Senator Fred Smith Is A Winner

Republicans lost a lot of races in the elections this week. However they did not need to. This article explains how one candidate connects with the voters.

On election day 2006 I spent the entire day with Senator Fred Smith. I had heard about his famous discipline and on other occassions had an opportunity to observe the sincere way he deals with people including that smile he has for everyone. On this day those two words kept coming back to me as the theme of his success. Sincere and disciplined.

Election Day is the end of the contest for candidates. Some relax and assume the game is over. Fred Smith worked as hard this day as he had the entire campaign. Like all winners in most sports, he focused on finishing the game without concern for whether he was winning or losing until the game was over.

Senator Smith tells a story of his youth when his father observed him failing to give 100% during a football practice. After sending him out to weed the garden for a while, his father finally joined him and read him the advice of a famous coach, "The difference between good and great is a little extra effort".

Preparing For A Long Day, A Needed Cup Of Coffee To Get Started

Senator Smith went in to wood shop that week and made a plaque with those words which he still keeps proudly. However many men work hard and give extra effort. What separates the occassional rare man who seems to never fail is a way of dealing with people at the same time they try hard that makes others feel good about them.

First Precinct Of The Day, Grantham At The Local Volunteer Fire Department

Start Of A Long Day With Standard Effort, Place Signs At Precinct And Fix Any That Have been Blocked Or Knocked Down

Greeting Voters And Handing Out Literature At Granthan Precinct

Ronald Reagan had his famous optimism that was infectious. Fred Smith has this polite manner that never seems to waver. People respond to it. He is always warm and sincere. It is the discipline and hard work that make this sincerity special. Fred is someone you can trust. It is the attribute that separated Senator Fred Smith from most Republicans and their slippage in the polls this year.

Standard Duty At Mount Olive, Fix The Signs And Add As Many As Possible To Empty Spots

At Mount Olive The Main Precinct Is The Old Train Station - The Predicted Afternoon Rain Is Already Starting As A Light Mist

Senator Smith won big while running against a tide that cost him a lot of votes. Before the day was out we found out just how big a win it was.

Putting Out Signs At Dudley Precinct - Drizzle Is Picking Up

Greeting Voters At Dudley Precinct

When we started though, that victory was not known. After asking if I could follow him around on election day, Senator Smith cautioned me that it would be a long day. He kept telling me that I was welcome to drop out at any time. We arranged to meet early on election day at the Republican Headquarters in Goldsboro. The time we had set was 6:00 AM. At 5:55 AM Senator Smith drove up ready to go. I loaded my camera and supplies in his vehicle and we headed out.

Mar-Mac American Legion Precinct Is Right In Landing Pattern For Seymore Johnson Air Base - First Act - Add Signs

Greeting Supporters Of Other Candidates At The Voter Greeting Line - It Is Becoming Hard To Get Regular Voters To Stop Due To The Steady Rain

Fred Thanks Local Supporter Ann Sullivan

Senator Smith's District is all of Johnston County and the west side of Wayne County. We started out in Wayne County and worked our way west all day long. First Stop was Grantham at the Fire Station.

Time For Breakfast At Famous Local Eagles Nest Diner

Greeting Voters And Handing Out Literature Before We Grab A Quick Breakfast

Putting Out More Signs In Eagles Nest Diner Before Fred Heads Out

I was somewhat suprised that Senator Smith did not have an assistant along to help with the physical work which was a significant part of the work done that day. During the ground game that is retail politics on election day, a major factor is physically installing the signs for the candidate at all of the precincts where voters will be going.

Oakland Fire Station, And A Break From The Rain, As Their Bar-B-Que Pavillion Makes A Great Cover To Greet Voters - It doesn't Help With The Cold Though - The Temperature Has Dropped Considerably

Senator Smith's campaign had already had one pass around all the precincts on the previous evening, ahead of most candidates, putting out signs. On election day the extra effort he put in was going back after other candidates had placed their signs and adding a few more of his so they stood out. Also moving any of his that had been blocked by other candidates.

Rosewood Precinct At Westwood United Methodist Church, Greeting Voters

Senator Fred Smith also believes in showing up to greet voters in as many of the precincts as he could get to in his large territory. His standard line was interesting. "Hi. My name is Fred Smith and I'm your Senator. Here is my card. If you ever need anything please call me." He meant it sincerely as I found out when one person asked him for help. He meticulously listened and wrote down details of the problem. I am sure it will be taken care of.

Driving To The Next Precinct Is As Usual Time Spent Making Calls To Keep Things Organized

Belfast Precinct At The Pentecostal Holiness Church To Greet Voters

Fred spends around 30 minutes in each precinct, and then moves on to the next one. He was well organized, with maps to each precinct location, details of the local officials from each area, and information on key supporters there as well.

Lunch Break, But It Is Not Really A Break So Much As A Time To Make More Calls

Grabbing Some Lunch With Friend And Supporter, Commissioner Andy Anderson

Greeting Voters At Pikeville With Andy Anderson Helping Out

As we moved into each precinct, Fred would make courtesy calls to the local officials to let them know he was coming in to their area. Even though few were available on election day, Fred usually tried. There was never a sense of being in a hurry but Fred also never stopped working all day long. When we got in the car to move from one precinct to the next, Fred would get on the phone, and start checking in with various people, people in the next precinct we were going to, with his campaign to keep track of what other people were doing at other precincts, with the state and county party officials who were working the campaign that day as well.

As we arrived at the next precinct, Fred would unload signs, and start polishing up the entry area to the precinct so his signs stood out. When that was done he would fill his pockets with cards and literature, go greet all the other campaign workers from other campaigns, and start greeting voters. I learned early in the day that as soon as he started working the greeting process, he focused on that alone and it was pretty hard to get his attention. Everything was done with discipline.

At Fremont Several Candidates Had People Handing Out Literature

Most of my questions were answered between phone calls during the travel time from one precinct to the next. When he had time to talk he was unfailingly polite, but the discipline he exercized to keep working was amazing.

As the rain started the plan had a glitch. People were not stopping to talk because of the rain. Fred made a couple of phone calls to get some thoughts on alternatives to handing out cards. Jonathan Hill suggested that instead of handing out the cards, holding a sign would allow them to keep walking while Fred talked.

Greeting Voters At The American Legion Post In Kenly

After trying that out and finding it worked, that is how Fred did it the rest of the day until the rain stopped just before the polls closed. No panic at all when the rain started. Just a quiet discussion of the options and selecting a better plan. It was an interesting exercise to see how Fred adjusted to the realities of a problem.

More Phone Calls, Checking On Other Precincts And Starting To Plan Final Schedule For The Evening

Later in the day we had to return to Johnston county to restock with signs. That adjustment changed the order of precincts we covered, but that adjustment was carried out with no panic. Just a bunch of phone calls to keep others informed.

Selma Precinct And Fred Smith Is The Only Person Greeting Voters

As We Leave, Fred Makes His Usual Batch Of Calls, Out Of Signs, One Call Asks Where There Are Spares He Can Pick Up

Arriving At Johnston County Party Headquarters

Fred Borrows Some Of His Signs Back From Chairman Joseph Avery

Heather Ford, Johnston County Republican Party Chairman Joe Avery And Fred Smith, Discuss Tonight's Plans Before Fred Heads Out Again

As the rain continued to fall, Fred became soaked, even though he tried to stay under an umbrella. The wind meant that from the waist down there was little clothing that was dry. This inconvenince never affected his upbeat mood.

The Rain Kept Picking Up Force And Is Now A Downpour As We Change Precincts Again

Almost Dark, And Fred Is Greeting People At One Of The Busiest Precincts, The C3 Church

A quick breafast was slotted in, and later a quick lunch. Dinner was food grabbed at the various victory celebrations at party campaign headquarters in both Johnston County and Wayne County at the end of the day.

Greeting People At McGees Crossroads (50-210) Before Heading For The Last Precinct Of The Day, Benson

Closing Down The Final Precinct In Johnston County Before Heading Home For Dry Clothes - Then A Long Drive Back To Wayne County - Too Late To Help The Rain Stops

As the voting wrapped up, another adjustment in the schedule took up a series of phone calls to fit in a quick trip home to get into dry clothes before we started to tour the victory celebrations. As we arrived at the campaign headquarters in Wayne County though, the primary purpose was to get the details and gather the numbers that said how Senator Fred Smith and other Republicans had done.

He shared with me the numbers from his last campaign. His hope was that he could beat those numbers, however he recognized that the trends were all against him. The weather too worked against Republican incumbents because of the all day long cold rain and its lessening affect on turnout. The one thing Fred stressed was that he needed to understand what people wanted. He knew each precinct well. He wanted to know how every precinct felt as indicated by their votes.

Greeting Old Friends At The Wayne County Republican Headquarters In Goldsboro

Fred Meticulously Runs The Numbers For All Precincts To Determine The Results

Before He Leaves Wayne County Republican Headquarters Fred Runs The Numbers One Last Time While Being Interviewed By The Local Paper

After the polls closed, Fred added another task to the list of actions he was taking care of. Fred started listening to the radio to find out how the party was doing, across the nation and across the state. It fit with the perception I got all day of Fred's ability to juggle a dozen different tasks at a time and stay on top of all.

Fred Fits Into His Schedule A Visit To A Friend's Victory Celebration - Sheriff Carey Winders And Senator Fred Smith

The Department Celebrates The Re-election Of The Wayne County Sheriff Carey Winders

That the democrats were successful in their turnout efforts in Fred's area was indicated by the fact that one of their candidates for another office won with 58% of the vote. That did not bode well for Republican candidates running in the same county. For Fred to overcome this advantage a very large percentage would have to split their vote.

Another Drive Gets Us To Johnston County Republican Headquarters

Johnston County Republican Headquarters Is A Joyous Scene And A Party - Dinner Was Grabbing Food From The Table Set Up

Fred And Wife Ginny Meet At The Johnston County Republican Headquarters

Fred Thanks Two Key Workers, Dodie Renfer And Blair Keen

However that is exactly what happened. Fred won with an impressive 64.86% vote advantage over both counties. That was over 7 points higher than the previous election win. Fred had accomplished his goal. In some areas, Fred received over 75% of the vote. Even in his opponent's home precinct, Fred won the precinct with well over 50% of the vote. It was an impressive victory by a man who has proved his ability to appeal to the voters on both personality and on the issues.

No Driving This Time, The Court House Is a Short Walk From Republican Headquarters

Greeting Friends At The Courthouse

In The Court House Hallway, Computer Monitors Display The Totals

Before We Head For Board Of Election, Local Paper Gets An Interview

At the victory celebrations Fred spent considerable time thanking all of his supporters for their hard work. Making sure everyone was thanked and gathering the details of the vote meant he never slowed down. Finding out how others were doing was a special concern. The end of the day was still a continous effort spent organizing the details of the campaign, right until we left the very last party in Raleigh.

After Another Short Walk We Get To the Board Of Election Where Fred Is Still Calculating The Final Numbers With Jonathan Hill

Then Another Walk Back To Johnston County Republican Headquarters Where Fred Thanks The Party Workers For All Their Efforts

Almost Midnight And Duval, Fred's Son, Is Driving Us To Raleigh For The State Gathering

Vernon Robinson Was One Of Numerous Party Regulars Who Congratulated Fred On His Victory

Closing Down The Party at The "Brownstone"

When we got back to Clayton to end the day it had been 21 hours of solid work and Fred still had his smile. Sincerity and discipline. After this day I felt I understood much better why Fred Smith has always been a winner at eveything he tries.