Gettemy and Branstad Flex their Organizational Muscles In Submitting Petitions
- Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 4:30
- Iowa, News Center, Top Story
- 1,900 views
- 45 comments
With contested Republican primaries up and down the ballot this year, evaluating all of the various campaigns is a difficult task. Last week, TIR blogger Dave Davidson graded a number of the campaigns on their use of social networking tools. Before that, the congressional and gubernatorial candidates were sized up on the amount of money they have been able to raise for their campaigns.
The most difficult part of a campaign to evaluate is the grassroots organization that each campaign is building. Typically, it’s impossible to know how good of an organization a campaign has built until the votes are counted. In the lead-up to the 2008 Iowa caucuses, the Romney campaign was widely considered to have the best grassroots organization in the state. As we all know, Mike Huckabee soundly defeated the vaunted Romney organization.
The lesson that people should take from the 2008 caucuses isn’t that Huckabee built a better organization than Romney, but that he stitched together a better coalition of groups to support his campaign. Another lesson that was learned was that the bravado with which a campaign speaks about its organization doesn’t always correlate to how it performs on Election Day.
For the last couple of weeks, candidates have been submitting the necessary petition signatures to the secretary of state’s office to place their name on the June 8th primary ballot. For the most part, campaigns look at the task of collecting signatures as more of a chore than a tool to help build a campaign organization.
In the 2nd Congressional District, newcomer Rob Gettemy submitted nearly 3,000 signatures to place his name on the ballot. When he announced that he was a candidate just over a week ago, many thought that it might be difficult for him to collect the necessary 1224 signatures. Gettemy proved the naysayers wrong and collected almost three times the signatures he needed.
Gettemy’s ability to collect a massive amount of signatures in a short period of time has turned some heads and gotten people talking about his campaign. In essence, Gettemy has used the task of getting his name on the ballot to legitimize his campaign.
Many think that his late entrance into the race will be too steep of a hill to climb, but none of the candidates in this race have built a significant fundraising advantage. It’s also important to note that, in 2008, the 2nd District candidates didn’t have their campaigns running on all cylinders until after the district conventions were held. Gettemy is a candidate to watch.
In the gubernatorial race, Bob Vander Plaats filed his petitions on the first possible day candidates were allowed to submit them. He submitted 4,766 signatures and qualified in 28 counties. By submitting his petitions on the first possible day, Vander Plaats was making a statement about his campaign organization.
Yesterday, Terry Branstad submitted his petitions, and in doing so, he also made quite a statement. His campaign submitted 9,146 signatures, more than double the required number of 3,412. Branstad also qualified in 84 counties, an impressive feat when you consider that the minimum requirement is only ten counties.
It’s apparent that the Branstad campaign used the petition requirement to test its campaign organization. Through a simple task, the campaign was able to evaluate their young field staff to see what parts of the state they are strong in and where their campaign is weak. If used correctly, this can be an advantage for a campaign if they follow though and build on the organization they now have in place.
The Branstad campaign has received a lot of criticism about everything from where the campaign held its kickoff event, to the “struggles” that they were having in collecting the necessary signatures to place his name on the ballot. While none of the Republican gubernatorial campaigns seem to be building tons of excitement, the Branstad apparatus continues to impress on the fundamental aspects of building a campaign.
Both the Gettemy and Branstad campaigns wisely used to the petition requirement to help build their campaigns. Bob Vander Plaats also deserves credit for getting the petition requirement done and out of the way quickly. By doing so, it allowed his staff to move on and focus on other organizational tasks.
It will be interesting to see how the 2010 gubernatorial primary progresses. Will Vander Plaats be able to build the necessary coalitions to win on June 8th, or will Branstad’s investment in organization pay huge dividends and lead him to victory?
Photo from GovernorBranstad2010.com
About the Author
Craig Robinson has written 700 stories on this site.
Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.
45 Comments on “Gettemy and Branstad Flex their Organizational Muscles In Submitting Petitions”
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Craig, you mischaracterize Mr. Davidson. He not only is a TIR blogger but a highly paid BVP staffer.
I have witnessed the different coalitions working together for for Bob VP’s campaign and it is impressive. Groups using their contact lists to spread Bob’s message, etc…. What is different than when Huckabee ran, however, is that there are more groups that have sprung up such as the tea parties, the 9-12 groups, Save Our American Republic and more. Bob is making inroads with all of these along with those who went third party in the 2008 general election because of the disenchantment with the two party brands. This is what will win on June 8 and not a bunch of paid staffers in the field turning out the same people to vote.
The highest paid staffer on Bob’s campaign is Bob himself.
I am in no way making accusations but what does BVP do for a living? He has a young family to support. I think it’s claimed he’s a consultant. What kind of consultant and who are his clients.
IR…you can keep on making excuses and all sorts of proclamations…but there is still absolutely zero indication that BVP has built a 99 county organization or has any sort of structure in place to generate support for his campaign. Why else would have have to turn to organizations like IFPC to act as a de facto campaign organization for him?
The sad part is here IR, is that BVP could have been walking away with this nomination. Instead he’s made one strategic blunder after another, he’s mismanaged and wasted his campaign funds, and opened the door for TEB to enter the race.
This is BVP’s last shot at elective office, IR. He has precious little time to right the ship, however nothing to date has proven he has the ability to do so.
The difference is, Huckabee was likable.
DVFO – He runs for governor for a living. It’s good money if you can get it!
Did Roxanne Conllin get enough to sign the petitions to get on the ballot? How many signatures did Grassley have?
For that matter – Did Krause and Fiegen get enough signatures?
If this is correct, then he will have to find real employment after he loses the primary? It is stated he is a consultant. What and who does he consult?
I truly believe he is losing primary support. Among those I know, Roberts and Branstad are the two favorites. I know some who were BVP supporters before but now are likely Roberts.
Does anybody know how many Culver turned in? I have not seen a reported number of signatures for him. I wonder what his number is?
DVFO – I agree. I am seeing a lot of Roberts support out there and I think he could get second place. The BVP people like to tout less resources and relying on organization, saying you don’t have to have the most money to win. Well, if that is true, then by that logic Roberts should win! LOL. They should rethink their strategy I think.
Robert’s theme song should be based on that commercial ditty of “Sara Lee’s”–Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee.” Nobody doesn’t like Rod Roberts. Everyone likes Rod Roberts. He just needs to stay above the fray.
This is an interesting thread. I agree deace – Roberts is well-liked and will stay above the fray. He’s a class act and everyone likes him because of that.
Branstad has pledged he won’t attack fellow Republicans and quite frankly doesn’t need to with the lead he has built.
This is where we see what BVP will do. Methinks he will get desperate and attack – watch for the barbs to fly and you will know his internal polling (if they can afford it) shows him getting smoked – or public polls for that matter – or, he will be almost out of money.
David – If Roberts starts doing well, you can expect BVP to attack him too because he’ll have to. I hope this doesn’t get ugly, but desperate people do desperate things. We shall see.
I wonder how many out there who prefer Roberts but are supporting Branstad simply because they dislike BVP and don’t want him to get the nomination? I’m willing to bet there are a lot more than you might think!
The BVP people have done some rather desperate attacks in order to try to destroy Branstad. One blogger (a pastor in SC) even compared Branstad to Hitler and Bonnie and Clyde. This is going too far. IFPC has done their own group great harm by trying to demonize Branstad to the point of saying they won’t support Branstad if he is the nominee. I know IFPC has lost supporters because of this.
There is a history of this kind of thing in Republican primaries. Negative campaigning does not work. That was the case in 92 with both the primary for governor and for congress in the 5th District.
I want a candidate to show to me how they plan to defeat the Dim in Nov, not to defeat each other.
Both Branstad and Roberts have proven they can win against Dims. Branstad has done it several times as well as Roberts. Roberts has even done it in a Dim district and the Dims haven’t even bothered to put up an opponent against Roberts.
If this thing turns out the Branstad wins the primary, he would be wise to choose Roberts as his Lt. Gov.
Heart Iowa: If you’re right about this, this proves this is about BVP becoming governor–not what anyone wants to do for Iowa.
I just want to know how Gettemy got that many signatures that fast and who’s doing it for him.
Roberts has been doing very well. If Bob would step aside, I think Roberts would give Branstad a run for his money in the primary, if not beat him. A vote for Bob right now is basically a vote for Branstad.
Very simple lo..Gettemy is a pastor in the Cedar Rapids area, the majority of his signatures came from petitions distributed in churches across Linn County. That’s being said…he also collected signatures at county conventions on March 6th to get the other required signatures from other counties.
If BVP really cares about the issues he claims are of the most importance to him, he will step aside. The deace disciples will also have to acknowledge that Roberts is the true social conservative and also appeals to a broader section of voters.
Roberts has also proven he can win in difficult areas. BVP has never won anything.
That didn’t take long. I just got an email from Bob Vander Plaats attacking Terry Branstad. Looks like BVP just lost at least one vote. I won’t support someone who attacks. I urge all of you to stand against Bob Vander Plaats!
heart iowa, you are preaching to the choir. The two commenters on here under their 5 fake names a piece already are against Bob. And the funniest thing about this whole thread is that they realize how bad TB sucks as a candidate so they are now lifting up Rod Roberts in hopes of taking Bob down. Desperate measures for desperate people. I love coming here and getting my laughs for the day. Thanks! By the way, who is Rod Roberts??????????
Iowans Rock: Everyone I know has the attitude that they don’t care if Roberts or Branstad gets it. There is a lot of support for Roberts. Most have a huge skepticism of BVP. But it doesn’t matter which one of our guys gets the nomination, we’re pulling for the Republican–even BVP.
Why are you willing to put everything on BVP? You have come to the conclusion he is the most socially conservative of all the candidates and there is NO evidence to support this. If he is so superior to the other two, why does he go to a church that condones homosexualtiy and abortion? Branstad and Roberts both attend conservative churches that condemn homosexuality and abortion. I think you’re being misled.
Branstad signed the DOMA and all legislation that may curb abortion and Roberts has taken actual votes. What has BVP done except talk?
“By the way, who is Rod Roberts??????????”
Someone who has actually won an election.
Oxford Heights,
Facts instead of speculation would be helpful. Rob Gettemy is a business man and entrepreneur with a long history of success. He and his family attend aforementioned church, not the pastor. He and several volunteers worked tirelessly over 2 weeks collecting signatures across the district. When you go sun up to sun down talking to people at Hy Vee, Walmart, McDonalds, businesses, town squares, the numbers rack up quickly. Give the guy and his team credit for working hard.
IR…”Who’s Rod Roberts?” Hmm..an authentic conservative who’s actually won election in an otherwise Democratic area of Iowa? Just comparing their records…Roberts makes BVP look like John McCain in comparison to him.
IR, I see you’ve failed to answer what others have pointed out about BVP: he’s made blunder after blunder in this campaign…he’s blown through his campaign funds like a fat kid eats cake…and he doesn’t have campaign organization to do his work for him..so he signs on IFPC to try to do it for him. Is that a sign of a solid campaign that is going to be able to go toe to toe with Culver?
I agree with what the other poster said…BVP should have been running away with this nomination. No one was even mentioning or thinking about Branstad in the mix back at the start of 09…but, thanks to BVP’s beautiful disaster of a campaign…he opened the door and practically held it open for TEB to enter.
Actually, TB only entered the race because it was blatantly evident that BVP was going to be the clear winner and over their dead bodies would he be the standard bearer of the party. Heaven forbid that “wing” of the party win. Fong was almost their guy but it just didn’t pan out and they had to go get Lazerus even though it meant running with a record similar to Culver’s with 16 years under his belt in an anti-incumbent year. They could care a less about the future of Iowa, they only cared about their future in a party that they were only clinging on to with white knuckles. So, go on with your fairytale of how TB is the one who had to come riding in on a white horse to save this election because Bob screwed up. The power brokers wanted to save themselves and that is why TB entered the race. I’ll file your version of the story right next to “Global Warming” on my shelves. And by the way, I am very familiar with the BVP campaign so you can quite trying to tell me what you think it is all about because you don’t have a clue.
Iowans Rock….why don’t you pick up your ball and go home?
IR, you are the poster child of why NOT to vote for BVP!!!
Thank you, Timmy. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that way!
Wow. IR is a bitter, bitter individual. Yeesh.
David, this seems to be a common thread running through BVP supporters. This is not a good thing. This is the same group of people who claim that if their guy is not nominated, they are going to throw a hissy fit and take their balls and go home. They think Culver is as good as Branstad. Give me Branstad anyday and when you get to peeling off the layers of BVP, you’re not left with much.
They can’t even come up with any proof that VP is more socially conservative than Branstad. Give me Branstad. He’s actually done something about it. He signed the DOMA. BVP’s “church” condones homosexuality and abortion. Branstad’s church condemns it. Who are you going to trust?
I am fairly new to the “Iowa Republican.” Maybe I am missing something but as a conservative, why are there so many commenters on here that sound like un-informed children out on the playground at recess? I travel all of Iowa in my occupation and have yet to meet a fiscal or social conservative that was not totally excited about Bob Vander Plaat’s vision for our state. The same commenters I see over and over here on various articles all seem more like liberals, or are simply grossly uninformed. About the only person on here making any real sense is someone called “Iowans Rock.” This guy seems to share views much more along the lines of what I hear from people all over Iowa. Why would a conservative vote for Terry Branstad and why is there even discussion about it? Vander Plaat’s has all the ideas, all the class, all the communication skills, and all the momentum. If posters on this site are typical of the Iowa GOP, we are finished as a party. I realize in a primary people choose their “pick of the litter” and each candidate will have some loyal followers, but come on—-this should not even be a contest. Bob Vander Plaats stands head and shoulders above all the competition in my view. Again, what I hear from people all over Iowa sounds much more representative of what I read from this “Iowans Rock” character. Many (not all) of the others sound to me like they need to either grow up, get a job, or get a clue.
newtonsdad, I assume you work for Wells Blue Bunny and I assume you’re one of Bob’s 10 contributors. I do travel the state, for real, and everyone I talk to about the gubernatorial race says “who’s running against terry branstad?” followed by them saying “oh the guy who wants to do the executive order, ha hah hah”
“Newtonsdad”, judging from your name & matching it to your picture….is Bob Panders Lots now catering to the transvestite crowd?
BVP is 0-3 in elections and soon to be 0-4. There’s a good reason for that.
He has not one single detailed policy.
He’s a lot of hot air with no actual plans for Iowa, except for his unconstitutional, ultra-liberal power grab masquerading as “standing up to judges”.
He’s is not in the least bit conservative. He’s for giving the Governor, and by proxy, the President & every other executive, power over the courts that is totally unconstitutional.
Anyone who is really a conservative realizes Bob Panders Lots is a complete fraud.
I gather that according to newton’s daddy, it’s only us demos who’re pushing the candidacy of good ol TEB.
“By the way, who is Rod Roberts??????????” He’s the guy who when he filed his papers yesterday for Governor, had over 1,000 more signatures than BVP.
Why haven’t we seen anything about Roberts filing here on TIR?
Yeah, Craig — Why have you not posted a story about Roberts filing? He had an impressive number of signatures turned in and counties provided. Why post stories on Branstand and VP filing and not Roberts?
That’s right…..i saw it yesterday on iowapolitics.com. I had been watching because I was curious since I knew today was the deadline. I see its on here now…but doesn’t have all the details. He should get the attention he deserves as he should definitely now be considered a serious candidate.
Well of course Roberts should be considered a serious candidate..in fact, he should be considered a far more serious candidate than BVP. Considering the fact that Roberts has got himself more organized with LESS staff and he’s got nearly as much cash on hand as of January that BVP did.
Roberts hasn’t had to go out and get 3rd party organizations to act as a de facto campaign organization for himself either.
Just think..what if Roberts were to beat BVP out in the primary… The ramifications of that would be huge…
Definitely would like to see that! The best thing BVP could do it step aside and let Roberts take TB on in the primary.
Gettemy is a hard-working & well organized person. But, he is intelligent & discerning too. That is how he achieved great success while working at Parson’s Technologies, established a thriving franchise brokerage practice, built a strong business finance enterprise, & became an impressive business instructor at the U of I.