Advocacy & Events
Public and private interactions with the campaign is a great way to gauge their reaction to your questions and concerns, and to show solidarity between you and other campaigns.
In this section you’ll find:
- How to ask questions at campaign events
- How to connect with campaign staff
- How to submit questions to local debates
- How to plan an event with another organization
How to Ask Questions at Campaign Events
Posing questions at campaign events during the Q&A session is a great and direct way to alert the candidate and the others at the event that there are people in the district or state that care about Darfur and genocide. Here are some pointers below.
- Questions should have a clear focus, a goal. Be specific, realistic, and non-controversial.
- Try as best you can to know a candidate’s record on Darfur, so you ask a question relevant to them.
- If you attend in a group, have a number of people with their questions already assigned to them, and place them at different points in the audience.
- Keep questions fairly short and posed in a way that forces the candidate to actually answer it.
- You may want to deliberately pose these types of questions at events where other voters would more obviously care about the issue, and where that would also be obvious to the candidate (such as events with young voters, churches, and synagogues).
- Be aware that at some events it’s not allowed to press candidates on their specific record, and therefore you may have to make questions less candidate-specific.
- Ask questions especially when media are present.
Sample Questions
For a challenger:
If you are elected to office, what will you do within your power to stop the genocide in Darfur and genocide in general?
For an incumbent with a good record on Darfur:
Your voting record in the past indicates that you are a supporter of Darfur legislation. What success do you hope to achieve this year
For an incumbent with a poor record on Darfur:
Why did you (vote against/not co-sponsor) this legislation (letter, etc.)? What do you plan to do to better your record on Darfur?
How to Connect with Campaign Staff
Campaign staffs generally have 3 divisions: field, finance and communications. The communications director or the campaign manager will be the best person to go to talk about Darfur.
The same tactics you would use in a lobby meeting are essentially the same tactics to use in engaging campaign staff. Click here to read our materials on lobbying
Although you are not giving the campaign staff a specific ask in that you are not asking them to cosponsor or vote for a bill, you are still asking the candidate to make Darfur a pritority if s/he is elected to office.
Show the campaign staff that you know about the candidate's stance on Darfur .
If s/he is an incumbent and has a good record on Darfur, express your thanks to his/her commitment, state the continuous need for appropriations for peacekeeping funding, and ask them to keep a special eye out for Darfur and genocide legislation in the future.
If s/he is an incumbent and has a so-so record on Darfur, let him/her know that you are disappointed, and ask him/her why the candidate has not been as committed as s/he could be to making Darfur a priority. Let them know that you, as a constituent who cares about Darfur, can be a resource to alert them to when votes and opportunities for co-sponsorship occur.
If s/he is a challenger or running for an open seat, you will have to dig a bit deeper. Has s/he made any statements about Darfur in the news? If s/he is a former or current state legislator, what are his/her views on Sudan divestment? Express that Darfur is an issue of concern among residents in your district/state, and, again, that you would be happy to be a resource about Darfur-related opportunities for them to show their support.
Email advocacy@standnow.org if you have further questions on meetings with campaign staff.
How to Submit Questions to Local Debates
Get the right questions asked at debates. Congressional debates are often hosted by local television stations and newspapers. Find out who's hosting the debates in your area and then lobby them to ask questions about Darfur. Send in letters, host a creative event, and target the specific moderator of the debate. Debate information differs from race to race, so look up the info for your races on your own. Email media@standnow.org so the STAND Communications Team can help!
How to Plan an Event with Another Organization
One way to really boost the visibility of Darfur as an election issue is to get in touch with local organizations that also care about Darfur and genocide. This shows that there is a significant constituency in the district or state that cares about Darfur, and encourages candidates to pay greater attention to Darfur and genocide.
Potential community groups that your chapter could reach out to include religious organizations, Darfur-centered groups like Save Darfur or other STAND chapters, etc. Email your ROC to find out what other like-minded groups are in your area, or start reaching out on your own.
Click here for pointers on how to connect with community groups.
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