Author: David Johnson

William McKinley’s political manager, Mark Hanna, is famed for having said, “define yourself and your opponent before they do.” Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984; George H.W. Bush in 1988; George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 and Donald Trump in 2016 all won because they followed that political logic. Elections are decided by how a candidate defines not only their opponent but themselves. The political roadside is covered with politicians who failed in this. One of the many reasons that Democrats are winning early voting and often the election itself is that they are perfecting that concept. We have seen this play out…