Alan Wilson Quotes

Simply because you're a Democrat doesn't mean you can't speak to these issues in language that appeals to voters, particularly independent voters.

I had this notion that I could convince people who were skeptical of national Democrats to vote for me because I could bring home the bacon, or because I could find some personal pitch to them.

The big secret to winning elections is to get more votes than your opponent. My friend Representative Robin Hayes is a good example to study.

You win the presidency by connecting with the American people's gut insecurities and aspirations. You win with a concept.

As the Republican nominee, it was Romney's job to find a way to speak to some of those groups of voters and offer practical solutions to their difficulties that both resonated with them and sounded plausible to them.

Democrats fell in love with the idea that winning elections was a matter of talking to voters about the one issue we think impacts them, instead of our plan to move the country forward as a whole.

You don't win elections by telling people what you're against. We're very good at listing things we don't much like about what the Tories are doing. But you win elections by telling them what you're for, what you're going to change, what's going to be better.

I think any good government will target on the finishing date, that is, the polling day and make sure that their strategy is strong and in place to get them successfully re-elected.

I think when you look to the future what you'll find is that the Republican Party is building a bigger party base on stronger values.

Idealism loses to pragmatism when it comes to winning elections.

In an age when stagecraft, gauzy themes, and sound-bites have too often been substituted for leadership, Bill Clinton as a candidate made it essential to campaigning to take the specifics of governance seriously. Practical solutions were 'in;' ideology was 'out.'

If you can't be a populist in Arkansas, you ain't going to be a populist in Washington.

There are three opportunities that you have during a general election campaign where you can substantially move the needle of public opinion. One, is your convention speech; two, are the base; three, is the selection of your vice president.

I'm not sure a candidate ever feels his message is getting out.

We have to say now we think the character of the party has changed so far it will take something very exceptional, something really out of the ordinary line to make us be convinced there's a chance of winning back the party.

There is ample evidence that participation in an electoral process forces any party, regardless of ideology, to moderate its position if it wants to attract voters in large numbers.

To be a party you have to have a national message.

There are certain elections where policy matters more than others….Personality without a platform will not cut it.

The most successful political candidates will be those who can tap American anger without becoming a target.

You can't win an election unless you have a message.

Anybody that's been in an election, you're always looking to get the upper hand.

Election results and winning an election is not all about winning the next election or planning to win the next election.

The Conservative party's always been a broad church, and I can appeal better than any of the other candidates to the centre ground to unite the country, and to voters who will ultimately deliver a majority so we can really get things moving.

I know what it takes to win. I know a general election is going to come down to not only Republican voters but my ability to connect with independent and women voters.

I'm a can-do conservative, and I just love the job, and I think I'm going to get re-elected.