Grassroots Campaign 9/2/2026

Section 3

Maps

We used the County tax maps (which show every house tax lot) to make our routes. Some would color code the houses to match the lists to who lived in the houses. Make sure it is detailed with the tax lots so you can plan how many to walk and be able to count afterwards. We would make the list match the map and then mark the routes we would walk usually grouping the houses in around 200-300 to have enough for 5-10 walkers.

Section 4

The Door

No Soliciting signs can be a bit awkward. Some will not knock on those doors and others will. I tend to go ahead, knock those doors, and have been thanked by the people numerous times especially if they are fellow Republicans. It is personal preference or candidate determination if you knock them since it is a bold move and takes a pretty strong will since you will get talked to about it by those who enforce it. One house had three “No Soliciting” signs: he got pretty upset. I looked over to my partner and said he may need to get a fourth.

The most important part of the old school campaign is the voter’s porch. This is where the entire campaign is decided or lost. We are there to promote conservatism and the Republican candidate. Most people have already been brainwashed into believing the stereotype of what a Republican is which is a hate filled, xenophobe. This bias has been drummed into most people through school, TV, movies and most newspapers so we have to prove to them that we are not only human but they are just like us in 5 minutes or less.

This is good old fashioned sales and a bit of preaching what the Republican Party and our candidates stand for. The first thing is to wear comfortable clothes you may want to stay away from the Conservative button down stereotypical Republican look. If you are under 30 a suit is fine or if you like wearing political clothes to make a statement fine, but making the potential voter comfortable is the key. This is one of the reasons I wear the University of Oregon gear. It takes the edge off the meeting and gives a commonality with the person I am talking to as well as a smile, even if he is a Beaver.

One of the techniques I learned in door-to-door sales was to ring the doorbell, then turn around, and look out in the street. This takes all the pressure off the person coming to the door and gives them a chance to size you up without getting in their face to make them uncomfortable. The key to turning their opinion is to keep them comfortable and carry on an easy free flowing conversation. Never argue with the voter over issues since that gets you nowhere in the end. Of course, there will be the occasion you will get in a passionate discussion with a hardcore Democrat, but cut it off as soon as you can rather than wasting your time with those who have their minds made up.

Stay away from the deadly words in sales which are: “Deal”, “Pitch”, and “Sell”, “Buy”, “Sold” or “Sign this”, as they make the person uncomfortable. Take the term “sales pitch” out of your dialogue since it sounds sleazy. A book on the sales technique would be a good read to help learn sales techniques to convert somebody without making them feeling they are being pushed. What you are offering is the truth and America so you should allow your passion to carry the message.

A good way to start the conversation is to smile and say, hi! How are you today? “I am Gary a PCP from the Tualatin Republican Party and we are introducing our candidates to our neighbors.” Telling them there is a Republican Party in your town gives them the feeling of neighborhood and comfort as well as making them curious about a local Party organization which is one of the goals of this program. Then it is simply a matter of telling them a few things about a couple candidates and work in some political talk in to find their hot buttons. This is why going in pairs is a good idea to help identify hot buttons for the voter and fill in empty spots in the conversation as well as covering safety issues.

When talking about a candidate use their most memorable name to ingrain it into the voter. For women candidates it is good to use the first name to distinguish. They may not remember the name when they are voting but will remember it was a woman’s name and recognize it on the ballot. Men’s names will usually be their last name unless they have a distinctive first name which is preferred. Getting everybody on a first name basis is where you ideally want to bring them, so when they vote they will be voting for familiar names. If the candidate comes along say the name you want them to remember often.

Never attack the opponent directly but let the voter know what they stand for and why you disagree. If they want to attack the opponent for various reasons then it is always fun to go along but keep it on policies as much as you can and move on as quickly as you have an opportunity but make sure to give them a chance to become a volunteer.

Once you have the person at the door talking about what they are either like or dislike about the candidates if they are a targeted prospect then you ask them if they would like to go to the next step. You pull out the volunteer slip, go over it, and see what things they may be willing to do whether it is putting up a sign, knocking doors, phoning or whatever may interest them. Then it is simply a matter of getting their email address and phone to get them on the blast email list.

At this point you either start to wind down the conversation so you can keep moving or talk about what is going on in their lives if they bring it up. This is the building relationship part of the meeting to find out more about your neighborhood and town. It is amazing how quickly people will open up to you on their porch since you are already in their extended house and they will reveal their pains and fears which is where they may need an ear or words of sympathy or prayer to let them know you understand their lives. As you walk through these neighborhoods year to year they will become friends and family to you so even the hardcore Democrats may slowly wear down.

This is the “old school” part of this method of canvassing. In the old days, politics wasn’t simply a time to get a person’s vote by blasting him with commercials but a time to get to know your town. As the winter came on, this was a time to talk about the harvest and elect the town council to make it through the winter. Neighbors would trade stories on their porches and catch up with everything that was going on in each other’s lives, building bonds and growing the towns together. This is what we are trying to recreate while we educate them about conservatism.

The huge advantage we have over the Democrats is that we can share the truth on the porch rather than lie and obfuscate to get our candidates elected by hook or by crook. We can offer a much deeper and real relationship than the tired clichés and lies they have to offer. This is why commercials and phone calls work for them since they are geared towards lying and spinning as opposed to telling the truth face to face. Our phone calls and ads have to overcome images that are already cast in stone by the same media. All they have to do is reinforce the stereotype that has already been made by the media. Using our technique makes an end run around their media outlets and will only make stronger voters each time we meet and will grow this movement one voter at a time which will multiply over time.