On Tuesday, one of Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin’s aides went on CNN to call out failed Democratic campaign tactics and to advise candidates to ignore mainstream media and Twitter. Will Ritter, who helped create many of Youngkin’s campaign ads, spoke to Day of the NewJohn Berman, co-host of the show, discusses strategies that worked with Youngkin. These strategies could also be used by Republicans during the 2022 midterms.
Ritter’s main suggestion was to focus on more local issues, instead of Twitter outrage or talking points centered in Washington, D.C.: “The Glenn Youngkin campaign was successful because we focused on three things that were affecting people’s lives on a daily basis. Schools, safety and the cost-of-living. We specifically avoided national issues, D.C., Twitterverse issues, and talked to people about issues that they cared about.”
Berman asked: “…What are the issues candidates or campaigns should avoid? Or what traps should they avoid? Ritter specifically pointed out the harm and counterproductive nature of cable news networks, like CNN, and the role they played in Youngkin’s election:
The cable news cycle moves very quickly, and if you try to run your campaign reacting to what’s on cable news, or reacting to what’s on Twitter, you’re gonna be changing your message every day, and we saw Terry McAuliffe doing that, you know, he would throw up an attack, and then he would, you know, change it three days later.
In the weeks leading up to the election, CNN ran defense for McAuliffe, amidst the Democrat’s falling popularity and debate gaffes.
Ritter brought up McAuliffe’s failed strategy of attempting to connect Youngkin to Donald Trump: “This is a guy who is not on the ballot. He is not in office, and people are smarter than that.”
Ironically, Berman saw that as his cue to ask Ritter question after question about Trump, suggesting “that Trump is something of a risk for at least some Republicans around the country.” Ritter followed his own advice and didn’t “take the bait” of being distracted from the real candidate, Youngkin: “Glenn Youngkin wasn’t a Trump Republican, he wasn’t a Romney Republican. He was a Youngkin Republican, and people appreciated that.”
Despite the best efforts of liberal media outlets like CNN, Glenn Youngkin won the governor’s race in Virginia. Ritter believes this is something that Republicans should take note of: “What we got was a ten-point swing from just a year ago when Biden really killed it in Virginia. So I think that that is a blueprint going forward for the next cycle and for putting Democrats on defense.”
Carvana sponsored this segment along with Purple Mattresses.
Click Expand to see the complete transcript.
11/9/21
7.36.15 amJOHNBERMAN – So, just a few moments ago. Day of the NewMaggie Haberman reports that Donald Trump gave a speech last night in which he said that he had helped Glenn Youngkin win the Virginia election. Youngkin, who knows this, said something to the effect that Youngkin wouldn’t have won without Trump. Youngkin might be seeing things in a different way. One of Youngkin’s key advisers wrote yesterday before Trump’s speech, “365 days until the midterms, and the Democrats’ Donald Trump-era lease in the suburbs expired last Tuesday. 2022’s success will depend on the quality of candidates and whether they are able to solve real problems that directly affect voters. Will Ritter, my adviser, is joining me. Poolhouse was Youngkin’s ad agency. They created 40 campaign ads. Will, I want to thank you for sharing your time with us. I was struck by the tweet you sent. It was all about candidate quality. You also spoke of addressing voters’ real needs, not just the tweet outrage. You mean what exactly?
WILL RITTER That was my intention. The Glenn Youngkin campaign succeeded because it focused on three issues that directly affected people every day. Safety, schools, and cost of living. We avoided DC and Twitterverse national issues. However, we did talk to people about important issues. What we achieved was a 10-point increase in support from just one year ago, when Biden truly swept Virginia. This is my view of the future and a good model for Democrats to defend themselves in the next cycle.
BERMAN: This may also be a good model for Democrats, is it not?
RITTER However, Terry McAuliffe (a former governor) was involved in the case. He’s very knowledgeable about what he does. Although the Democratic Party would love to blame him, and his candidacy for it, I believe there is a problem within the party. Terry McAuliffe was trying to get the Democratic base to support him by talking to people about things that were not on their minds. This in order to boost Democratic turnout. They figured they had suburbs and needed to increase that turnout. Well, that’s, that’s not true. Turns out, you cannot take any votes for granted. Glenn Youngkin worked an incredible 18-hour day to get that message across to the key groups it resonated with.
BERMAN
RITTER: Yeah, I mean, you know, no offense to this program, but the cable news cycle moves very quickly, and if you try to run your campaign reacting to what’s on cable news, or reacting to what’s on Twitter, you’re gonna be changing your message every day, and we saw Terry McAuliffe doing that, you know, he would throw up an attack, and then he would, you know change it three days later. There were 11 messages that he ran on the TV the final day of the campaign. There were three. We had three. He was running an attack ad on Glenn Youngkin regarding climate change. It is this time when gasoline is one dollar less than it is last year. This is also when groceries cost more. He also used negative advertising, with most of it referring to Donald Trump. This guy isn’t on the ballot. He doesn’t have the right to be in office. They knew exactly what he was doing.
BERMAN: Now let’s get to Donald Trump. Maggie just reported that Trump spoke to the NRCC in Tampa overnight and that Youngkin would be lost without him. True?
RITTER. Donald Trump supported Glenn. He supported him. But the fact is, John, when we were on the trail, on the bus, people, regular voters were not asking us about Trump, and it’s not a continual referendum on Trump all the time. We were asked about schools. Glenn answered their questions about crime rates and addressed them instead of focusing on Trump’s statements today. I feel that the –
BERMAN: You kept him away. Let’s face it, I mean, you did, you did, you did keep him at a distance. What do you think this is for Republicans. Chris Christie gave a huge speech the other night in which he stated that it was time to forget about 2020 elections. How important does that make it for Republicans to succeed in 2022?
RITTER: I think it’s really important. It’s important to not dwell on the losses. Instead, look forward. This vision must not be limited to resolving the 2016 and 2020 elections. You have to keep moving forward. Terry McAuliffe’s closing message was that we are not moving backwards. And our message was, it’s time for a new day in Virginia. One was going backward. One was moving forward. Keep moving forward. Give people a rallying cry.
BERMAN
RITTER: I think when Trump is relevant to people’s lives, and when, you know, when you have to weigh in on something that he has said, I mean, he’s a major figure, then you do it, but I don’t think that you take the bait and always talk about a former president when you’re talking about your candidacy. You know, I mean, Glenn Youngkin wasn’t a Trump Republican, he wasn’t a Romney Republican. It was clear that he was a Youngkin Republican and it was appreciated by many. This gave an opportunity for suburban residents who had voted for Terry, or for independents, to vote for Glenn.
BERMAN Will Ritter from Poolhouse, we are grateful for your presence this morning. I appreciate it.
RITTER – John, thanks.
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