Digital communications strategist Beth Thorpe is not worried about “building her brand.” Rather, she is singularly focused on electing Democrats in Kentucky.
Having helped numerous statewide candidates win their races, she is now homing in on a goal of eating away at the Republican super-majority in the Kentucky legislature. As one of the few people in the state doing this type of work, she firmly believes that the Democrats could win more contests if more candidates had effective digital strategies.
What does a digital strategist do?
The work of the campaign’s digital communications strategist impacts every other aspect of the political campaign. The job incorporates strategy development, digital organizing, messaging, social media, data management, and targeting – knowing who to send your message to, and why. It also involves talking to vendors and knowing which companies to work with. Not surprisingly, digital strategy is an essential component of any successful campaign these days. In fact, Republicans now allot 40 percent of their budget to digital operations.
Getting started
A few years back, as a board member of a non-profit organization, Beth ran their social media and communications. Then in 2016, with that successful venture behind her, Beth reached out to now state Rep. McKenzie Cantrell (whose Republican opponent was funded by conservative mega-donors, the Koch brothers) and offered to help with digital strategy. Drawing upon her background in advertising and marketing, Beth learned a lot very fast on the fly, and ultimately helped put together a successful digital campaign. Her candidate won, flipping the seat from Republican to Democrat. While Beth was initially planning on a “one-and-done,” she has been involved in statewide Democratic campaigns ever since.
Beth says, “Beating the Koch Brothers made me realize it was actually possible to do so – even in Kentucky, with Trump on the ballot. It is really the inspiration for me to continue doing this work.”
To further hone her skills, Beth attended the Wellstone Action Digital Organizing School, , and their Data and Analytics Boot Camp, along with further advanced training.
Thoughts on primaries and candidates
Beth says she does not like working against other Democrats in primary contests. “I much prefer beating up on Republicans,” she says.
As a digital specialist she also has opinions on the recent digital disasters in the Iowa caucuses. “Never create new tech if there is something already in existence that is perfectly capable of doing the job,” she says. “Don’t try to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.” It appears that Democrats in Nevada have also gotten the message. They say they are replacing their new caucus app with I-pads and Google forms.
Beth is gratified by the current crop of promising Democratic candidates, including Kentucky House candidates Margaret Plattner, 33rd District; Suzanne Kugler, 29th District; Pamela Stevenson, 43rd District; Corbin Snardon, 3rd District; and Cherlynn Stevenson, 88th District. Additionally, she praises Cassie Chambers Armstrong, who is running for Louisville Metro Council District 8.
Electing more Democrats
Going forward, how can Democrats enhance their digital game? “We need more training and more people doing all aspects of this work,” Beth says. “We need to recruit people who are motivated by electing great candidates to office.”
To that end, Beth co-hosted an extensive digital training session for Kentucky campaign staffers in May 2019, along with nationally-known digital trainer Beth Becker.
Topics covered in the training session, “Building a Digital Campaign Strategy,” included:
- Mapping engagement paths for your supporters
- Best practices for building websites, writing email blasts, managing social media, and other digital organizing tasks.
- Data collection
- Social media strategy
- Facebook and Instagram ads
- Integrating digital tactics with offline organizing
- Digital Rapid Response
- Video for social media
- Follow up opportunities for mentorship, additional training, and support for the 2020 election cycle here in Kentucky for state and local races.
A final thought from Beth
I am often asked by people about them running for office and if I think they are someone who would make a good candidate. I always ask them if they love being with people all of the time. People often shift foot to foot, and nervously admit No, they really don’t.
Honestly – you need to be an extrovert to run for office well, the vast majority of the time. But all of those introverts? They make great digital staffers! Everyone has something to offer to help Democratic candidates win.
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