Throwing mud is a sign you are behind in the polls
It is a proven fact that candidates and campaigns that mail out more negative mailers attacking their rivals usually do so because they are behind in the polls and their rivals are winning.
But when candidates who are leading in the polls “throw mud,” the colloquial term for negative mailers, it will undermine your support, turn off voters and make it easier for your opponents to beat you.
Negative mailers, “mud,” have one purpose: to sully the reputation of a rival who is doing better than you in the polls. You need to criticize your rival when they are leading and offer voters a reasoned argument as to why you are better.
When I see a candidate’s election campaign focus more on negative mailers attacking their rivals, it tells me that the candidates are way behind in the polls and are losing. It’s a sure sign.
Voters are not as stupid as those who send out “mud” believe. Voters are smart. They see through the lies and they resent negative mailers significantly.
But it also does not help when a victim of a negative campaign decides to respond in kind by throwing mud back and their mud-throwing rivals. In that case, the victim of the mud actually reinforces a public perception that maybe the accusations are true.
Finally, when one candidate (or slate) dominates their campaign mailers with negative mudslinging attacks, that really exposes how bad those candidates really are. The more mud you throw the more desperate and incompetent you are.
Criticism is not mud when it is presented fairly, sanely and with reason. You can criticize your opponent in a positive way as a part of a positive mailer about yourself. The trick is to make the criticism NOT look like mud. You want it to look like a debate argument.
So how do you respond to a rival who throws mud, calls you names, accuses you of all kinds of terrible things? The smart strategy is to respond to the mud, or the lies, by pointing out that they are lies.
You speak to the voters in a smart way.
“My opponent has falsely accused me of raising taxes, accepting bribes and beating my wife. I am saddened that their campaign has resorted to mudslinging rather than addressing the real issues. Their attacks are false. Here is what the truth is: I opposed raising taxes six times. I have never accepted bribes. That is a desperate claim from my opponents. And, I love my wife, respect women, and believe that all kinds of physical violence are wrong. I think their negative campaign is a reflection of their own problems. But, I would rather focus on what I hope to do when I am elected to benefit you, the voters, homeowners, taxpayers. I plan to …”
When you respond to mud with calm, reason and believable statements, you win. You actually turn the mud around.
The problem is people are human and humans are flawed. We tend to be injured when attacked and our natural tendency is to want to fight back and call people names when they call us names. But by doing so, you push yourself down to your opponents gutter level and in doing so hurt your campaign.
Resist throwing mud. Answer the mud with facts. Shake your head at the tragic sadness of how your opponent has decided to step into the gutter rather than take the high road that will benefit the voters. Use your rivals negative tactic as an opportunity to present yourself in a positive way.
Believe me, it works.
Here is what an ugly negative mudslinging mailer looks like (taken from a trustee election in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park in April 2019). It’s filled with lies and it reflects how poorly the candidates sending this out are really doing.
One of a series of negative mud-thrown mailers sent out by one slate of desperate candidates that hurt their own campaigns with voters.
As a consequence, the slate that sent out this mailer lost when they should have won.
Negative campaigning doesn’t work when you rely on it or when it dominates your messaging.
The best strategy is to be smart and present yourself as being smart. Present yourself as identifying with the audience you are targeting. Be creative and connect with the concerns of the audience. offer them solutions to their problems. Don’t become your own problem and then lose the election.
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