I know initiatives weren't polled, but Blair "the real me" Butterworth was the general consultant on Death with Dignity, and I was his errand boy. And yes, it was easier to beat up on a demoralized set of Catholic bishops than the American Chemical Council...
Let us be clear that the communications director for Death with Dignity went after the Catholics, much to both consultants chagrin (and possibly without their approval). Said comms director is usually an advocate for taking on deep pockets rather than conceding in advance. She also usually loses that argument to more experienced consultants.
An interesting thing I've noticed is all the expensive lit sent to my Perfect Voting Record son, who is 20, is only for one council race and one initiative (yup, the Let Costco sell Drugs to Teens one), while I get stuff for every single race.
Hey Paul - I just wanted to correct something...I don't consult for Murray or Cantwell. I interned in Patty's office and worked for Cantwell as her State Outreach Director in 2004 and then her re-election campaign in 2006. But not consulting for either.
Maybe the races should be weighted by how competitive they are? It's harder to help a candidate win a dogfight for a tough seat than it is to hold the hand of a 40-term incumbent walking across the finish line with 90% of the vote.
Also, 2 minor misses - I believe Ross Hunter was a Wyble client in 2010 for his re-elect to the House, and Claudia Kaufman actually dropped Butterworth halfway through the campaign and replaced him with Dean Nielsen.
#12 is right. The quality and true value of a consultant is measured by their performance in competitive races. I mean, Tom Rasmussen could hire Cindy Laws or an average 7 year old and win against Dale Pusey. Beating a challenger with incumbent who has $100,000 more than their opponent isn't an accomplishment. Performance in races that finish within 15% (ish) or have similar amounts of money raised would be a much better gauge of the performance of the consultant.
Most of the consultants listed have done a lot of initiative and IE work which would be interesting to see, as well as whether there was general consulting, mail/media only, or treasury only done. Many also represent a lot of out-of-state clients, which would be useful to see.
Bad software choices ...
Most of the consultants listed have done a lot of initiative and IE work which would be interesting to see, as well as whether there was general consulting, mail/media only, or treasury only done. Many also represent a lot of out-of-state clients, which would be useful to see.