Retail Politics Alive and Well: Large media buys have limited effectiveness in small population states

BOZEMAN, MONT. - After Brian Schweitzer's successful race for Montana governor in 2004, the Democrat mused that he had shaken the hands of nearly a quarter of the electorate on the campaign trail.

While that sounds like a bold claim, the new governor may in fact have accomplished the feat, or something close to it. According to the Montana secretary of State's office, about 456,000 people cast votes in the November 2004 gubernatorial election, meaning Schweitzer would have had to shake hands with about 112,000 people.

In a state that places a high value on retail politics, the effort was time well spent. Montana, which has about 900,000 residents, and other small-population states are among the last bastions where big media such as television and radio advertising do not dominate the political landscape. People are often unwilling to show their loyalty at the ballot box if an office-seeker does not show up in person - and not just on the campaign trail.

"They expect to see their elected officials and know them. They expect to see them at the gym," said Matt McKenna, a veteran Democratic strategist who runs the Bozeman, Mont., office of the public affairs firm Strategies360.

Statewide candidates in Montana do not avoid television and other mass media efforts; it's just that personal contact almost always trumps pre-packaged efforts, said McKenna, a Montana native.

"It's a little different than getting a telemarketer call during dinner," he said. "People still appreciate that you are out here. People still expect that."

Campaign strategies in small population states such as Montana, Delaware and New Hampshire differ markedly from those employed in densely populated states where the most effective way to reach voters is through television and other mass media. In 2006, when U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein runs her re-election race in California and Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida ask constituents for another term in Washington, most voters will only see these Democrats - and their Republican opponents - in television commercials, direct mail pieces and on the Internet.

For states so vast and populations so large, the old-fashioned art of retail politics, meeting voters individually, has diminished in importance. In California, with about 33 million people, statewide candidates often make only fleeting campaign appearances in the largest cities, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento. They will also occasionally show up at county fairs and other events in mediumsized television markets, such as Fresno or Bakersfield, but usually only to drum up media coverage that will be featured on that day's news.

Retail politics reigns in Delaware, a small state where elected officials are also friends and neighbors. Delaware is just 100 miles long and 35 miles wide, making it the second smallest state after Rhode Island. With its 830,000 or so residents, Delaware enjoys the usual stable of elected officials two U.S. senators, one U.S. House member, governor, lieutenant governor and other statewide officeholders. There are 41 members of the state House and 21 members of the state Senate, along with a city council in the three largest population municipalities, Wilmington (75,000 people), Newark and Dover (about 30,000 each).

With all these offices in such a small state, residents even vaguely involved in business and civic life are likely to know many, if not most, of their elected officials on a first-name basis. First State residents expect to see their elected representatives, including federal officeholders, back home for ribbon cuttings, Little League playoffs, barbecues and other such activities. In Delaware, candidates meet on a regular basis with firefighters, police, teachers, civic association leaders along with civic, arts and public health groups.

Delaware's lack of its own television stations contributes to the importance of retail politics. Residents of Wilmington rely on television from Philadelphia, about 30 miles to the north, while folks in southern Delaware watch stations from Baltimore, about 120 miles to the west. Running television ads in markets where the majority of viewers cannot vote in the election at hand often makes for a poor use of resources. And even if candidates do want to run television commercials, the advertising rates of the big-city stations are often prohibitively expensive.

Ground zero for retail politics with national implications is New Hampshire, home of the first presidential primary. Presidential hopefuls visit New Hampshire early and often, sometimes starting within months of the last election. Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, a 2004 presidential hopeful who ended up the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, has already made several visits to the Granite State this year in anticipation of another run for the White House in 2008.

In the year before the primary, the odds are good that on any given day a presidential candidate will be in the state. Because New Hampshire is a small state both geographically (it is the seventh smallest state with an area of 9,304 square miles) and population-wise (less than two million people) and because the candidates spend so much time there, voters have the opportunity to get to see the candidates face-to-face.

Presidential candidates routinely make the rounds of events that might seem to befit local politicians, including speeches to Rotary Clubs and in the homes of local Democrats.

New Hampshire also offers the opportunity to build a unique level of grass-roots support. The state House of Representatives has more than 400 members, the largest in the country. Individual state lawmakers have their own political contacts that can be helpful to presidential candidates.