NFIB Road Team, Digital Ad Campaign and Endorsements Lead to Successful Election Night.
NFIB’s efforts leading up to election night in Virginia helped elect 57 pro-small business candidates. NFIB’s multifaceted approach included endorsements, a voter guide, two Road Teams, and a digital ad campaign reminding Virginians to vote early.
In September, the NFIB Virginia PAC endorsed 64 candidates in their run for state legislature. All of them demonstrated support for small business issues and pledged to listen and advocate for small business owners and their employees. The Virginia PAC endorsed 18 candidates for state Senate and 46 candidates for House of Delegates. Of those endorsed candidates, 57 won or are the projected winner of their race. That’s an 89%-win rate.
In early October, the Virginia PAC launched a digital ad campaign reminding Virginians they can vote early ahead of Election Day and supporting 8 endorsed candidates in tight races. The ads generated 3,676 total clicks and reached nearly 3 million Virginians on computers, smart phones, social media sites and web browsers. The clicks took Virginians to three informational pages where voters accessed a summary of issues important to small businesses and a list of the candidates endorsed by the NFIB Virginia PAC.
Numbers show that 776,931 Virginians cast their ballot early. That’s over five times the number of early voters than in 2019, when 144,360 early votes were cast.
Also in October, the NFIB Virginia Road Team deployed to nine targeted legislative districts, where NFIB staff educated members about the importance of early voting. In just three days, staff visited nearly 150 small businesses, including multiple visits alongside endorsed candidates.
Later that month, the NFIB Northern Virginia Road Team visited 68 small businesses in three legislative districts in just one day. That’s a total of 214 small businesses across the Commonwealth!
NFIB staff Louis Bertolotti and Blake Glinn pose for a selfie during member visits during NFIB Virginia Road Team.
NFIB Staff Nathan Humphrey and State Director in Virginia Julia Hammond enjoyed their stop at Joey’s Dogs during NFIB Virginia Road Team.
During Road Team, NFIB staff go door to door to visit with members at their small business. Staff reminds the small business owner about the upcoming election, provides early voting and polling site information, and shares NFIB’s Voter Guide. This “boots on the ground” approach gives small business owners a chance to hear the important issues at stake and learn the potential impact the results will have on their business. The Road Team encourages small business owners to identify pro-small business candidates and policies on the ballot, engage with these campaigns, and vote on or before Election Day. Small business owners need strong advocates in Richmond because good small business policy starts with electing pro-small business candidates.
Candidate Tara Durant meets with NFIB staff and NFIB Virginia Leadership Council Member Paul Wood of Rush Hour Live Escape Games during Road Team.
Similarly, NFIB staff reached out to members in targeted districts on Election Day in the inaugural “Phone Team.” Speaking with 125 members over the course of the day, we encouraged members to get out and vote if they hadn’t yet made it to the polls. Small business owners need strong advocates in Richmond because good small business policy starts with electing pro-small business candidates.
