Advocate Online

From Capitol To Campus

The 2002 elections saw NEA and state affiliates take their combined efforts to a new level. The joint effort was reflected in everything from the polling, phone, and mail programs to the level of coordination between deployed NEA staff and state affiliate staff. And the closely aligned relationship was evident in an unprecedented number of federal and state races.

Unofficial results are in for nearly every federal and gubernatorial race in which the Association recommended candidates and for state ballot initiatives and measures in which the Association was involved or took a position.

Overall, more than 39 percent of voting-age citizens went to the polls, slightly more than the 1998 midterm election. The Association succeeded in 13 of the 16 ballot initiatives and measures funded for passage or defeat by The NEA Ballot Measure/Legislative Crisis Fund.

In the 50 federal and state targeted races—15 Senate, 20 House and 15 gubernatorial—in which the Association played an active role with its polling, mail and phone program, and deployed staff, losses and wins were split evenly at 25.

To help inform the Association’s decisions regarding Election 2002, NEA conducted statewide member polls from July through September 2002 for 12 Senate races and 11 gubernatorial races.

Approximately 800,000 NEA members in 35 states received 3.5 million pieces of mail during the election cycle. NEA deployed 49 staff and consultants to targeted races. NEA members in targeted areas received more than 1.2 million telephone calls to determine their candidate preferences and to remind them to vote.