Republicans will convene the first of several political boot camps next month designed to train staffers and volunteers ahead of 2016 — an election featuring so many races that it will put a strain on the most precious campaign commodity: human capital.
The Republican National Committee’s “Republican Leadership Initiative” is a six-week program where activists and fledgling operatives will learn the nuts and bolts of political campaigning from developing strategy to registering voters and community organizing.
The first session of the quarterly program begins in July with the goal of training a “few thousand” people for the 2016 elections, according to an RNC official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the details not yet been publicly unveiled.
The drive by Republicans to bolster its roster of experienced state-based operatives comes as the GOP is preparing for what may be an epic battle with Hillary Clinton for the White House, while at the same time trying to defend its majority in the U.S. Senate. Also on the ballot in 2016: U.S. House seats, state legislative seats and a handful of competitive governor’s races.
Of the 11 “battleground” states the RNC official said the program will focus on this summer — Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin — eight may feature competitive Senate races. The RNC expects to expand the program to more states in the fall.
The six-week program follows on the 2013 recommendations detailed in the Growth and Opportunity Project — an RNC commissioned report that advised the GOP to modernize its campaign strategy, soften its rhetoric and put greater emphasis on engaging minority communities.
Republicans accepted into this unpaid training program will be asked to commit to between 15 to 30 hours each week for six weeks to learn campaign strategy.