Winning Tough Primaries

Case Studies

OK-02, 2004

Rep. Dan Boren of Southeastern Oklahoma got to Congress in the first place by winning a hard-fought 2004 primary.  This race provides a good example of how what we do makes a positive difference in a campaign.

“Whenever I’ve had a tough campaign, I’ve hired Jason Stanford. And thanks to the research he and his folks have done, those campaigns have been able to make accurate, relevant and pretty hard-hitting arguments, and I ended up winning those campaigns by wide margins.” — Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK)

Rep. Boren had certain advantages in this open-seat primary, not the least of which was his family’s considerable political legacy.  But his opponent, former District Attorney Kalyn Free, had the backing of labor unions and EMILY’s List, which gave her financial parity.

Kalyn Free stated the negative ad war and gained significant ground. As she later disclosed, “The polls showed us within 11 points and gaining fast; all the pundits and even our opponent were predicted a close race and a runoff.”

But the Boren campaign took down Free with research-based commercials that detailed her record of giving suspended sentences to child molesters and rapists, some of whom went on to commit similar crimes when they should have been in prison.

Dan Boren won going away, 58%-36%, carrying all 25 counties in the district — with a turnout that exceeded even the most optimistic predictions.