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Andy Kabza Joins Mad Dog Mail

Former Caucus Director Who Took Back the Colorado House to Open Denver Office

“Colorado Democrats are winning the fight for economic security thanks in no small part to both Andy’s tireless work and Mad Dog Mail’s expertise.”

– Colorado House Speaker Mark Ferrandino

Mad Dog Mail is excited to announce the opening of its Denver office, with Democratic political consultant Andy Kabza joining the firm as Senior Vice President.

“Andy brings years of valuable experience in Democratic campaigns to Mad Dog,” said Jon Anderson, Founder and President of Mad Dog Mail. “Andy’s success steering the Colorado House Democrats to their overwhelming victory in 2012 is why he will be a unique asset to our state legislative clients.”

“I am excited to hit the ground running with Mad Dog Mail,” said Kabza. “I’ve seen firsthand the high-quality work that has gotten Democrats elected and unseated incumbent Republicans.”

Kabza has worked on numerous congressional, legislative and local campaigns in Massachusetts, Virginia and Colorado and has experience running independent expenditure committees. Most recently, he served as Executive Director of the House Majority Project — overseeing dozens of legislative campaigns for the Colorado State House Democrats. Prior to that, he worked as Statewide Caucus Director for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet’s campaign and managed a Red-to-Blue congressional campaign in Texas.

Born in Ann Arbor and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Kabza moved to Colorado and attended Colorado State University. He currently lives in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

Mad Dog Mail is a Democratic persuasion mail firm based in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and Denver, Colorado. Mad Dog Mail has worked in elections throughout the country helping elect Democrats at all levels of government.

If you would like to talk to us about being a part of your team, please call Andy Kabza at (720) 583-4505.

Mad Dog Mail Wins in Virginia, Colorado and Georgia

‘Bright Spot for Virginia Dems’ as Mad Dog Helps Beat Republican Incumbent

In what Daily Kos called a “stunning upset,” Mad Dog helped take out Republican incumbent Mark Dudenhefer, who won in 2011 with more than 56 percent of the vote. Democrat Michael Futrell was one of two pickups for Virginia House Democrats last night.

Mad Dog didn’t stop there. In Roanoke, we were proud to help defeat the incumbent Republican Roanoke City Sheriff to elect Tim Allen.

Barbara O’Brien Wins Big in Denver

Mad Dog helped former Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien win big in her run for the Denver Public Schools Board of Education, with Barbara getting more than 60 percent of the votes citywide. Barbara ran to ensure that all children have access to a great school in their neighborhoods, and we were proud to help communicate her vision to Denver voters.

We were also happy to help elect Tom Parrish and re-elect Greg Mikolai to the Mesa County Valley School Board, in one of the most beautiful parts of the country you will ever see.

Mad Dog Sweeps Georgia

Mad Dog was founded in Georgia, so it was particularly sweet to see every single one of our candidates win there last night.  By helping elect newcomer Andre Dickens, we defeated 12-year incumbent and establishment favorite Lamar Willis. With Mary Norwood, we again took on the establishment and won – defeating two incumbent Atlanta City Council members on the same night. It wasn’t all bad news for City Council incumbents though, as Mad Dog helped Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong win her re-election in a landslide.

We also helped elect Ted Terry as the Mayor of Clarkston and got Cynthia Briscoe Brown into a runoff with the incumbent in her Atlanta School Board race.

Mad Dog Mail Propels Reichert to “Overwhelming” Victory in Macon Race

Mad Dog Mail Propels Robert Reichert to WinReichert wins Macon-Bibb mayor’s office by wide margin over Ellis” – Macon Telegraph

We love Macon, Georgia.  Big hits have come out of Macon – Capricorn Records and the Allman Brothers made history there, and on Tuesday night, so did Mayor Robert Reichert.

Reichert won the race to become the first Mayor of Macon-Bibb County’s consolidated government Tuesday night with 63% of the vote.

Mad Dog Mail is extremely proud to have helped Mayor Reichert and to have played a part in producing a big hit in a town that has seen plenty of them.

Mad Dog Mail is a Democratic persuasion mail firm based in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. Mad Dog Mail has worked in elections throughout the country helping elect Democrats at all levels of government.
If you would like to talk to us about being a part of your team, please call Jon Anderson at (904) 310-6409.

Rebecca DeHart to Head Atlanta Office

Mad Dog Mail, a national political direct mail firm that got its start in Georgia, is reopening an Atlanta office that will be headed by Senior Vice President Rebecca DeHart.

Rebecca joined the Mad Dog Mail team for the 2012 election cycle and was instrumental in the hard-fought re-election campaigns of Senators Laura Kelly and Robert Thompson in Kansas and Arkansas, respectively.  She also oversaw the firm’s work in Georgia and North Carolina, successfully unseating Republican incumbents in both states.

Rebecca’s work earned several Pollie Awards and a Reed nomination for outstanding creative.

Rebecca has managed state house, state senate, statewide, voter referendum and independent expenditure campaigns. A prominent player in progressive politics in Georgia for more than a decade, Rebecca is known for her focus on issues affecting women, health care and civil justice. She has held positions such as the Executive Director of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence and the Director of Communications for the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association.

“The best way to defeat bad legislation, particularly this onslaught of dangerous anti-woman bills we are seeing in nearly every state legislature, is at the ballot box. That’s why I’m so committed to helping good candidates run for and win public office,” said Rebecca.

Mad Dog Mail is a Democratic persuasion mail firm based in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and Atlanta, Georgia. Mad Dog Mail has worked in elections throughout the country helping elect Democrats at all levels of government.
If you would like to talk to us about being a part of your team, please call Rebecca at (404) 376-3495.

Mad Dog Mail Wins at Pollies

A campaign manager asked me last week how we were able to make it work, being outside of Washington. Winning races and great, compelling creative that really connects with voters is the answer, but more than that it is the focus of Mad Dog Mail.

We want to thank all of our clients for giving us the opportunity to do great work and for trusting us with their campaigns.

Overall, Mad Dog picked up twelve awards for 2012:

  • Best Overall Direct Mail Campaign (Democrat)
  • Bilingual/Multilingual/Foreign Language – Mayor (Democrat)
  • Best Use of Early Voting/Absentee Ballot (Democrat)
  • 2 awards in Best Direct Mail For Mayor (Democrat)
  • Vote-By-Mail Ballot Request (Democrat)
  • Best Use of Humor (Democrat)
  • Best Use of Negative Contrast (Democrat)
  • Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda: Direct Mail
  • Ballot Initiative For Membership Organization
  • 2 awards in Best Use of Illustration (Democrat) 

(View a slideshow of winners here)

In the War on Women, Mad Dog Goes to Battle… and Wins

Mad Dog Mail uses GOTV mail to persuade Democrats to vote in Republican Primary

Targeted GOTV mail persuades Democrats to vote in GOP Primary

Using targeted mail, Mad Dog encouraged Democrats to vote in a Republican primary to oust Georgia party-switcher Doug McKillip. A one-time liberal leader of the Democratic Party, Doug became a Republican just before redistricting.

To prove himself to his new conservative buddies, Doug threw women under the bus. He passed the most far-reaching, right-wing, anti-women bill he could, criminalizing doctors and putting serious medical decisions in the hands of politicians.

The Georgia House Democratic Caucus had enough of Doug, and decided it was time to fight back — and we agreed.

Using a hard-hitting mail plan, we encouraged Democratic Voters to hold their nose, grab a Republican ballot, and vote Doug out of office. And this past Tuesday night, Doug McKillip was defeated by just 64 votes.

More than that, Democrats sent a strong message to Republicans everywhere — “If you force your politics on women, we will fight back!”

This victory was particularly sweet for the Mad Dog himself. Jon Anderson, as the Georgia House Caucus Director, helped recruit Doug into the political world years ago, and it was his absolute pleasure to help take him out.

P.S. To the Republican victor, Ms. Regina Quick — don’t get too comfy over there. You will face a battle-strong Democrat in just two years time.

Mad Dog Mail Helps Brian Sims Make History

“Josephs, who was elected when Ronald Reagan was President, was simply overwhelmed by Sims’ direct mail and field effort.”
– Newsworks, April 24, 2012

Mad Dog Mail is proud to have helped elect Pennsylvania’s first openly gay Representative on Tuesday – Brian Sims.

Brian ran a textbook campaign with a robust mail plan that propelled him to victory over an incumbent who had held the seat since 1984.

Newsworks reported, “Josephs, who was elected when Ronald Reagan was President, was simply overwhelmed by Sims’ direct mail and field effort. A veteran committeeman from the 8th ward told me he’d never seen anything like it: 10 direct mail pieces and two election day door hangers, with plenty of sneakers on the street.”

Working with Tiffany Muller at the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, Daniel Gotoff at Lake Research Partners, and Eric Smith at True Stories Research, we crafted a communications plan centered around Brian’s personal story and his desire to be a new kind of Democrat – bold, principled, and ready to fight.

Brian’s win comes after Mad Dog helped elect LGBT candidates, Mike Laster to the Houston City Council and Zach Adamson to the Indianapolis City Council. Earlier in 2011, we also worked with an independent expenditure effort in North Carolina to help elect LaWana Mayfield to the Charlotte City Council.

We are proud to be a part of Brian Sims’ victory, and we look forward to working with LGBT candidates to break down barriers across the country.

Mad Dog Mail Wins at the Pollies

It’s one thing to win a Pollie for an individual piece, but winning Pollies for entire campaign says something about the quality of work that a firm produces from the start of the campaign to Election Day. 

Mad Dog Mail was honored to win the two highest awards for Democratic direct mail series – winning Best Overall Direct Mail Campaign and Best Overall Use of Negative Contrast. (View a slideshow of winners here)

Our mailplan for Chad Lauga who ran in Louisiana’s 2011 state legislative races won the Best Overall Direct Mail Campaign (Democrat).

And our work knocking off Republican incumbent Rickey Nowlin, a rare Democratic pickup in 2011, won Best Overall Use of Negative Contrast (Democrat).


Mad Dog also picked up seven more awards including our work for:

• Building a Better Georgia in Best Use of Negative Contrast in Public Affairs
• Victory Fund in Best Independent Expenditure Campaign in Local/Municipal (Democrat)
• Louisiana Rep. Kenny Cox in Best Use of Humor (Democrat)
• Louisiana Rep. Stephen Ortego in Best Use of Negative Contrast in State/Statewide (Democrat)
• Victory Fund in Negative/Contrast in Local/Municipal (Democrat)
• Missouri House candidate Paul Woody in Special Election Direct Mail (Democrat)
• St. Louis Assessor Jake Zimmerman in Special Election Direct Mail (Democrat)
(View a slideshow of winners here)

Our success at the polls in 2011 in Louisiana – beating two incumbent Republicans, winning four open seats, and re-electing every incumbent State House Member – has now been further recognized with these prestigious awards which are judged by our peers in the business.
 
We are proud of the work we did for our clients in 2011, and we are looking forward to another great year in 2012.

We work hard. We do what it takes to win.
 
If you would like to talk to us about being a part of your team, please call Jon Anderson or Owen Shackelford at (904) 310-6409.  No one will fight harder for you.

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer Wins Third Term


Wednesday’s Orlando Sentinel said it best: “Dyer Rolls to Third Term.”

Against three opponents, Dyer won with 58.26% of the vote. An overwhelming victory that affirmed the Mayor’s work to make Orlando the best place in Florida to live, work and raise a family.

In a race where Vote-by-Mail and Early Voting ballots accounted for nearly half of the total vote, 46.5%, Mad Dog Mail made sure Dyer built an insurmountable lead before our opponents even got started.

The Orlando Sentinel reported the absentee mail program produced by Mad Dog “propelled” Dyer’s victory with Dyer capturing almost 60% of absentee votes.

With our Vote-by-Mail program garnering a response rate of 26%, Mayor Dyer had an insurmountable lead when the first precinct of the night was counted. Our Vote-by-Mail plan made sure that it was over before our opponents knew what hit them.

With the work we have done for Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa and Mayor Buddy Dyer in Orlando, we have helped elect the Mayors of the cities that anchor the I-4 corridor. Winning overwhelming victories in the media markets that account for 43.8% of the voting population of Florida.

We also would like to thank our strategic partners in this race Craig Borkon and Jackie Lee of Sunstream Strategies, Dane Strother and Hamilton Campaigns. We were truly honored to work with such a great team.


Mad Dog Mail Wins at Reed Awards

Mad Dog Mail picked up two wins at the Reed Awards hosted by Campaigns & Elections magazine Friday night in Washington, DC. In the category for “Direct Mail Independent Expenditure and Issue Advocacy” Mad Dog Mail won for its work in the San Francisco mayor’s race on behalf of our client, The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

Mad Dog also won in the category for “Direct Mail Best Villain” on behalf of Building a Better Georgia who is continuing its fight to stop a coal-fired power plant in Georgia. “The Reed Awards recognize the very best in political campaigning and communication in the United States and the rest of the world,” said Campaigns & Elections Publisher Shane Greer. No direct mail firm in the nation had as many finalists or won more Reed Awards at this year’s ceremony.

We want to thank The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Building a Better Georgia for their faith in us.