Campaign Evaluation: Rebekah Bydlak (US House, FL-1)

[Matt Collins]

Her narrative is insurmountable??? What does that even mean?

It means that 20-something year old girls who don't have much life experience, haven't accomplished much, don't live in the district, and don't have a life story are unlikely to get elected to anything, much less Congress.

And now I'm curious if you had a prediction for Eric Brakey's race in ME? (very much a long shot, as was Gunny's)

I don't know anything about his race. Wasn't he already elected?

I've already sent money to Rebekah, and attended her fundraiser in DC last week where Amash showed up in support. I had a discussion with her over fundraising and she not only acknowledged the importance of making the calls, but also nailed it by finishing the convo with an ask. I think she may just "pull a Brakey" regarding fundraising. Beyond that, the crowded field may help more than hurt, and in many ways, traditional "math" has pretty much been thrown out the window this cycle.

Finally, regardless of her chances, the platform to spread ideas is always valuable.

#GoGrassroots

Math is still math, and as I mentioned, if she does everything right, she might get lucky, but I wouldn't bet any money on it.

If the other guy wins, and she is smart, she will use the massive list she built to run for state legislature. Even that is a tall order, but she would have a better chance to win that than to win a Congressional seat.

 

[Peace&Freedom]

It means that 20-something year old girls who don't have much life experience, haven't accomplished much, don't live in the district, and don't have a life story are unlikely to get elected to anything, much less Congress.

Bydlak could nonetheless use this campaign to get candidate experience, build her brand and to find out which portions of the district most strongly support her. She could then run for state legislative office in one of those areas. Or she should keep a campaign apparatus "motor running," and wait for an open seat she could latch onto when the right opportunity arises.

Anyway, here's her picture:

 

[Matt Collins]

Bydlak could nonetheless use this campaign to get candidate experience, build her brand and to find out which portions of the district most strongly support her. She could then run for state legislative office in one of those areas. Or she should keep a campaign apparatus "motor running," and wait for an open seat she could latch onto when the right opportunity arises.

I think that is what I just wrote above.

 

[H. E. Panqui]

...hopefully someday we can get some politicians who understand and will correct 'the debt that ought not to be debt', etc. hideous, fraudulent bankster privilege$ galore...

...sadly, this lady appears yet another in a seemingly endless parade of republicrat monetary ignoramuses...

...she's pretty good-looking though..and this alone may attract lots of republicrats...

 

[Peace&Freedom]

I think that is what I just wrote above.

I added the elements of brand-building, gaining experience and picking the most supportive local district to fill out your point. As we've seen, having a good mailing list is only one aspect of winning elections.

 

[ronpaulhawaii]

It means that 20-something year old girls who don't have much life experience, haven't accomplished much, don't live in the district, and don't have a life story are unlikely to get elected to anything, much less Congress.

"20-something" is spin. She is young, 25, but that is the same type of lame attack used against 27 year old Sen. Eric Brakey when he ran two years ago, who, as an aspiring actor in NYC, had even less established "life experience" Further, using the Brakey example, he actually was not born and raised in ME, and only moved there to head up RP's 2012 campaign. Rebekah, on the other hand, was born and raised in the district, (and she actually does live there). While they both have deep roots in their respective areas, Rebekah's are more solid.

Continuing, we have Rebekah's current position as Director of The Coalition to Reduce Spending, which has given her a heap of experience on how things actually work in government. Add the fact that she earned a master’s degree in political science/public administration (from University of West Florida,) and you have a local girl with skills and the building blocks of a compelling story.

I don't know anything about his race. Wasn't he already elected?

What part of "had" are you having trouble with?

Math is still math, and as I mentioned, if she does everything right, she might get lucky, but I wouldn't bet any money on it.

If the other guy wins, and she is smart, she will use the massive list she built to run for state legislature. Even that is a tall order, but she would have a better chance to win that than to win a Congressional seat.

I really doubt you even have the data to run the math, much less have run it. ISTM you are just spouting off, like the negative nancy you often resemble. I mean hell, you didn't even know she grew up and lives there...

 

[H. E. Panqui]

...brakey is another republican (state senator) monetary ignoramus who shilled for stinking ted cruz...if this is what is termed a 'liberty candidate', i'll pass...

...stinking republicans give 'liberty' a really really bad name...ugh....

 

[ronpaulhawaii]

...brakey is another republican (state senator) monetary ignoramus who shilled for stinking ted cruz...if this is what is termed a 'liberty candidate', i'll pass...

...stinking republicans give 'liberty' a really really bad name...ugh....

Your ignorance tells me you are just trolling. Please show us where Brakey shilled for Cruz. What I saw was that he stated that Paul was his candidate, Paul is who he caucused and voted for, but as a representative of the people who voted to make him a delegate, he would cast his vote at the RNC for the winner of his Caucus.

FTR, Brakey and I were friends long before he went to Maine and I'm one of two who convinced him to go, mentored him, and advised him throughout his race.

I'm especially pleased that he has been put on the platform and resolutions committee at the RNC. I know he will represent our interests as best he can.

Anyway, this thread is about Rebekah...

 

[BrendanWenzel]

It's good to see her running at her age and spreading the message of liberty. She's got a bright future ahead of her!

 

[Matt Collins]

"20-something" is spin. She is young, 25, but that is the same type of lame attack used against 27 year old Sen. Eric Brakey when he ran two years ago, who, as an aspiring actor in NYC, had even less established "life experience"

Running the the state leg and US House are worlds apart.

Continuing, we have Rebekah's current position as Director of The Coalition to Reduce Spending, which has given her a heap of experience on how things actually work in government. Add the fact that she earned a master’s degree in political science/public administration (from University of West Florida,) and you have a local girl with skills and the building blocks of a compelling story.

None of that really means anything to the average voter.

I mean hell, you didn't even know she grew up and lives there...

Actually I do know she grew up there, but it is my understanding they have been living in DC for a while.

 

[ronpaulhawaii]

Running the the state leg and US House are worlds apart.

ya think?

None of that really means anything to the average voter.

It wasn't addressing average voter concerns, it was addressing your objections. Like I said, she has decent building blocks for messaging. Besides, to the average voter, any "story" is more about presentation than substance anyway. Given her access to decent advisors/mentors/etc., If she knocks on doors and makes the calls, like other winners I've seen, she'll have as good a shot as they did.

Actually I do know she grew up there, but it is my understanding they have been living in DC for a while.

First you complain of her young age, then you say this, "living in DC for a while"... Meanwhile, they live in CD1 and she only lived in DC for a short while,

I like to see constructive criticism; vague and ignorant dismissiveness that introduces undeserved negativity, not so much...

 

[H. E. Panqui]

Your ignorance tells me you are just trolling. Please show us where Brakey shilled for Cruz. What I saw was that he stated that Paul was his candidate, Paul is who he caucused and voted for, but as a representative of the people who voted to make him a delegate, he would cast his vote at the RNC for the winner of his Caucus.

FTR, Brakey and I were friends long before he went to Maine and I'm one of two who convinced him to go, mentored him, and advised him throughout his race....

...i (ashamedly) attended a session of the state convention as a guest (i was literally dragged kicking and screaming)...i SAW brakey's name on a delegate slate(s) distributed by SHILLS FOR TED STINKING CRUZ!..

...btw, in the larger scheme of things we are all 'trolls'..for one example, you apparently troll for 'young attractive republican political hopefuls' [who can be found frequently working their cakeholes about 'the illion dollar economy' absent an honest clue as to the HIDEOUS origin and nature of even one 'dollar']...word...

 

[Matt Collins]

I like to see constructive criticism; vague and ignorant dismissiveness that introduces undeserved negativity, not so much...

Campaign school 101:

1- don't run for Congress your first time,

2- have a sellable narrative,

3- and fit the profile of your average candidate.



All 3 of these are being ignored in this race. As I said, she might get lucky, but more than likely she will not get elected. If she builds a big list and uses that for other purposes then it will be still be a victory regardless of being elected or not.

 

[johndeal]

I wish Bydlak had been elected to some local office first but I also think this seat is too valuable for her not to give it a shot.

An open seat in a solid Republican district with what should be a beatable opponents. She's the only female contender.

Evers (a state senator), Gaetz (a state rep), and Zumwalt (a Miller staffer) have never won contested primaries. If they split things evenly Bydlak will have a shot.

The winner may only need 25-28% of the vote though I would expect it will take >35% to win.

 

[Bryan]

[moved many posts here to the evaluation]

When I first saw the name Bydlak I immediately wondered about a connection to Jonathon Bydlak, and of course there is. I remember Rebekah from some past Ron Paul campaigns, didn't she use to do youtubes?

I am very encouraged to see young liberty supporters stepping up to run for office! This is great news and even better when they have a solid foundation to build upon. From what I've seen, Rebekah has a lot of potential.

That said, I am likewise concerned on attempts to jump too high too soon. Winning and keeping a congressional seat is not something that comes easy, so for liberty activists efforts to be fruitful the candidate has to have a lot going for them.

Without knowing all the fundamentals in this case, I would agree with Matt to a point, the situation is not stacked well. Getting more information on these fundamentals however can help provide better focus. Some key questions for me...

- What has she done to build up her local base? Has see been involved in a lot of grassroots groups? Building contacts?

- What has she done to build up a national pro-liberty base? Has she been producing content (articles, etc) that have built up a following? What are her personal fb and twitter follower counts at?

- What is the funding plan? Doe she / family have a large amount of seed money to get the campaign off to a great start? Has she build up the support base to do that? Or is she going to be looking for new supporters to provide the first injection of big money?

Aside for this, it's understood that there can be value in running campaigns beyond just winning (and our evaluation process recognizes this). It certainly seems like Rebekah can have a very positive future, the question is, will she press on with other opportunities if she does not win this race? Would she consider a run for a state office? I don't think we'd get a public answer to that but there are ways this could be gauged.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

CD1: With Republican Jeff Miller bowing out, expect a competitive GOP in this Panhandle seat. Two state legislators--Greg Evers and Matt Gaetz--are already running for this seat and other Republicans have also lined up to run. No surprise considering the number of military bases in the region, several of the Republican candidates--Robert Blake, Cris Dosev, Brian Frazier, John Mills, James Zumwalt--are veterans. There are also other outsiders like Rebekah Johansen Bydlak and Mark Wichern in the primary while local elected officials like Ashton Hayward and David Stafford could still enter the fray. Not all of these candidates are going to make the ballot of course but this isn’t going to be a two man contest between Evers and Gaetz. There are some Democrats and independents running but they simply won’t be factors in one of the most secure Republican districts in the state. Whoever wins the Republican primary at the end of August should be headed to Washington.

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/st...k-competitive-after-redistricting-retirements

 

[Brian4Liberty]

- What is the funding plan? Doe she / family have a large amount of seed money to get the campaign off to a great start? Has she build up the support base to do that? Or is she going to be looking for new supporters to provide the first injection of big money?

Seems her initial fundraiser went very well:

North Escambia Native Rebekah Bydlak Tops $100K Raised In Congressional Race

June 7, 2016

Congressional candidate Rebekah Johansen Bydlak has announced that she closed out the month of May with over $100,000 in donations from over 200 donors,

 

[nickpruitt]

She just got endorsed by that Ron Paul dude.

http://rare.us/story/ron-paul-just-...he-republican-party/?utm_source=JulieBorowski

 

[Todd]

She's well spoken

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Rebekah Bydlak endorsed by Citizens for the Republic