Have you ever thought about running for a position in government?
There are many obstacles to doing this, especially when going up against a current officeholder. Traditional beliefs in politics say that it is almost impossible to remove someone from office, especially if they have a lot of money. It might seem like these are the only important factors.
OpenSecrets, a collection of election data, states that 95.2% of current officeholders were reelected in 2022. However, one person recently explained how a candidate can overcome these challenges.
Kyle Sims learned about politics the same way he learned about construction (which he did for 32 years): by doing it.
Sims has overseen a number of campaigns for candidates, but his most recent accomplishment was helping Shelley Luther defeat Rep. Reggie Smith (R-Sherman), who had been in office for three terms, in the Republican primary for Texas House District 62. Luther received just over 53% of the vote to Smith’s almost 47%.
Luther is the well-known owner of a salon in Dallas who was jailed for reopening her business against COVID-19 lockdown measures in 2020. She previously ran against Smith in the 2022 Republican primary for the same position, with Smith receiving almost 59% of the vote to Luther’s 41%.
Several current officeholders were defeated in the recent Texas Republican primaries. Nearly 50 primary challenges were fueled by the unsuccessful attempt to remove Attorney General Ken Paxton from office this year. Nine Republican officeholders were defeated outright, and eight more, including House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), are going to a runoff in May.
Sims offered guidance to potential candidates when he appeared on the Cowtown Caller podcast earlier this month, pointing out some of the areas candidates should concentrate on if they want to overcome the political challenges.
How do you defeat an incumbent?
Kyle Sims @patriottxs knows how. He just helped @ShelleyLutherTX defeat Reggie Smith in District 62.
Here is a clip from an upcoming Cowtown Caller podcast.https://t.co/6Dez8U0NAn pic.twitter.com/g3qMXVJd6s
— Cowtown Caller (@CowtownCaller) March 28, 2024
First, stick to the truth. Sims does not object to aggressively critiquing your opponent’s record, but he believes there is a right way to do it.
“Don’t ever attack your opponent just to attack them,” said Sims. “If you’re going to say something about your opponent, make sure it’s facts and don’t make up something or assume something.”
“Research is crucial to anything you do, especially in politics. There are numerous resources where you can find information about a candidate. You can track their money, connections, and who they are associated with. You can see what they voted for in the past,” he said. “That’s what you base your campaign on. You run on pure facts.”
Sims suggested that challengers must “stay completely focused on what [they are] doing,” advising that candidates ignore the accusations and name-calling.
“It really takes a dedicated, strong person to be in politics –– particularly a candidate –– and especially in a race like Shelley’s,” he said.
According to Sims, having a solid grassroots effort is crucial.
“We knocked [on] hundreds of doors. We went to numerous events. We were visible all the time,” he said. “We were somewhere every night for about three months. … You have to look voters in the face, and you have to answer every question they want you to answer with honest answers.”
He emphasized that if you don’t know the answer, you should be honest and say you don’t know.
When asked if money determines elections, Sims admitted that while money often determines elections, it doesn't always have to.
Sims pointed out that despite Reggie spending over $900,000 and them spending a little over $300,000, money doesn't always lead to victory. He reiterated the basics of campaigning against someone already in office.
Sims said he and Luther were “very proud of that race, very proud how we ran it, and we have no regrets on the strategy that we used to do that.”
Luther will compete against Democratic nominee Tiffany Drake in the November general election. District 62 generally favors Republicans, with Smith defeating the Democratic nominees by over 50 percentage points in the last two general elections.
