John Reid’s unconventional campaign

John Reid, Republican candidate for Governor, visited the Roanoke valley last week, and did what few other candidates would do.

He invited the journalists to come meet him at Salem Public Library. He stood in the library for about 45 minutes answering any questions that were asked.

Ghazala Hahmi’s Democratic opponent has never done this.

Jay Jones, the Democratic candidate to be Attorney General, has not.

Only Reid, the only statewide candidate, has agreed to answer questions at the-organized event. He will continue answering questions until the time is up.

We’re witnessing — or perhaps more accurately not seeing — the convergence of three distinct trends. The state’s population is shifting eastward, and politics has realigned geographically. As a result, candidates for statewide office see less of a reason to visit the largest metro area located in the western portion of the state. This is not news. The third trend is something new: candidates are less accessible to journalists and the public.

Many things change over time — styles, hairstyles, waistlines and even the highest mountains can erode. When we compare the last few election cycles, however, it is striking how much campaigns have changed.

Candidate used to be more in touch with the public than they are today.

They were constantly in contact with random voters. They would go to fairs or festivals. They would shake hands with factory gate guards. They would stop at famous diners. Candidates who come to Roanoke will almost always tour the Roanoke Market and visit the Texas Tavern to demonstrate their street cred. Wright’s Dairy-Rite in Staunton has a wall of politicians that visited. All of these visits were announced in advance to allow journalists to join. It was a self-serving act, but candidates wanted to appear as if they were mingling in the community.

The candidates were also asked more questions than they are today. This is something I have said before, but will continue to say: candidates used to appear in the major newspapers of the state (and sometimes not only the major ones) to answer serious policy questions. Candidate position papers were expected, which outlined what the candidate would do in office.

In the past, candidates for state-wide offices spent a great deal of time talking to “persuadable voters”, particularly business groups and civic organizations. I remember that the Salem Rotary Club’s luncheon was almost a mandatory stop for all candidates, especially Republican ones.

Almost nothing of the sort happens today. Candidate rarely appear on the street in an unscripted setting. Also, they limit the number of times that journalists or random voters can ask them questions. There are still some groups they speak to, but the number is much less than it used to be. It was a surprise to me that Winsome Earle Sears, a Republican, declined an invitation to address the Virginia Trucking Association because it did not fit into her schedule. She was in the town at the time and had no public events planned. This was unheard-of before. She did not meet with Virginia FREE as did other candidates.

Why should the public care if candidates take questions from journalists. Why? Because candidates should be asked about their plans. Candidates used to have to face a barrage of questions from both journalists and interest groups. Now, many candidates know how to avoid this type of questioning. Spanberger, Miyares and other candidates have adhered to some conventions – they have met with journalists more often than their rivals – but their media availability has been less than previous candidates. This is not entirely the fault of the news media. Today, the term “news media”, which was not used in the past, covers many partisan operations. They are reluctant to engage them.

Where is the campaign now, if not on the “campaign trails”? It’s online.

Today, candidates have moved their campaigns largely to social media where they can appear to interact directly with voters, even if that’s not the case. It’s not a bad thing. It’s better for voters to hear directly from candidates, without having it filtered by media gatekeepers. In some cases, candidates are not answering questions.

Since early September, the Earle-Sears Campaign has not responded to any Cardinal inquiries. Recent stories in the Virginian-Pilot, Virginia Mercury, and Virginia Public Media also stated that she had not replied to their inquiries. Jones has only given one interview (to Richmond TV station) about his text message. He has not made himself available to any other media outlets. Jones’ social media accounts document events he attended. However, none were announced beforehand so journalists could attend. He has announced only one event, a late-Friday announcement of a Saturday morning campaign event in Norfolk. While his political situation may be unique, so is his calendar. Candidate used to announce their schedules regularly and invite the media to attend. Now, they do so only if it is a staged event. For example, Earle-Sears appeared with Vivek Ramaswamy this fall as a former presidential candidate. Jones, for example, was invited to an event by the Norfolk Federation of Teachers.

It’s not a new thing for politicians to stagecraft, but it’s more prevalent now. The idea that a candidate spends their time at events meeting random voters and is available to journalists to answer questions, has become anachronistic — a throwback to the past.

Reid’s campaign is run in this manner.

Call it a campaign that is unconventionally conventional.

Some candidates spend their time on “calling” potential donors and creating videos to be used online or on TV. Reid says he is out campaigning the old-fashioned way, with “a minimum of two or three activities on a quiet day.” Four or five events on Saturdays and Sundays.

Reid insisted that he do something “every single minute” of every day. He was in Roanoke, and he had an empty slot in his schedule. So he held a news conference to fill the gap. He said, “I don’t want to be in a hotel.” Reid, a former Richmond TV journalist who handled media relations later for former Governor. Reid, a former Richmond television journalist who later handled media relations for former Gov. George Allen as well as Ronald Reagan and then moved into corporate communication and hosted a talk show on radio before running for office. He had no specific topic or message for this particular day, but was available to answer any questions. The topics covered everything from economic development and political violence to campaign strategy.

It was as if I had stepped back into a different political period.

Reid stated that “if you want to be a part of this type of work, then you’d better be ready to knock on people’s doors and speak to them.” The majority of other candidates use recorded videos and email to reach out to voters. This way, there is no chance that they will make a mistake or run into a voter who could challenge them. These other candidates don’t make their events known to the public, nor do they invite journalists to attend.

This is not to say Hashmi or Reid are better choices. It’s a question of personal taste. You are all adults, you can make your decision. You can use our voter guide if you are still undecided to find out how both candidates, and indeed all six statewide finalists, answered our issue questionnaire.

I’m trying to illustrate how campaigns have changed, and how candidates interact today with the public. I went through the social media pages of the candidates running for governor and lieutenant-governor to see the events they have documented since October 1. I have left out both attorney general candidates, because Miyares, the incumbent, has a job that keeps him in Richmond most of the time, Jones, was involved in the text message scandal and they were both in the debate preparation for the debate last Thursday. The gubernatorial candidate also had a discussion the Thursday before; this took them away from their campaigning.

What I found was: All candidates for lieutenant governor and governor posted photos from events they attended Saturdays. Almost all candidates posted photos from events they attended Sundays. These were usually church visits. Spanberger and Hashmi rarely documented any events during the week. They posted regularly about their campaign messages or latest ads but rarely posted about attending events. Reid was the only one who recorded multiple events per day. I found that he had just missed recording an event on a single day in October. Many of these events took place with crowds that were certain to be friendly. Some of these encounters were more unpredictable than others, like shaking hands at factory doors.

Reid’s Tuesday last week was typical. He gave a news conference in Salem and then held a meet-and greet with supporters. Then he went to Harrisonburg, where he attended an evening event along with the Republican ticket. He was in Lynchburg the next day for events. On his way back to Richmond he posted a picture of himself pulling over on the side of the highway in Charlotte County, Virginia to conduct a Zoom interview with a reporter.

Reid does not raise money as much as other candidates. Recent campaign finance reports reveal that 16 House of Delegates Candidates across the state raised more money than Reid in September. He should spend less time on the roads and more time calling his donors. In some ways, his willingness to answer questions is a way to gain attention, since he does not have the money to buy impressions on social networks. His eagerness to run for office is still more in line with the old-fashioned style of campaigning. It’s the other candidates that are out of touch with the times.

The present, however, is out of sync in many other ways with the past.

It was 40 years ago that the classic story of how campaigns were used to be told. Douglas Wilder was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant-governor in Southwest Virginia at that time. A stranger hailing him from a passing pickup truck happened to be walking through downtown Norton. Wilder had no idea the stranger was Douglas Wilder. Once he learned who he was, he invited Wilder along to inspect a local road he thought needed some work. Wilder got into the stranger’s pickup truck. The stranger’s car. Wilder and his small group were left in a state of shock as they drove away. Wilder’s staff, as well as journalists from out of town, asked the local Democratic leader who was accompanying Wilder whether he knew what driver he was. He did not; never had seen him before. After a return trip of about 30 minutes, Wilder was more knowledgeable on the transportation issues in the region.

This would never happen in the modern world. There are some candidates who are now accompanied by a security guard. I don’t know how formal the security is but it is usually a large man who keeps vigil on what they are doing. The world has changed. Reid himself says that he goes to his closet every morning and chooses his suit and shirt for the next day. He puts on his bulletproof vest first.