Backed by consultant Bill Skelly of Causeway Solutions and fundraiser Allee Bautsch Grunewald of The Bautsch Group, the Louisiana Republican Party this week launched the “Red to the Roots” initiative. It’s a $2 million effort to identify, register and engage new Republican voters across the state.
Given last year’s gubernatorial election, conservatives in the party feel like a permanent field program is more important than ever.
Although Republicans are increasing their share of registration, the party is not comfortable with the trend of falling behind Democrats in partisan registration by 509,000 voters. Also, if the current registration trends continue, independents could soon surpass GOP registrations.
From an introductory memo obtained by LaPolitics: “We must commit to funding and implementing this program immediately and sustain this commitment for years if we are to be successful in this endeavor. Democrats have nearly perfected these programs – and we see their successes in their electoral victories around the country.”
In perennial presidential target states like Nevada, the memo goes on to add, Democrats took a state that in 2004 had 4,431 more Republican voters than Democrats and swung that to a 90,187 voter advantage in their favor in just eight years, moving a state that President George W. Bush won in 2004 to a state solidly in President Barack Obama’s camp in 2008 and 2012.
“Further, Democrats are now taking this proven approach into traditionally ‘red’ states,” according to the memorandum.