The former governor of New York, George Pataki, is currently polling last among the fifteen Republican candidates. Although registering embarrassingly low approval with voters, Pataki’s campaign is still in full swing, with constant TV appearances and an active Twitter account. Despite a full schedule of attempts to remain relevant, it’s pretty clear where he’s going wrong.
First rule of thumb: Stop making it obvious you’re seeking attention.
A few weeks ago, Pataki wasn’t being covered by any major news stations; now, he’s a constant guest on one specific subject. Whether it’s Fox News or CNN, Pataki can always find a way to get on TV to talk about Donald Trump. After Trump’s racist comments about Mexican immigrants went viral, Pataki realized what he had to do to become relevant. Since that fateful day, every TV appearance and most of his social media content has been devoted to tearing Trump down. What originally felt like a sincere plea to American people to not tolerate that sort of language has turned into a pandering attempt to elongate his 15 minutes of fame. Unfortunately for Pataki, the pro-immigration stance that could have once helped him now reeks of desperation.
Second rule of thumb: Have a relatively consistent temperament.
With little name recognition, Pataki’s social media is always working at top speeds to increase visibility among voters. Whether he’s using a trending hashtag to drive up views or posting pictures of his newborn grandson, Pataki has formed an overwhelmingly positive image on his campaign social media. However, the loveable grandfather who appears on Twitter is not the Pataki that you find on the news. Instead, Pataki spends most of his time attacking his opponents, easily shedding his likeable online persona. Many politicians share kinder, more uplifting words on social media than they do during their TV appearances, but Pataki gravitates towards both extremes. His likability suffers when voters are exposed to his real life temperament -- that of an angry politician flailing for attention.
Third rule of thumb: When you don’t have anything nice to say, talk about your platform.
Pataki personifies the stereotypical “no” attitude of Republicans. Rather than discussing concrete positions on topics, he’s quick to tell you what other politicians -- especially his opponents -- are doing wrong. Whether it’s his appearances devoted to discussing Donald Trump or his Tweets blindly attacking the Iran nuclear deal, Pataki’s not afraid to go negative. But upon investigation into what he’s in support of, or even what issues he’s running on, you’ll come up blank. There’s no “issues” tab on his website, most of his TV appearances rely on political drama, and his current stances on topics like unions are almost impossible to find. With a record as long as his, it’s surprising how hard it is to figure out what he actually believes.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Pataki is floundering in the Republican candidate pool based on his awkward messaging strategy. He should have been able to gain more support since announcing, based on his strong (albeit ancient) record as a moderate Republican governor. Instead, his campaign is a sinking ship that's draining hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unfortunately for Pataki, to save face, he’s locked into the race until early 2016. Hopefully he'll find a way to turn his failing strategies into a winning and genuine campaign approach.
