change the narrative about Senator Reid in Nevada; launch a sustained push to show voters how Senator Reid was using his clout to benefit them; and make the race a choice between Senator Reid and his op- ponent, rather than a referendum on Reid.
Changing the Narrative: Early Media In the fall of 2009, GMMB produced the campaign’s first flight of early television ads. It was a gamble to go up so early, but our research found that an uninterrupted diet of unfriendly press was hardening voter perceptions that Reid was out of touch and more interested in waging partisan fights than helping his constituents. The longer we waited, the more difficult it would be to change these perceptions. We attacked on two fronts. First, we produced ads that
reminded voters of Reid’s humble beginnings and that located him squarely in Nevada (not Washington). Then we launched the first in a series of ads that would offer specific examples of how Reid was using his clout to help Nevadans get through tough times—in this case, helping to save the struggling CityCenter construction project.
Our ads were shot in a documentary style, letting our subjects tell their stories in their own words.
When health reform legislation passed in March 2010, rather than allow all the framing to come from the other side, we went back on the air, leaning forward into the is- sue. Our ads featured Reid talking about real people and the very specific ways they would be helped by the bill. By Election Day, the early spots were long gone. But
they had done important work, helping us to shape percep- tions of Reid before it was too late.
In “VA Hospital,” a Vietnam veteran told of how a new VA hospital would make treatment available locally.
April 2011 | Campaigns & Elections 29
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