Struble Eichenbaum Communications

In 1996 we helped Tim Johnson defeat incumbent Sen. Larry Pressler in South Dakota. In 2002, we once again helped Tim come from behind to beat then Congressman John Thune by 524 votes. His re-election in 2008 presented a far different dilemma. On December 13, 2006 Sen. Johnson suffered an arteriovenous malformation, a condition which causes arteries and veins to grow abnormally large and produces stroke like symptoms. He was incapacitated for almost a year. Tim had to relearn how to walk and talk.

Our task was to re-elect a Senator who had a speech impediment and who had lost the use of much of his right side. This was no easy task, but Tim’s a fighter and was determined to prove he was up to the job.

In the end, we decided humor was the best way to re-introduce him as the hard working husband, father and public servant who could still deliver for the people of South Dakota. Sen. Johnson was re-elected by 62.5% of the vote.

Tim Kaine's victory in the 2005 Virginia governor's race was viewed as a national model for how Democrats can win in traditionally Republican states.

Our main imperative in the campaign was to overcome the perception of Kaine as being too liberal for Virginia. One reason for that perception is Kaine's opposition to the death penalty. We overcame this perception with faith. Specifically, we wove Kaine's religious faith into the storyline of the campaign. Doing so convinced voters that Kaine had strong values and could not be a typical liberal. It also prepared us for the death penalty attacks we knew were coming.

In the Spring, our campaign helped pioneer for Democrats the use of Christian radio. Our very first paid media were values-laden ads on Christian and rural radio. Our first television ads showed Kaine as a loving, easy-going family man, as someone who takes his faith seriously and understands the value of work, and is a fiscal conservative.

Later in the campaign, we owned the issue of traffic, development and runaway growth in Virginia. Once voters in the traditionally conservative exurbs of Washington, DC became comfortable with Kaine's values, they were open to having a conversation with him on the issues important to them.

And when the death penalty attacks came, we were ready. Voters believed Kaine that his opposition to the death penalty was based on religious grounds and they respected him for his courage. Our response was strong and direct and the attacks backfired.

Kaine's victory was stunning and overwhelming and a surprise to many.

Chris Murphy entered the 2006 campaign as the least likely of the three contested Connecticut House races to win. Nancy Johnson had proven herself a fierce and formidable campaigner able to raise millions of dollars and never afraid to go on the attack.

Johnson's strategy was simple: disqualify Murphy before he knew what hit him. She attacked early and often, swamping Murphy with negative ads intended to define him on Johnson's terms.

Our research, however, was clear that voters were tiring of Johnson but would still give her the benefit of the doubt. We realized that strong negative attacks on her would backfire, but that a straight forward campaign about character would give us a chance.

We portrayed Chris as a fresh face we needed and used Johnson's attacks as an example of how Washington's changed her and she's no longer listening to the people of Connecticut.

We attacked Johnson plenty, but we did it with a lighter touch. In one of the closing ads, Murphy even says, "She's not a bad person, but she's become part of the problem."

We played up the contrast between young, energetic fresh-faced Murphy and Johnson who's been in Washington for 24 years. We also put Murphy to camera as much as possible to play up our best asset. Most importantly, we never allowed Johnson to get us off our message and our strategy and they were reflected, one way or another, in every ad we ran.

In the end, Murphy won by 12 points, a margin that surprised almost everyone. Of the other two Connecticut House races, one Democrat squeaked through by one point and the other lost.

Once beaten Congressional candidates rarely win the second time around. In 2006, Mary Jo lost a bruising negative race against incumbent Deborah Pryce by a mere 1,062 votes. After coming so close to victory and Pryce retiring, Mary Jo decided to run again. This time Mary Jo would face Republican State Senator and party golden boy Steven Stivers.

This race was close from the outset. Our job was to re-introduce Mary Jo to the voters and dispel negatives left over from her 2006 effort. We used her family to tell her story and Mary Jo to camera to demonstrate her compassion and knowledge of the issues. In one of the most hotly contested races in the country, Kilroy won by 2,311 votes with 46% of the vote.