The candidate of change ... and permanence
The candidate of change ... and permanence Political consultants like to talk about their campaigns as if they are works of art. Most of the time, they fall short of the mark, but occasionally...
...He wrote out a brief announcement statement for Winter that said, "As I begin this race for governor, I tell you that it is time to put an end to the status quo government of special interest and to begin to tackle the problems that have been neglected for too many years...
...The other candidates offer more of the same, and I say that is unacceptable...
...Was their support more important than that of anyone in Mississippi...
...Hart's polling showed that of Winter's rhree main opponents in the Democratic primary, the strongest was Evelyn Gandy, t)1e incumbent lieutenant governor...
...and permanence Political consultants like to talk about their campaigns as if they are works of art...
...The governor is commander-in-chief of the National Guard," Winter said in the ad, "and the National Guard is the first line of national defense...
...He produced an ad showing Winter standing a dusty military base amidst tanks, guns, and soldiers...
...In the general election campaign against Gil Carmichael, another problem developed: Hart's polls showed that it was now Carmichael, not Winter, who was perceived as the candidate of change...
...In 1979, widely considered a loser, he decided to run again and hired two men who were then probably the hottest political consultants in Washington: Robert Squier, an advertising man, and Peter Hart, a pollster...
...Winter, therefore, would be the candidate of change and of masculinity...
...Hart wrote a new speech for Winter to use in the final weeks of the campaign, which began, "The time has come to put a little order and stability into our state government...
...Knowing they had a way to beat Gandy and therefore wanting to face her in the runoff, they pulled the Guard ad, then started running it again in the Gandy-Winter runoff campaign, and won the Democratic second primary by 14 percentage points...
...Hart and Squier, Winter says now, "meant the obvious difference between winning and losing...
...We tried to imply that there are parts of the job that she can't handle...
...The newspaper ads with the 52 new ideas for state government were immediately canceled...
...Winter was a career moderate politician who had served one term as Mississippi's lieutenant governor and ran for governor and lost in 1967 and 1975...
...Winter, then, would have to become the candidate of permanence...
...Squier, meanwhile, came up with the key to the masculinity issue...
...He also designed a series of newspaper ads explaining Winter's 52 new ideas for state government...
...Absolutely...
...Sure...
...Squier created an ad accusing Carmichael of wanting to destroy Mississippi's precious county system, keystone of the state's traditional way of life...
...Most of the time, they fall short of the mark, but occasionally there is one to which the business takes off its collective hat in appreciation of its aesthetic perfection...
...The only problem with the ad was that it worked too well-,-Hart's polls showed Gandy dropping precipitously and the other two men in the race gaining...
...If further showed that Gandy had two weak points: she was identified with the administration of the unpopular Governor Cliff Finch, in which she had served, and she was a woman...
...One such was William Winter's successful campaign for the governorship of Mississippi in 1979...
...In November, Winter won by 21 points...
...We did not seek any organized support, we did not want any, and we did not have any...
...Hart dealt with the change theme in several ways...
...Squier recalls proudly that "nobody ever used the Guard as an issue before...
Vol. 12 • July 1980 • No. 5
