By Alec Lautanen
With less than a month left until the presidential election, the Romney campaign has much ground to make up. So far, the Romney-Ryan campaign has been a lackluster one, and the ticket must step up efforts in key swing states if it wants any chance of victory in November.
A recent ABC poll found a large majority, 61%, of registered voters rated Romney’s campaign as “negative.” The two main faults of the campaign so far have been an obvious failure to relate to the middle class and a lack of campaign substance.
One recent gaffe for the Romney campaign came when a video was released that quoted Romney as saying 47% of Americans depended on government benefits and don’t pay any taxes at all, a 47% he said it wasn’t his job to worry about.
It is blunders such as this one that have been setting the Romney campaign back, but other issues plague it as well. Namely, a lack of real campaign promises outside of vague “job creation” speeches and a huge lack of support compared to Obama in key contested swing states.
Another key weakness for Romney’s campaign is the nature of political solutions discussed. While Romney rallies for fairer marginal tax rates and other nebulous financial matters, Obama’s skill lies in his ability to communicate social solutions that are relatable to the average America.
Romney’s strongest campaign points may lie in the drab field of economics and job creation, but he could still do a better job selling them to voters. Romney’s position is difficult due to his previously strong opposition to the bailout of the automobile industry, but convincing voters how his potential presidency would benefit domestic jobs would be preferable to his current method of simply criticizing the Obama administration.
Although critics decry Barack Obama for an overuse of rhetoric and idealistic campaign promises, his strategies seem to be working. The most recent Gallup poll found Obama leading Romney by 6%.
Romney has done an excellent job catering to the wealthy class of Americans, but he’s losing valuable support from the middle class. According to the Federal Election Commission, the Obama campaign has both raised and spent more than the Romney campaign. However, the majority of Obama’s individual campaign donations are in the $200 or less range, while Romney’s largest segment of donors gives the maximum $2,500.
As far as Romney’s lackluster performance in swing states like Ohio goes, the GOP candidate must align himself more closely with working class, blue collar Republicans in the state if he wishes to succeed.
Just recently, a huge disconnect was witnessed in the policy and opinions of Romney and Ohio Governor, Republican John Kasich. Kasich recently spoke out praising Ohio’s low employment rate, and rightly so – the largest metropolitan area in the state, Columbus, has a jobless rate almost 2.5% below the national average.
However, this was a sharp contrast with the Romney campaign’s attitude of scorn toward seemingly high national unemployment. Instead of bashing the national rate under a Democratic president, Romney should promote low state rates such as Ohio’s under the current Republican leadership.
Despite his strong showing in the first debate, and his recent spike in national polls, the fundamental problems in his campaign still exist. If Romney doesn’t address these pertienent issues, his debate bump will soon be a thing of the past.
Depending on how the remaining debates go, the Romney campaign could see a jump in polling numbers or see their figures fall. The campaign could lessen a likely negative blow by focusing on more relatable, social matters and promoting Republican success instead of Democratic failure.
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