How conservative is Dan Liljenquist really?
by Daryl AcumenI'm continuing to do my research on the short legislative record of State Senator Dan Liljenquist. I've been curious as to why FreedomWorks took so long to endorse Liljenquist and why some folks at the UTGOP Convention referred to him as a "liberal." I'm of course aware that Dan's record with the Utah Taxpayer's Association ...
Continue ReadingWho supports FreedomWorks?
by Daryl AcumenFreedomWorks has said recently that they intend to double-down on the Utah Senate race in spite of exceptionally weak local support for their efforts. I thought it would be fun to quantify how weak local support for FreedomWorks really is. Tracking total Utah individual contributions as a proxy for in-state sentiment, I pulled some rough numbers from the ...
Continue ReadingFreedomWorks wants an apology…seriously?
by Daryl AcumenLast month this blog broke a story about FreedomWorks attempts to manipulate Utah's caucuses with mailers that encouraged supporters to break party rules in order to gain an advantage at local precinct meetings. I was outraged enough to call freedom Works in Washington, DC and to demand an apology from Matt Kibbe. Instead of an apology, ...
Continue ReadingCandidate Notes: Sarah Nitta LD27
by Daryl AcumenOverview Sarah is a successful professional fundraiser and grassroots organizer. She sits on several boards including the President’s Leadership Council at BYU-Hawaii and The Academy for Creating Enterprise. She mentors merging small business owners around the world to help them start new and successful businesses. As a mother of 4 children in the public schools she ...
Continue ReadingLiljenquist Campaign Focus Group Update
by Daryl AcumenLast week I had the pleasure of speaking directly with the political consultant who moderated the Liljenquist focus group. I asked him to send me an email with his side of the story, but I'm so busy right now I haven't had time to digest and re-write it in my own words. To void any further delay ...
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Who won the 1st U.S. Senate Debate on April 4th?
by Daryl AcumenI think all three candidates won the debate last night, depending on how you define "winning." Hatch won by standing his ground in a dignified manner and defending his record while literally being attacked on both sides. The most disappointing moment for me as a Republican and as a Utah voter was when Liljenquist supporters broke ...
Continue ReadingFreedomWorks Lied to Deseret News!
by Daryl AcumenOn March 14th 2012, Deseret News staff writer Jared Page published a story titled "Utah GOP battling efforts to manipulate party caucuses" in which he describes efforts by FreedomWorks to induce it's followers to break Utah State Republican Party rules at local caucus meetings to increase their chances of becoming state delegates. The smoking gun was a ...
Continue ReadingLiljenquist Campaign tests Negative Ad Messaging on State Delegates
by Daryl AcumenA reliable source reported this week that Dan Liljenquist's Senate Campaign is now using State Delegates as guinea pigs to test negative ad messaging in preparation for a now unlikely primary fight against Senator Orrin Hatch. Last week a State Delegate in Cedar Hills was contacted by Lighthouse Research, a marketing firm retained by the Liljenquist campaign, about participating in ...
Continue ReadingCandidate Notes: Dan Liljenquist – U.S. Senate
by Daryl AcumenOverview Economics undergraduate degree and law degree Former consultant at Bain & Company President and COO of an inbound call-center company Lives in Bountiful Elected to State Senate in 2008 chiefly responsible for Utah's nationally recognized and game-changing pension reform legislation that put the state's pensions on a sustainable path and assured the state would not suffer the same fiscal challenges ...
Continue ReadingCandidate Notes: Chris Herrod – U.S. Senate
by Daryl AcumenBackground professional career in mortgages and real-estate development adjunct professor at UVU previously taught capitalist principles and conversational English in Ukraine Consistently ranked most conservative member of the House legislator of the year by public charter school organization influenced tenor of the debate in this year's senate race Has served 5 years in the legislature Founding member of the Patrick Henry Caucus with ...
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