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George Pataki - New York Governor
Media Consultants
As a little known State Senator from Peekskill, George Pataki was given almost no chance of winning the Republican nomination for Governor, much less defeating such a formidable national figure as Mario Cuomo.
.......MCA designed a media campaign that focused on four distinct themes. First, we defined George Pataki as someone with the courage to stand up to the leaders of his own party and to vote against higher taxes. Second, we defined Mario Cuomo as too liberal on issues such as taxes, government spending, crime and the death penalty. Third, we reinforced the fact most New Yorker's already knew -- Mario Cuomo had been in office for too long. And we closed by defining Cuomo as a politician more concerned with politics instead of governing. An experienced campaigner, Cuomo refused to give up easily. His responses were strong and rapid.
Perhaps the most important element to Pataki's success was our ability to produce and air response ads within 24 hours of the attack. In the final phase of the campaign, Cuomo was able to play one of his strongest cards -- the Republican Mayor of New York City. As a result of Mayor Giuliani's endorsement, Pataki dropped 23 points.
To counter, MCA produced an ad that defined the Giuliani endorsement as the cynical political deal it was. Our closing ad put the focus back on Cuomo and allowed Pataki to emerge the victor in what many describe as the best-run campaign of 1994.
In his 2008 election, Congressman Frank Kratovil (D-Md.) won a nail-biter by admonishing President George W. Bush for his irresponsible spending. Kratovil promised that once elected, he would “fight to put an end to this fiscal insanity, ... to balance our national checkbook and cut wasteful spending.” Then, just weeks after his swearing-in, he voted for the biggest spending plan in the history of the world.