Your Opinion, Please.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. A few answers.

How important is it to have volunteers making phone calls and going door-to-door in a campaign? Does it make any difference if it is a primary or general election contest?

It's always important for people to connect with their neighbors, colleagues and peers in any election -- primary, general or issue-based. People listen to people they know, and outreach is a key part of campaigning. It's especially important in caucus/primary races, when the margins are smaller.

In terms of financing: do you favor funding with small donations, corporate money to PACs, a combination of the two, or self-funding?

Self-funding favors rich candidates, which skews the table. When it comes to donations and PACs, I don't have strong feelings in general but I know what I like and what I don't like when I see it.

Do you think the party should focus more upon appealing to non-party members to the left, the right, or both about equally?

Depends on what you mean by "appeal." Messaging, outreach, GOTV efforts? The activation of any given person to vote for any given candidate is a long one and depends on where they start. A person on the far left who votes regularly will take a different path to voting for a center-left candidate than a regular non-voter who considers themselves an independent but is actually on the right.

Which general age group, if any, should be the central GOTV focus – 18 to 39, 40 to 62, or 63+?

GOTV is a specific part of the campaign and the focus depends on the candidate, the geographic/demographic area, and who's running the operation. By election day we're dealing with coordinated campaigns so the party has its lists, unions and nonprofits have their lists, and everyone is focused on their own niche.