Independent Women's Voice (IWV) – which sent more than 87,000 phone calls into targeted households throughout New York’s 9th Congressional District over the last four days, urging a vote for Republican Bob Turner in today’s special election – congratulates Turner for his victory over Democrat David Weprin.
“The victory in New York demonstrates that Americans of all political affiliations increasingly recognize that the big government policies advanced by this Administration and Democrats in Congress are damaging the economy and weakening our country,” said IWV CEO Heather R. Higgins. “Rep. Turner will join the ranks of those committed to ending government's assault on private business, repealing ObamaCare, and cutting the wasteful spending that is burying our country in debt. He'll represent New York well, and we’re pleased to have been able to play a part in his victory.”
In this overwhelmingly Democratic district – registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by almost 3-to-1 – Independent Women's Voice ran a sophisticated phone operation to identify Democrats and Independents who were open to persuasion, then followed up with targeted messages to them, including calls touting former Democratic Mayor Ed Koch’s endorsement of Turner, and a call from Democratic Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who crossed party lines to endorse Turner last week.
“When we looked at the registration figures,” said Higgins, “it became clear that turning out all the Republicans in the district wouldn’t be enough. So we worked to identify Democrats and Independents who were open to persuasion, then communicated to them about the importance of using their vote to send a message.
“Former Mayor Koch’s endorsement played a big role, and so did Assemblyman Hikind’s,” Higgins continued. “All we did was take their messages – and, in the case of Assemblyman Hikind, the messenger himself – and send them directly into the households of targeted voters, via phone calls.
“IWV is proud to have played a role in educating New York voters about the stakes in this race,” Higgins concluded. “We firmly believe that Independents and moderate and conservative Democrats are open to messages about the destructive impact of government over-reach, and Bob Turner’s success in this overwhelming Democratic district confirms that.”
Below are examples of the eight different messages that were sent into targeted Democratic, Independent and Republican households.
Click to play the message from Dr. Amerling that went to GOP Households
Click to play the message from Dr. Eck that went to Democrat and Independent Households
Click to play the message from Assemblyman Dov Hikind that went to Democrat Households