PCRP Endorses Swank for WSRP Chair
The Pierce County Republican Party PCO's endorsed my candidacy for WSRP Chair last night after hearing myself and the current chair speak.
I'm pleased to say a resounding majority of the Pierce PCO's easily saw through the rhetoric from my detractors and voted to endorse.
Most GOP supporters can agree we need a stronger plan to win statewide and nationwide. Thank you to the PCO's out there for your letters of support and other county parties like Kitsap GOP for endorsing.
Chairman Heimlich Copies Our Homework
Instead of offering a spirited defense of his last three terms as chair, Mr. Heimlich has seen fit to basically carbon-copy the plan I sent out a week ago, change a few words, and put his name on it. While I'm happy the chair finally realizes we need a plan, it isn't his own, and it's too little, too late. Make no mistake, this is an unserious effort from someone that does not appear to have the maturity to be in a statewide leadership position.
The obvious questions here are: Why did it take so many years for the state chair to have a serious plan and make it known? And, can we actually expect any of it to happen?
The Swamp Puts in its Two Cents
I've also been informed of an obscure, newly-formed outside group circulating an email with several falsehoods in an attempt to discredit my candidacy and downplay any concerns about the current direction of the GOP. The group in question was formed with the idea it would help the party be more effective, which proves our point, that the state and national party are not strong right now.
The group's leader is obviously worried that an effective party would negate the need for donors to give to his newly-formed group. There are several individuals like this in Olympia and DC that have long syphoned donor monies to build their own fiefdom -- with few legitimate results to show for it. Groups that do not have results to show for donor contributions should be open to the same scrutiny leadership in the GOP is subject to.
Additionally, individuals listed with this correspondence are also intertwined with another group that primaries Republicans in favor more left-leaning candidates and Democrats. This is concerning. Groups involved with this kind of activity hurt the party as a whole and cause loss of public support. Outfits like these should be on notice that they no longer run the GOP, the grassroots of the party does -- and we're here to win.
When time allows, I'll be meeting with many donors face-to-face to address their concerns and work with them on our plan. I've been in touch with several large donors that are not going to give to the party if things don't change. Richard Uihline, one of the largest (if not the biggest) individual contributor to conservative causes, is no longer supportive of the current GOP leadership.
Join Us
If you're in Moses Lake for the WSRP re-org meeting this weekend please join us at the Best Western on Friday evening for a free reception in room 202, from 5-7pm, and 9-11pm.
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Keith R. Swank
WSRP Chair Candidate | Police Captain | Army Airborne Infantry Veteran
Shareable and Printable Plan, Bio and Letter
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Keith Swank for WSRP Chairman: Plan and Vision
The GOP at a Crossroads — The Real Red Wave of 2022-23
Dear Washington State Republicans,
Our party is at a major crossroads, not just in Washington State, but nationally as well. The Republican brand is bruised and battered, and it’s up to the grassroots of our party to carry the weight and push us back to the top again. We can no longer afford to outsource the hopes and dreams of our beloved party to the likes of K Street lobbyists and overpaid political consultants that never seem to produce results as big as they promise.
The current party leadership has nothing but excuses, no vision, and no new feasible plans to improve. Major donors have seen enough and are putting their foot down. Some large donors are tired of hearing excuses and are threatening to withhold funds if there aren’t big changes in the GOP.
From Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA: He advised GOP members that donors would cut them off unless the party changed. “In recent weeks, I have spent countless hours on the phone with donors who have told me emphatically that they will not support the RNC in this presidential cycle if things do not change,” he wrote.
Local donors in Washington large and small have also expressed the same frustration. We need to sound the alarm, and we need to act now, before it’s too late. We can rebuild; however, we need a comprehensive plan for victory and a long-term vision that inspires voters – something the current leadership has not been able to deliver on in the last three election cycles.
Staying the course after three historic losses in a row and loss of an incumbent presidency would be unprecedented in the history of the GOP. Keeping the same party leadership which failed in the last three elections is nothing less than gambling with the future of our state and country. Several voting members have already removed support, or, were never actually voting for Ronna McDaniel to begin with. Despite several states holding no confidence votes the current WSRP chair has signed on to a letter endorsing and committing to vote for McDaniel before meeting with the state committee. This is more of the same and it’s unacceptable.
More than ever before we need to work better together as a team if we hope to claw our state and country out of dysfunction and chaos. The road back to the top is long and hard. We will only be victorious with everyone’s maximum effort and sacrifice.
We can turn this ship around. It’s my hope that the following analysis and blueprint will serve as a building block for a bright new GOP future and incredible things to come. There’s a shining light of freedom and prosperity that beacons from the end of this dark tunnel. Let’s get started and unleash the full potential of our state and the entire country.
GOP Governance and Campaign Improvement Plan
Table of Contents
How We Got Here
The GOP Must be Brutally Honest with Itself
Three Strikes You’re Out
Successful Coalition Efforts
Regulation and Oversight of Political Consultants
Ballot Initiatives
Training Candidates, PCO’s, and Coalition Activists
Targeting Districts for Improvement
Fundraising and Donor Relations
Tactics are Not the Same as a Strategic Plan
Candidate Vetting and Endorsements
State Government Meets in Olympia, not in Seattle or Bellevue
Legislative Action and Grassroots Organizing
Local Elections and School Board Races
Every Race – Every Place
Youth and New Member Recruitment
GOTV: Using All Legal Means to Win
Data and Planning Hub for the WSRP/RNC/HROC/Etc.
The GOP Must Stop Hiring Democrats
Grassroots Field Program Plan
39 to Win
Analysis: The Dobbs Decision and the 2022 Election
Draft Proposal: The One Washington Plan
How We Got Here
There’s an old saying in politics that usually holds true: “If you’re explaining you’re losing.” The current Republican leadership clearly doesn’t understand that or how to get out of this trap. As a result, the 2022 election reverted to a “brand loyalty” election, not one that revolved around actual policies or a vision.
The GOP is lacking organized leadership on the vital issue of messaging and branding. That allows democrats and their allies to define our party continually and what we stand for. This is one of the main reasons Republicans always appear to be playing defense instead of offense, there’s no game plan to follow.
In 1994, GOP leaders had a plan called the Contract with America. Their plan served as something voters could understand and identify with. It also served as something candidates could point to and reference whenever questioned by the media or voters.
The 1994 “Contract” serves as a very simple example of how the GOP can get back on message; however, party leaders are reluctant to come together and organize any such plan. Large election victories for Republicans in recent history usually have a “theme” or “plan” that voters can easily reference or grasp. Winning will require GOP leadership to unite to form and execute these types of political messaging plans.
To Improve the GOP Must be Brutally Honest with Itself
We can’t expect to hold others to a higher standard if we don’t hold ourselves to one first. Part of getting better and high-level achievement at any endeavor is admitting it if you’re not doing well.
To get back on top the GOP needs to be honest with itself about our failures. The party is under-achieving at best. Party leaders that think everything’s rosy and keep giving the “we’ll get em’ next time” speeches are not displaying the critical self-awareness necessary to achieve highly difficult tasks like winning national and statewide elections.
Three Strikes You’re Out
The RNC began its decline in 2017 after the appointment of Ronna McDaniel as chair losing the next three consecutive national elections in a row. In 2022 the GOP had the wind at their back. For the first time in recent history the national GOP failed to win the U.S. House and Senate from an unpopular president in a mid-term election.
Instead, the GOP again lost precious seats in the U.S. Senate – a problem that will haunt Republicans for generations as Biden is free to continue appointing left-wing judicial activists to the federal courts and the Supreme Court.
The state party has also fallen short of any significant gains in the last three elections. To make matters worse, every single Democrat legislative incumbent who sought reelection back to Olympia won their election in 2022. Democrats actually expanded their majorities in both the Washington State House and Senate. Additionally, Dems flipped the 3rd Congressional District from red to blue. In 2015 the WSRP started a slow decline after modest victories in 2014. This followed the disappointing loss of the McKenna campaign in 2012.
Local and state legislative victories in 2014 can be attributed to a motivated base and outside coalition partners making sizable, (targeted) independent expenditures on behalf of GOP candidates. Without these outside coalition partners making expenditures and urging citizens to vote Republican, it’s highly unlikely local races would have seen as many GOP candidates emerge victorious. Feedback from candidates confirmed that individuals were seeing these communications from coalition partners and reported changing their votes in favor of the GOP candidates.
Republican leadership in 2022 also didn’t play to win, they played not to lose. In addition to having no coalition plan or discernable PR blueprint to speak of, politics were played by national leaders with funding in several states where candidates lost winnable races. One very winnable US Senate seat was Nevada, where the GOP candidate lost by 7,928 votes. Candidates in some other winnable races were essentially left on the battlefield, simply because the minority leader had a distaste or personal conflict with them.
GOP leaders are continually failing to put the team and country first in order to bring people together. Losses at the state level and nationwide can be traced back to this problem and it’s unacceptable.
A major test of any leader is if they can bring a team together and mitigate counter-productive problems and conflicts. Current GOP leadership have been unable to pass that test and mitigate conflicts within the party. This must change if the party ever wants to succeed.
The GOP Must Coordinate Successful Coalition Efforts
Many conservative groups in our state have less (or no) interaction with the party because the party isn’t viewed as serious or helpful. That needs to change if the GOP is to ever reach its true potential.
Coalition partners such as Faith, Second Amendment and pro-business alliances have helped GOP candidates succeed in close elections; however, these groups become less and less involved every year with electioneering and outreach.
The party needs to be more involved in coordination with these partners, leading in the effort to take our state back. This coordination should include election efforts and also directing high-level donors to successful groups and projects that are participating in cooperative efforts. Without these coalition efforts the party will never realize potential gains in policy and election victories.
Regulation and Oversight of Campaign/Political Consultants
The days of outsourcing the GOP’s hopes and dreams to highly-paid political consultants must end if we ever hope to take back our state and country. The party needs to act concerning the financial and legal protection of our campaigns and the party.
Better oversight of contracts and fee structures used by political consultants could potentially save millions every campaign cycle if adopted by the state party – possibly hundreds of millions if adopted nationally.
Many consultants receive as much as a 25 percent cut of all advertising they purchase for campaigns. In advertising, this billing structure is commonly referred to as “gross” charges, “agency fees” or “media commissions.” This amount is often not disclosed in the amount billed to the candidate or party entity.
Charging exorbitant monthly consulting/retainer fees on top of “agency” fees is essentially double charging campaigns and the party for the same amount of work. Additionally, this structure incentivizes consultants recommending dollars be invested more in advertising and less on things like grassroots political organizing.
Some political consultants also have legal contracts they pressure candidates to sign without consulting the party or their own attorney. Of course, these contracts are primarily designed to benefit the consultant, not the candidate. The use of non-party approved contracts must also be addressed.
The lack of results from the last three cycles in no way justifies continued spending in the tens of millions of dollars every two years on the current structure used by political consultants. The party will need to have maximum ROI and coordination with campaigns if it is going to win. Therefore, the party must confront the billing structure and predatory contracts used by some political consultants.
For any endorsement, the party should consider making it mandatory for candidates to only use campaign consultants that agree to the following:
- Approved campaign consultants must be transparent and disclose all “agency fees” they plan to receive as part of advertising buys. This must also be noted in all agreements/contracts.
- Approved campaign consultants must submit any candidate contracts they plan to use to the party for approval before they are signed.
- Approved campaign consultants must adhere to a fixed fee structure.
- Approved campaign consultants will have the option of billing fees directly to campaigns, or, receiving a capped percentage of “agency” advertising fees – not both.
- Approved campaign consultants (or their representative) will attend all mandatory meetings and strategy sessions to coordinate with the party.
- Data, polling, research and all other campaign information crucial to coordinated electioneering must be shared with the party.
- Billing non-approved fees to party-endorsed candidates will be grounds for immediate removal from the approved consultant program.
- Consultants that do not adhere to these basic protections for candidates and the party shall be removed or precluded from the program.
The party will conduct training for candidates and campaigns on how best to purchase ads and other vendor services direct. Additionally, the party will have staff dedicated to assisting candidates that choose to purchase their own ads direct.
Ballot Initiatives
Ballot initiatives hold a unique place in Washington State political history. We are able to change major policies and laws with a vote of the people. These policies can’t be changed or repealed for two years without a 2/3rd vote of the legislature. Washington State has historically voted consistently against tax increases.
Starting in 2012 Democrats have consistently sponsored their own initiatives, passing them while many in our party watch on the sidelines without direction. During that time period the GOP has been content to play defense. In no time in recent memory has the WSRP gone out of its way to coordinate successful initiative projects with outside groups – despite immense potential to advance Republican policies.
Most recently, the WSRP continued the trend and did not coordinate any initiatives in 2022 until right before the deadline. Eleven conservative initiatives gathered many signatures but failed to qualify for the ballot. The effort lacked sufficient support and coordination from potential coalition partners and the GOP.
In particular, the initiative to partition electoral votes by congressional district could have been a major victory. It could have resulted in investments in state party efforts by supportive national entities as the results could possibly decide the next presidential election.
Make no mistake, ballot initiatives and their path to victory should be closely vetted and thought out prior to taking that leap. But if the WSRP is ever going to be successful again it must coordinate these initiative efforts as closely as possible with coalition partners. Doing so will benefit Republican candidates and voters alike. Not doing so will mean continued losses on policies important to the party – as well as candidate elections.
More Training for Candidates, PCO’s, and Coalition Activists
Practical education from subject matter experts about how to win elections is an essential part of winning. States like Florida and Texas recognize this and have implemented training by the Leadership Institute, a non-profit that specializes in election and public policy training for conservatives.
After a near loss in 2018 to “Beto” the Texas GOP realized they were in serious jeopardy of losing future elections if they didn’t change. The TXGOP and FLGOP have implemented Leadership Institute courses for the party and activists statewide to boost candidates at all levels. These efforts continue to be a cornerstone of a better prepared party apparatus in these states.
The state party will need to utilize these trainings statewide to have a chance at winning. Many campaign activities like door-knocking have now become exercises where people simply go through the motions and achieving numbers vs. having a concise and impactful plan on what to say and ask of voters at the door.
Many voters are not being asked to simply take action or show their support in various ways, all vital parts of electioneering. Tactical deficiencies like this will be addressed at these trainings as will all facets of effective campaigning.
Targeting Districts for Improvement
All areas are potentially important for a statewide candidate to win. A vote in Wenatchee for a statewide candidate counts just as much as one from King County; however, when we zoom in on these areas and analyze the numbers we can see geographically where the GOP has vast room for improvement.
In 2020 the Republican Secretary of State candidate won in seven of Washington’s ten congressional and legislative districts. The potential eighth win was the 1st CD which she only lost by about 4,000 votes. These vote differences between a GOP candidate for statewide office and candidates running within those districts serves as a guide to where the GOP has room to improve.
WA’s 3rd CD must be an area of focus in 2024 for the GOP to win back. The district slipped into Democrat hands after DC-based PACs spent considerable money to defeat the 3rd CD’s GOP primary winner both during and after the primary. The GOP nominee lost the seat in the general by less than 3,000 votes. The NRCC committed the paltry sum of $5,000 to holding the seat in the general election. The minority leader spent millions to protect a supposedly safe seat in the primary and basically abandoned the seat in the general election. Additionally, the WSRP did little to assist in holding the GOP seat besides accepting pass through donations raised by the 3rd CD primary winner to fund a mailing.
In 2022 the 10th CD race was eventually moved from “safe” and listed as “Likely Dem” by Real Clear Politics as a D+5 district. In the 2020 race the GOP SOS candidate attained over 57 percent of the vote in the 10th CD, indicative of a large swing vote population. Additionally, the Democrats had a vulnerable freshmen incumbent with one of the lowest name ID and approval ratings of any incumbent Democrat in the nation. In a supposedly “Red Wave” election year the state and national GOP needs to be prioritizing districts such as these in addition to the obvious ones like the 8th CD and 3rd CD.
The state’s top flippable (swing) legislative districts are contained inside the following congressional districts on the western side of the state near the I-5 and I-405 corridor. The following lists regional areas where the GOP should prioritize its registration, GOTV, and also vote flipping efforts.
| District |
Incumbent |
Partisan Voter Index (PVI) |
| 4 |
R |
R+13 |
| 5 |
R |
R+8 |
| 3 |
D |
R+5 |
| 8 |
D |
D+1 |
| 10 |
D |
D+5 |
| 6 |
D |
D+6 |
| 1 |
D |
D+8 |
| 2 |
D |
D+11 |
| |
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The following is a list of top historically flippable (swing) legislative districts now held by one or more Democrats: 5, 10, 26, 28, 30, 42, 44, 47. Although the 24th LD has long held Democrat, the data indicate it could be more competitive. NOTE: The GOP SOS candidate won in all these districts in 2020.
A supermajority isn’t needed in our state legislature to pass or block bills. Constitutional Amendments do require a 2/3rds majority; however, our current State Supreme Court bends to the will of Democrats and interprets the Constitution at will. The GOP will need a legislative majority in Olympia to pass or block legislation; otherwise, Democrats in Olympia are able to pass or make whatever new laws they want.
Fundraising and Donor Relations
As the old saying goes “money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Having an actual written plan that utilizes said funding in the most effective manner possible is a top priority. As we’ve seen happen for three elections in a row, freely spending donor money without proper planning and coordination is a recipe for disaster. Massive GOP fumbles in the last three elections prove that fact. Excitement from donors surrounding a “Red Wave” fueled an uptick in donations to the party and supportive GOP groups in 2022; however, the party failed to capitalize on the donations associated with expected victories.
The current WSRP chair took over in 2018 for that election year and also served the 2020 election cycle. After 2016, WSRP’s donations actually trended downward in the two following cycles after the current chair took over.
When further examining the sources of donations, the largest contributors to the WSRP are not individuals, but are actually “pass-through” donations from other political entities like the GOP caucuses, the RNC and candidate committees. Candidates can attain a non-profit mailing rate by sending excess cash to the state party. Candidate campaigns have become more aware of this option and took advantage of that “pass through” discount ability in 2022, thus bumping up the total “fundraising” numbers for the WSRP.
Contributions from non-individuals and campaign committees account for approximately 49 percent of all donations gathered by the state party last election cycle. When included those numbers inflate the total amount raised by the state party. This “pass-through” money can inflate the overall numbers and give a false impression that the party is sufficiently funded.
Left wing dark money groups are also better coordinated for maximum impact. Current GOP leadership is far behind in way of cooperation or help when it comes to coordinating these types of expenditures.
Recent articles continue to pan recent frivolous spending at the RNC totaling in the tens of millions of dollars. It is also notable that the current RNC chair started making expenditures to friends and family immediately after being seated in the position in 2017. As public records show, no such spending occurred at the DNC. [RedState, Dec. 14, 2022. EXCLUSIVE: Analysis of RNC Spending since 2017 Shows Millions Were Spent on Private Jets, Limousines, Luxury Retreats, Broadway Shows]
It will be difficult to get continued investment donors large or small without detailed planning and new state/national GOP chairs to build back trust. Donors want to know that their money is being spent wisely, with careful planning and coordination. Larger donors are now becoming alarmed given many state and national losses. Many large donors have now issued private and public ultimatums that GOP leadership must change or donations will be withheld.
There is no secret sauce to fundraising. Donors must be contacted directly and asked to donate. Contributors must also be confident their funds are not going to be wasted or misused. Inclusion for top tier donors in planning and coalition development will better coordinate these contributions and earn back donor trust lost in the last three elections.
The state and national GOP will need to involve larger donors more heavily in the planning and execution of a robust game plan. By creating an ad-hoc finance committee of high-level donors the party can better involve them in planning, coalition building, and can also earn back lost-confidence.
Additionally, GOP candidates and PCO’s will be included in local Leadership Institute training to assist fundraising for their own grassroots campaigns. This is yet another important addition that will be needed to sustain grassroots GOP campaigns.
Tactics are Not the Same as a Strategic Plan
Republican campaigns and party leadership have become complacent, relying on tactics over a well-thought-out and coordinated strategy. Tactics are utilizing things like mailings, ads, phone calls, door knocking, etc. A strategic plan incorporates available and effective tactics into an overall plan that is coordinated statewide and nationally.
An example of this is the difference between a football team just running around and throwing the ball, vs a team with a game plan that has a purpose and deliberate execution for every single play that’s drawn up.
The end result is a party and campaigns that began going through the motions on many of these tactics. For example, knocking on a door just to take a survey or drop off a flyer isn’t the purpose of visiting voter’s doorstep. The purpose should be to establish a connection, make specific asks and get buy-in from the voter.
The party must take a page out of old school campaigning and properly execute tactics that are incorporated into an overall strategic plan.
Candidate Vetting and Endorsements
The 2022 Secretary of State election is case-in-point on how the GOP needs to better coordinate, vet, and endorse candidates that run for office. Too many GOP candidates ran for the office and split the vote, this includes one sitting Republican State Senator. The splitting of votes between several candidates resulted in the GOP not having a general election candidate in a statewide race.
The party also needs to closely vet as many candidates as possible to screen out any problems before they start. Democrats aren’t going to pull any punches once a Republican makes it to the general election. Again, we can’t expect to hold others to a higher standard if we don’t hold ourselves to one first. Prioritizing a small handful of races for endorsements and/or vetting would be short-sighted and only works against the party.
State Government Meets in Olympia, not in Seattle or Bellevue
The WSRP spends over $100,000 a year to maintain its offices in Bellevue. Most successful GOP state parties have their main office in their state’s capital. In our case, that would be Olympia. The state party can better interact and coordinate with its own elected officials this way. The party can also save money in the process as the Olympia area is a cheaper real estate market.
Legislative Action and Grassroots Advocacy
During the legislative session in Olympia the State GOP needs to focus efforts on supporting our legislative priorities and blocking harmful new policies from the Dems. This includes interactive outreach to members and the public in order to block detrimental legislation from passing.
Continued inaction leaves the pathway clear for the Democrats to control what the public sees and hears about legislation making its way into law.
The party can act as a platform in-person and online for individuals to interact with their representatives and provide input on critical bills with a single mouse click. The current party website is insufficient in these regards.
This also benefits the party and acts as a recruitment device with which the public can interact directly. The party currently does little in this regard and has much room for improvement.
The party should also create an annual legislative priorities list and working to make those priorities happen. States like Texas use this as a tool to keep the party, candidates, and elected officials focused and moving forward on priority policies in their state. Stating where they stand on legislative priorities should be standard procedure for party endorsement.
The GOP Must Not Lose Track of Local Elections and School Board Races
Local government offices can have a big impact on the lives of citizens. As we’re now constantly reminded, local offices impact the quality of life of every community throughout the country. Giving up control of these positions can have drastic consequences in government institutions and our society.
Our public school system has long been targeted by extreme left-wing activists that view taxpayer dollars as theirs to spend pushing their own agenda. Schools have become a microcosm of the problems leftist extremists continue to create inside the government. It’s fair to say that many public schools in America are not being governed to achieve the once universally accepted goal of proficiently educating students in reading, writing and arithmetic.
Instead, racially-charged propaganda and sexualized perversities are being forced on young children using our tax dollars. Many parents were shocked they recently got to watch and listen during e-learning sessions. It’s up to us to stop this nonsense and protect the kids in our community from becoming political pawns in a depraved socio-political experiment.
Winning won’t happen in higher-level elections if the party can’t win easier local elections first. These offices also later become “the bench” for people that have experience and want to get in the game to run for higher office.
Every Race – Every Place
If we don’t bother to show up, we’ll lose by default. The GOP needs to field candidates in every race and shouldn’t ever cede ground to Democrats in uncontested races. In potential “wave” election years the GOP can see gains in many of these seats that are not normally in play.
Without GOP general election opponents Democrats get a free pass in more ways than one. The result is Democrats donate excess campaign funds to other Dems, PACs, and the Democrat party apparatus for use against Republicans. Most Dem candidates that draw a GOP general election will indeed spend money to win and keep their vote totals up.
Last but not least, “every race” also includes the Washington State Supreme Court. In 2022 no judicial challengers filed to run against the three incumbents.
Youth and New Member Recruitment
New members and supporters are necessary to replenish individuals that drop out, move, or pass away. The GOP must increase and renew support for youth and new party member recruitment programs. This is an essential part of growing the party. The party can’t succeed without growing its numbers.
Every new member, supporter, donor or activist is a potential force multiplier in their own circle of friends and family. We must have a renewed investment and focus on recruiting in and getting new individuals involved in aspects of the party, campaigns, or public policy they’re most interested in contributing to.
Coordinating and growing traditional groups like YR’s and CR’s is necessary. We should also not lose track of important coalition groups. Many coalition groups have capable dedicated interested in campaigns and policy that agree with our party platform. Recruitment is another reason we need to coordinate as much as possible with coalition partners.
By qualifying an individual’s interest and making simple asks and invites we are able to recruit new individuals to our movement. This is part of the overall training and recruitment program that needs to be implemented.
GOTV: The GOP Will Need to Use all Legal Means to Win
Until laws are changed the party must use the current system available to win in every way it can legally. Assisting individuals that need help filling out their ballot and “ballot harvesting” is not illegal in Washington State. Utilizing all available legal methods to win elections are a must. Current voter registration and GOTV plans have been insufficient to assure victory and turnout of GOP voters. The Party must also create a grassroots program to assist voters in these regards. [See more in the proposed GOTV Grassroots Field Program Plan]
Data and Planning Hub for the WSRP/RNC/HROC/Etc.
With so much to data and information to manage now the WSRP will need to coordinate heavily with all GOP entities. We must share as much data and information as possible between the party and campaigns if we hope to flip districts and the state.
The GOP Must Stop Hiring Democrats
The RNC/WSRP should only hire dedicated and qualified Republicans if it needs staff. Hiring Democrats from out-of-state to work on Republican elections is not acceptable and it should no longer be tolerated.
Grassroots Field Program Plan
Republicans in Washington State need more comprehensive grassroots get out the vote (GOTV) campaigns and voter registration programs in order to win elections.
Problem: In competitive Washington legislative and congressional districts, suburban/urban turnout remains higher than rural turnout. In order for Republicans in WA state to capture a majority in the state legislature they must hold every competitive district they currently have, as well as flip five senate seats and ten house seats. An intense GOTV effort is needed in rural areas to achieve both these objectives, as well as the improvement of individual rural voter performance.
In order for Republicans in Washington State to win they must maintain competitive margins in suburban precincts and very large margins in rural precincts. At every level, Republicans in Washington were unable to capitalize on the tailwinds of an incumbent President of the opposite party with historically low approval ratings because their voters did not cast ballots.
In the third congressional district there were approximately 50,000 Republican voters who voted in 2020 but did not cast a ballot in 2022. In the eighth congressional district there were approximately 60,000 Republicans that didn’t vote.
Solutions: Republicans in Washington state can improve their performance through electorate development. The electorate of a district can be changed in a way that is favorable for Republicans through an aggressive voter registration drive, and, by developing an efficient ballot collection operation.
Republicans can recruit conservative small business owners, churches, and granges to have voter registration forms available for their patrons throughout the entire year. When the voting periods begin, these businesses can create unofficial ballot drop-boxes for their patrons. These ballots can then be collected and turned in by a party or campaign operative.
The Plan: This program will operate in four phases. We are currently in the pre-launch phase. During this time the highest priority legislative districts for the 2024 campaign cycle should be identified and volunteer leadership for the elector development programs in each of them should be recruited. This electorate development program will launch no later than February 1st.
Pre-Launch Phase: During the pre-launch phase data analysis will be conducted on the most competitive legislative districts to identify the precincts with the most opportunity to improve turnout and individual voter performance. An analysis of traffic data will also be conducted to locate the inelastic businesses (grocery stores, gas stations, etc.) most likely to be visited by the target demographic.
Contact with all local county parties, municipal campaigns/candidates, and other partisan organizations will be made. They will be briefed on the program and local volunteer leadership will be recruited from their bodies. A vetted team of local volunteers will be briefed on the target locations and they will report weekly through the Trello CRM program.
Launch Phase: When the electorate development program launches, volunteer leadership will begin registering rural Americans to vote in competitive LDs. They will collect the name and contact information for every voter they register so that contact can be made with them later for ballot collection.
Teams will also recruit business owners and churches to keep voter registration forms in their businesses. They will be given ballot drop boxes during the voting period that will be collected by high-trust volunteers and turned into the auditor’s offices. Six churches in the 18th and 17th legislative districts with a total of more than 1,000 congregants have already volunteered to participate.
Primary Election Phase: In July, all voter registration locations will transition to ballot collection. An operative will be stationed at each of the locations during their busiest hours with a laptop and a printer ready to register voters and print off their ballots. They will register, vote, and deposit their ballot in the secure drop box left at the location within a matter of minutes.
The operative responsible for the location will collect ballots from the drop box and turn them into their team lead, who will report the number of ballots collected daily before turning them into the county elections office.
Calls and texts will go out on the first day of the voting period to all newly registered voters informing them of their closest drop box location. Callers will follow a strict script and will make a direct solicitation for the voters’ ballot if they are identified as a supporter.
General Election Phase: The program will break for two weeks after the primary so that volunteers are not fatigued. Until the voting period for the general election begins, voter registration will be the main focus. Teams will transition to collection as soon as voting starts, maintaining the battle rhythm set in the primary.
39 to Win
Washington has 39 counties. They’re all important. Every county party is our “boots on the ground” in their own area. Every cycle the party chairman will visit all counties, meeting with the local party to better coordinate the public and private election plan. Let’s get started.
Analysis: The Dobbs Decision and the 2022 Election
Regardless of the finer points of the actual decision, the left successfully rallied their base to turn out in 2022 based on scare tactics surrounding abortion. Unfortunately, GOP leadership had no coordinated response to attacks and misnomers that Democrats perpetuated in 2022 – even though the Dobbs case was on the SCOTUS docket for months and a decision was due to be announced at any time.
Abortion is an issue that stirs strong emotions from both sides of the American political divide; however, when context is given, views of the issue by voters become more nuanced. For decades, national polls have favored abortion; however, an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose late term abortions. Recent public polling conducted before the Dobbs decision found that 66 percent of adults who identify as “pro-choice” opposed third-trimester abortions, 68 percent opposed abortions the day before a baby is born. As much as 50 percent of Democrats surveyed in recent polls thought abortion should not be allowed past the first trimester, 64 percent of independents agreed.
Opposition was even stronger among all adults surveyed: 79 percent rejected late-term abortion, and 80 percent opposed day-before-birth abortion. In addition, 82 percent of all those surveyed disagreed with withholding medical care for a viable newborn, including 77 percent of pro-choice adults.
The message is quite clear, while the extreme left is indeed highly motivated by abortion, the majority of Americans have a more nuanced view than the most extreme on the left. The state and national GOP must do a better job in the media debunking myths surrounding the new ruling. Extreme pro-abortion proponents argue partial-birth and late-term abortions should be legal under any and every circumstance. This should be a main line of reframing the argument for any pro-life GOP candidates.
Post-Dobbs, the left immediately began catering to the most extreme sect of their pro-abortion constituency. For example, Democrats have introduced a new constitutional amendment in Washington that sets no limits on abortion. As Democrats attempt to appease the more extreme of their base Republicans would do best to reframe and highlight these the most extreme of these beliefs and new laws.
It should also be noted that President Trump recently opined in an interview that Republicans should have “the 3 exceptions” – rape, incest, or the life of the mother. This is a common question posed to GOP political candidates and common line of attack in political debates. Numerous polls also indicate the public is very sympathetic to these tragic and highly emotional circumstances.
GOP candidates should be provided more guidance and training in framing a succinct positive message that can debunk common misnomers on abortion pushed by leftist groups. A strong faith coalition is also waiting to be activated in Washington State. If half the faith community that didn’t vote turned out the GOP could be more competitive.
One Washington Draft Plan
The Republican Party is the political party that ended slavery and Jim Crow. Republicans will always fight to preserve and protect freedom and prosperity in America. We stand strong against communism and other ideologies that abuse human rights. Republicans seek to protect and preserve our nation by enacting the following vision for our state and country.
- Accountability and Transparency for Judges and Elected Officials
Conflicts of interest like stock trading by judges and elected officials should no longer be tolerated and must be banned. Term limits for elected officials and high-ranking government bureaucrats are long overdue and must be adopted.
- Ending Dictatorial “Emergency” Powers
We are a free state and a free country. For a record-setting 975 days Governor Jay Inslee abused Washington’s “emergency power” law to concentrate all state government power within his own office. This dangerously unlimited power must be curtailed to avoid abuses by any future governor.
- Fiscal Well Being for all Americans
Inflation and high interest rates are hurting Americans financially and driving our government into the most debt in history. We pledge to reduce government waste and pork-barrel political projects; in turn this will bring down inflation for Americans. We must also pass a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. These measures will allow us to lower inflation and reduce taxes on working Americans to a much lower rate.
- A Strong Military and Improved National Security
Career politicians and special interests have badly bungled our national security operations and the world is now seeing the deadly consequences. Biden’s humiliating collapse in Afghanistan was an unmitigated disaster that continues having tragic consequences on the world stage, likely costing hundreds-of-thousands, if not millions of lives. The USA must present an efficient and organized front on any matter or operation that could impact our national security. To do any less is inviting disaster.
- Keep Government Accountable and Stop Abuses of Power
Use of government apparatuses to suppress the rights of Americans is never acceptable and should be grounds for investigation and serious punishment of government officials. Operations by government at all levels should be as transparent and fair as possible; to include government spending, elections and law enforcement. Government bodies should not be permitted to spend taxpayer dollars to influence elected leaders against the best interests of the public they serve.
- Stop the War on Consumers – Preserve our Natural Energy Resources
Energy independence is national security. Gas and energy costs have been raised due to Democrat policies and taxes that raise our prices. The U.S. must have safe energy policies that protect the environment and the financial well-being of consumers.
- Opportunity for a Quality Education
Parents should have the ultimate say in their child’s education, not government bureaucrats. Families should have the right of school choice for their children. To be successful, schools must refocus on mastery of reading, writing and arithmetic. Subjects like “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) which essentially teach our children to be racists will never heal the racial divide that has been growing again in our country. Extreme “sex education” lessons including pornographic type materials should never be pushed on young kids.
- Protect Farmers, Ranchers and our Domestic Food Supply
Food prices rose exponentially in the last three years. Farmers and ranchers are under attack now worldwide by a small handful of elites with their own agendas that don’t serve public interest. This is a dangerous trend. We must protect our farmers and ranchers to stop encroachment or interference with our food supply chains. This also includes streamlining overzealous government regulations which specifically make it difficult for smaller farming operations.
- Preserve American Civil Rights
The Bill of Rights are under constant attack. The rights to free speech, religion, privacy, equal justice and self-defense must be protected if we’re to remain a free nation.
- Improve Public Safety
Innocent people are victimized every day due to backwards policies on crime. We need to restore the police powers in Washington that were repealed by Democrats to score political points in the media. A violent criminal that goes free can wreak havoc on society. You and your family deserve to be safe.
- Solve the Homelessness Crisis
The homeless crisis is out of control due to neglecting the drug and mental health epidemic. We must pass laws that get people off the street and into treatment with appropriate mental healthcare.
- Stop the Chaos on the Southern Border
In addition to human trafficking, drug cartels are smuggling record amounts of drugs and deadly fentanyl over the southern border. Over 100,000 Americans now die yearly from drug overdoses. This humanitarian crisis must end and we must secure our southern border.
- Protect American Jobs and Small Businesses
American jobs should never be at the mercy of high taxes or heavy-handed regulations that don’t consider potential impacts on employers and workers. Taxes and bureaucracy can do great damage to smaller businesses, as they usually don’t have vast resources for engaging in legal and regulatory battles. The result is often a win for larger companies that can easily move or outsource, and a loss for smaller businesses and their employees. We must level the playing field to incentivize growth in American small businesses and workers.
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ABOUT: Keith Swank is a U.S. Army Airborne Infantry Veteran and Seattle Police Captain known for his expertise as a national law enforcement instructor for crisis intervention and de-escalation. He served as Night Duty Commander and Commander of the Metro Special Response Section (SWAT Team, Harbor Patrol, Canine Unit and Arson/Bomb Squad). In the U.S. Army he served in a long range reconnaissance unit and graduated from Ranger School, Airborne School, High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) and Infantry Training. Mr. Swank is a graduate of the University of Washington where he attained a degree in psychology. Swanks 2022 candidacy for WA's 10th Congressional District raised more money than any GOP candidate in that district since 2012 and was officially endorsed by a long list of respected groups and officials, including the Pierce County and Thurston County Republican Party, SEAL PAC, Washington State Farm Bureau PAC, Ranger PAC, Veterans Vote PAC and many others.
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