* The 2014 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Campaign Staffer - Illinois House Democrats goes to Eric Lane…
He may not have the title of campaign manager but he oversaw 5 staffers who did.
Regionals never get the accolades they deserve. Eric had to juggle five races including Scherer and Sente in an environment that proved to be very hostile to incumbents. He not only kept his cool but kept his candidates and staffs focused.
Eric is the man behind the scenes pulling the strings…for not one but five campaigns this season. If that doesn’t deserve this award I don’t know what does.
And the fact that nobody really knows him means he does his job and does it really well - much like an offensive lineman in football. You only know their name when they do something wrong.
I think the fact that Eric has been a regional in both primary and general elections since 2010 and is mostly anonymous speaks volumes to his skills.
There were a lot of very strong nominations in that category, but Eric’s stood out above the rest.
* The 2014 Golden Horseshoe Award for Best Campaign Staffer - Illinois House Republicans goes to Chris Guy…
[Chris] oversaw Dwight kay and Terri Bryant. Nearly everyone was counting Dwight Kay out a year ago, but he won going away, as did Bryant.
Guy was Joe Woodward’s right-hand man in the Downstate region. Downstate was the only real bright spot for the HGOP’s, so that was the tipping point for me.
* OK, let’s move along to today’s categories, with last year’s winners in parentheses…
* Best campaign staffer - Senate Democrats (Dovile Soblinskas)
* Best campaign staffer - Senate Republicans (Pat Barry)
As always, please explain your nominations or they won’t count, and please make sure to nominate in both categories. Thanks.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 12:54 pm:
Best campaign staffer - Senate Republicans
One of the races I felt would give me a better understanding of where the SGOP was heading was the Anderson-Jacobs race. Of the seats contested, this race was one that the SGOP could use to make a statement and use as a building block in 2 years, if they could pull it off.
Solid staff work by Jim Reis and Rachel Bold should not be overlooked, and the mail and media program really complimented what was being done in the precincts. All did an excellent job.
All that said, I nominate Nick McNeely for doing an outstanding job of helping coordinate all elements into a campaign that had many moving parts and meshing them, all together, as a team with one goal of seeing this all the way through.
They all should be very proud of their success in the race, and the SGOP can build off this example of teamwork and strategy meshing with a dedicated team, and Nick McNeely should be recognized for this successful flipping of a seat.
- CircularFiringSquad - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 1:17 pm:
We may have got ahead of ourselves last week.
The best GOPie staffer was clearly Mike Jacobs. Without him, GOPies would have thrown a goose egg for 2014. They owe Mike big time!
- cal city crew - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 2:32 pm:
Mike Carson for SDEMS. He was like a one-man show for the most part. He kept the Senate veto-proof, and is a solid guy all-around.
- Thunder Fred - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 3:43 pm:
Best Senate D Staffer- Reena Tandon. Reena thinks outside the box to find opportunities for her candidates. She’s not afraid of new ideas and non-traditional allies. A week after the election ended she was reaching out to talk about the next cycle. She is a machine.
Senate R- McNeeley is proof of the blind squirrel finding a nut. After the HGOP canned him he somehow wandered onto the right moving train.
- Jimmy Baseball - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 5:10 pm:
Senate Dems-Mitch Schaben. While many people began working on campaigns in June or July this year, Mitch started working on Manar’s campaign the day after he finished stomping Mark Minor in Forby’s district in 2012. The Senate GOP’s might as well write off whatever race he is on in 2016, because he won’t be outworked. I would call him a machine, but I think he would outwork most machines. Manar is a great candidate, but you need more than a great candidate to run up an 11 point lead in a bad year in a Republican leaning district.
Senate GOPs- You have to give credit to McNeeley for flipping a seat in what was formerly a pretty strong Dem area.
- Way South of I-80 - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 5:30 pm:
I would like to nominate Mitch Schaben for best campaign staffer for the Senate Democrats. Mitch tirelessly ran Andy Manar’s campaign. He managed to turn out a big win in a Republican leaning year and a Republican leaning district. They don’t get any better than Mitch!
- Janie Jones - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 5:51 pm:
Senate Dems are in good hands with Mike Carson as their new political director. He had big shoes to fill as Brendan O’Sullivan’s tenure was nothing short of stellar. He’s reliable and responsive to the needs of a large and diverse caucus. He’s a great guy all around.
- Mustache Larry - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 6:46 pm:
For this cycle, I think that Reena Tandon deserves this horseshoe. She was the definition of a team player willing to help out any SDEM member, while working her tail off to make the SDEM caucus stronger. President Cullerton has a huge asset in Reena on both sides of the political spectrum. She will go to bat for any one of her members and will make sure they are in the best position possible. She thinks outside of the box and is a force to be reckoned with for many years to come. Reena Tandon deserves the Golden Horseshoe.
- Anon Onlooker - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 7:10 pm:
SDEM: Mitch Schaben. Manar’s victory this year was nothing short of stellar. A bloodbath for rural Dems nationwide and a Repub district with a candidate who supports a progressive income tax, marriage equality, etc. For a 12 point margin of victory, that campaign had to be run very well. He’ll be running Manar’s race against Rodney Davis.
SGOP: Nick McNeely b/c he flipped a seat and that campaign took time to put together. It didn’t happen overnight.
- DS Politico - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 7:11 pm:
In my opinion, this one should go to Jim Reis. He’s a team player who flies under the radar, but he did solid work this cycle managing Anderson in the general and Jil Tracy’s LG effort in the primary.
Being a campaign manager is not easy and despite being outspent he kept his candidates motivated. Reis helped Anderson fundraise relentlessly and local money funded the exceptional ground game that McNeely and Bold pulled together. SGOP should put a team like those three on every race - it really paid off.
Further, Jim sacrificed personally by moving away from his wife and two young children to see this one through. Regardless of party, I admire someone who is willing to make sacrifices and fight hard for their candidate.
Without reserve, I nominate Reis as Best Campaign Staffer-Senate Republicans. The Anderson team was solid all around, and many deserve credit for the win. But this one ultimately has to go to the guy who made sure all the pieces fit together in the end.
- Gator - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 7:23 pm:
For the Senate Democrats, Larry Luster worked hard for Sen. Mike Jacobs in the Quad cities.he was in the office early and was the last one to leave. He really hustled in that area and he has had a great track record in the past, not counting the Jacobs race.
- Big Jimbo - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 7:27 pm:
Larry Luster for the Senate DEMs. He became A fixture for Quad cities on the Jacobs race.he is a trusted advisor for color done and has been on many races. This guy has a very prosperous future ahead of him and has positioned himself as a campaign “go-to” guy.
- Bossy - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 7:48 pm:
Brenna Walsh for the Senate Dems. She took over for last years winner, Dovile Soblinskas, in the middle of the summer and the Senate’s fundraising operation didn’t miss a beat. She has most of the tough races this cycle, including Mike Jacobs. Anyone who can raise him money, deserves a Golden Horseshoe. Everyone else did a great job, but you can’t run a campaign without money.
For the Senate Republicans, it has to be McFeely. No matter the wave, that seat was drawn for a democrat, and he won big.
- Born In The QCA - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 8:18 pm:
SGOP - Nick McNeely owns the Quad Cities. First with Morthland and now with Anderson, McNeely’s got quite a track record of taking out Dems in RI Co. After all the BS he had to go through with the McSweeney-Gaffney primary and the aftermath, McNeely’ & co.’s win against Jacobs makes him the most deserving of the GH this year. Talk about irony - McNeely helped the SGOP win Jacobs’ seat while the HGOP lost to Smiddy again.
- Arsenal - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 9:12 pm:
For Senate Dems, Mitch Schaben. Manar took maybe a weekend off after 2012 before Schaben got him back to work. A good campaign manager keeps all the noise out of the campaign, and that’s just what Schaben did- there was no staff turmoil, no nervous donors, nothing to distract Manar from selling his agenda and the field team from voting its pluses. That’s all to Schaben’s credit.
- BucktownDem - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 9:35 pm:
SDEM: Mitch Schaben. Manar deserves a lot of credit, but the manager keeps everyone on point, including the principal. Rural district, bad year for Dems in IL with Quinn and Callis tanking from the top of the ticket, and the overall GOP lean of the district makes even a good year no sure thing. Hell, even Durbin lost all the counties that make up IL-48 and he’s a local boy. In short, Mitch ran a perfect race that was needed in a year like this, and pulled it off. Kudos.
SEN GOP: I’ll learn their names when they get out of the super minority.
- Sybil - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 9:52 pm:
Nick McNeely, hands down. The guy is scary smart and the House GOP was stupid to let him go. Smart move by the Senate scooping up such a great asset.
When McNeely rolls into town something systematic happens, and it works. If the Senate GOP is wants to keep winning, they will keep him around.
- downstateyp - Monday, Dec 8, 14 @ 10:57 pm:
I would also like to nominate Jim Reis with the Neil Anderson campaign. Jim is a tireless advocate for those he believes in. He is not afraid to take on tough races and would sacrifice time away from his family for candidates who aren’t afraid to work hard. He managed a very difficult race 2 years ago for Randy Frese, against a tough opponent, in am off year for Republicans. He worked with Dillard and Tracy to a respectable finish and was a part of a huge upset in the Senate.
Jim Reis is not afraid to give you his opinion, or work his candidates to the bones, two things that are often lacking in today’s politics.
Jim knows a good ground game is only as good as fundraising efforts and vice versa. Bottom line, Jim is the guy you want in your corner, the Senate Republicans are lucky to have him.
- Vote Quimby! - Tuesday, Dec 9, 14 @ 7:50 am:
Congrats to Chris Guy….no wonder his fantasy baseball team was terrible this season!
- ArmyMan - Tuesday, Dec 9, 14 @ 8:49 am:
SDEMs - Mitch Schaben, hands down. Mitch took the reins of Manar’s campaign right after Manar was sworn in in 2013. Mitch kept Manar focused, his message clear, and assembled and led a field team that was second to none. They got the job done with an 11 point victory. Mitch deserves this award.
- SO. ILL - Tuesday, Dec 9, 14 @ 9:27 am:
SGOP - McNeely. He didn’t just aimlessly wander into that Jacobs race. He earned his way back in with the political insiders through his work for Dillard in the Primary. He is a solid, campaign professional. I second the nomination that said if the SGOP wants to keep winning they’ll keep him around.
- Miss Marie - Tuesday, Dec 9, 14 @ 11:07 am:
SDEMs–Mitch Schaben. It wasn’t a good time to be a Democrat this election cycle. But Mitch has worked non stop, and had a great base of workers and volunteers. I don’t think he ever stops working.
- Citizen Carl - Tuesday, Dec 9, 14 @ 12:17 pm:
Larry Luster hands down. Combining talent with sheer will he is a beast. Blow up turnout in Dem base precincts for Sen. Jacobs.
Raising star for sure. Probably the best field operative in the state.