From what I remember, Ed Gillespie didn’t do anything special in 2014. He just ran as a generic Republican, which is not surprising for a former RNC chairman.
The narrowness of Warner’s victory in 2014 was due largely to the usual phenomenon of the Presidents’s party suffering in midterm elections. This caused Kay Hagan to lose reelection…
From what I remember, Ed Gillespie didn’t do anything special in 2014. He just ran as a generic Republican, which is not surprising for a former RNC chairman.
The narrowness of Warner’s victory in 2014 was due largely to the usual phenomenon of the Presidents’s party suffering in midterm elections. This caused Kay Hagan to lose reelection in neighboring North Carolina that year.
Another factor was the downballot collapse of Dems in Appalachia that year. Mark Warner had always won southwest Virginia in his previous runs for office, but 2014 was the first time he lost there, getting 38% of the vote. This collapse in Appalachia caused Nick Rahall to lose reelection in West Virginia that year, while Warner held on due to his margins in the Urban Crescent.
Per the Gillespie camp, the campaign had a robust ground game and fundraising strategy which accounts for why the race was an unusual nail biter. If Warner was able to turnout voters and actually ran a campaign, his margins of victory would have likely increased.
Here's what was shared in a Politico article about Gillespie's campaign per his Senate campaign digital director. It illustrates that Gillespie did in fact run a strong ground game and had good fundraising.
Gillespie digital director Eric Wilson said the mainstream media was not paying attention as Gillespie attracted huge crowds for rallies, grew social media followers and built an impressive ground game.
“There were a series of indicators that were ignored,” he said.
The Gillespie team believes that the race closed late because of their early decision to husband resources.
During the summer, there was extensive back-and-forth among Gillespie’s top advisers about when to spend their money. Gillespie, a first-time candidate, was formerly chair of the Republican National Committee and has a huge fundraising network. But he always knew he’d be significantly outspent by Warner, a formidable fundraiser in his own right who happens to be the richest member of the Senate because he co-founded Nextel.
From what I remember, Ed Gillespie didn’t do anything special in 2014. He just ran as a generic Republican, which is not surprising for a former RNC chairman.
The narrowness of Warner’s victory in 2014 was due largely to the usual phenomenon of the Presidents’s party suffering in midterm elections. This caused Kay Hagan to lose reelection in neighboring North Carolina that year.
Another factor was the downballot collapse of Dems in Appalachia that year. Mark Warner had always won southwest Virginia in his previous runs for office, but 2014 was the first time he lost there, getting 38% of the vote. This collapse in Appalachia caused Nick Rahall to lose reelection in West Virginia that year, while Warner held on due to his margins in the Urban Crescent.
Yeah the biggest factor for Warner's close shave in 2014 was incredibly low turnout.
Per the Gillespie camp, the campaign had a robust ground game and fundraising strategy which accounts for why the race was an unusual nail biter. If Warner was able to turnout voters and actually ran a campaign, his margins of victory would have likely increased.
Here's what was shared in a Politico article about Gillespie's campaign per his Senate campaign digital director. It illustrates that Gillespie did in fact run a strong ground game and had good fundraising.
https://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/virginia-senate-ed-gillespie-mark-warner-112631
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gillespie digital director Eric Wilson said the mainstream media was not paying attention as Gillespie attracted huge crowds for rallies, grew social media followers and built an impressive ground game.
“There were a series of indicators that were ignored,” he said.
The Gillespie team believes that the race closed late because of their early decision to husband resources.
During the summer, there was extensive back-and-forth among Gillespie’s top advisers about when to spend their money. Gillespie, a first-time candidate, was formerly chair of the Republican National Committee and has a huge fundraising network. But he always knew he’d be significantly outspent by Warner, a formidable fundraiser in his own right who happens to be the richest member of the Senate because he co-founded Nextel.