Consultant: Candidates can step up during crisis

Federal and state guidelines designed to halt the spread of COVID-19 also have stalled faceto-face political campaigning, but according to one Pittsburgh political consultant who has managed some of the city’s highest profile candidacies over the past 14 years, there are still many authentic ways to connect with voters in Western Pennsylvania.

Matt Merriman-Preston, a campaign consultant who owns Ampersand Consulting, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s “Politically Inclined” podcast this week although he’s hearing from many candidates who are uncertain about their own political and personal futures, he’s arguing that it’s a more important time than ever for candidates to show voters they are able to rise to the occasion.

“It’s a time when candidates have a real opportunity to show their leadership, to show compassion and to show that they know how to really connect with people,” Mr. MerrimanPreston said.

While every campaign is having to learn on the go about how to make connections in the

absence of door-knocking and meet and greets, many have turned to video content, Mr. MerrimanPreston said. Video town halls and virtual house parties are not new concepts, he noted, but “candidates have had to get fluent in that a lot more quickly than they might otherwise have.”

Though voters want to hear information about the crisis in the present day, they also want to ascertain how a candidate will lead in the future, Mr. Merriman-Preston insisted.

“What’s going on in the world can really amplify talking about what your values are,” he said, noting that the key to winning races is showing that a candidate can make a personal connection.

The longer primary season — triggered by the state’s postponing of the election from April 28 to June 2 — gives candidates more time to raise money and tailor their messaging, Mr. MerrimanPreston said. But for those in contested races, it doesn’t give them much time to retool for the November general election.

Because of the allhands-on-deck fight against COVID-19, state legislative races that normally would have fallen under the radar might now be seen as crucial, as voters see the impact that local officials can have on their lives, Mr. MerrimanPreston said.

Raising funds from those voters, though, could be more difficult. Several candidates told the PostGazette in March that they had to cancel in-person fundraisers and have since been wary, generally, to ask for money from people during such an uncertain economic time.

Mr. Merriman-Preston urged candidates to remember who’s on the other side of the phone.

“If you’re talking to somebody, you have to acknowledge that that’s a real person, not an ATM on the other side,” he said, adding that for the most part, people sitting at home are looking to make a difference — and contributing to a political campaign could be an outlet.