Overview

In 2006 Joe Sestak, a retired Three-Star Admiral, challenged 20-year entrenched incumbent Curt Weldon in a highly targeted Pennsylvania Congressional race. The 7th Congressional district covers the majority of Delaware County and parts of Montgomery and Chester Counties, traditional Republican strongholds that have trended Democratic in recent years.

The Challenge

Sestak not only faced Curt Weldon, a 10-term Congressman with steady approval ratings and significant financial support, but also an electorate unfamiliar with Sestak’s background and leadership qualifications since he had never before held elective office. Whereas Sestak’s impressive 31-year career in the Navy was a solid selling point, it also meant he had spent a significant amount of time away from the district. Weldon’s commanding victory margin of 18 points in 2004 and 32 points in 2002 also indicated that voters were not used to considering this a competitive race.

Further complicating Sestak’s challenge were Pennsylvania’s high-profile Senate and Gubernatorial races and several other top-tier Congressional races that initially overshadowed his bid. As a largely unknown challenger, Sestak needed to both establish his credibility with voters while portraying Weldon as the consummate back-room political insider, as well as gain media attention and funding from groups such as the DCCC.

The Result

Kennedy Communications designed a nine piece mail program that established Sestak’s credibility as a military leader and terrorism expert and tied Weldon to the Bush Administration’s failure in Iraq. The program was purposefully front-loaded to begin in early September, mailing a significant number of pieces in the first weeks to both bolster Sestak’s name recognition locally while also attracting media attention and fundraising assistance. The program then contrasted Sestak’s principled stand as a war veteran against the Iraq war with Weldon’s unwavering support for Bush’s war strategy. As news of an FBI investigation into Weldon broke in October, that story was quickly added to the closing messages of the race.

Initial polling indicated Sestak was largely unknown, with only 32% name recognition in comparison to Weldon’s 90%, and Sestak was down by 22 points. Ultimately Sestak scored a substantial 12 point victory—more than a 30 point swing over the initial numbers.