A Look at Governor Jim Gilmore's Campaign Communication Strategies

Gilmore was governor of Virginia from 1998-2002
PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Vadon

The Wikipedia page, “Jim Gilmore presidential campaign, 2016” concludes with the sentence, “On October 30, 2015, Jim Gilmore was verified on Twitter.”

This seemingly mundane information suggests the importance of social media in campaigns for president. A verified Twitter page lends assurance to the media when covering a candidate, such as Gilmore.

The communication apparatus of Gilmore’s campaign is questionable at best. He has seven videos on C-SPAN for the entire year of 2015, has only been in one debate, and is sometimes left out of polls altogether.

Gilmore used a video to announce his campaign. The video shows him sitting in front of a bookcase (and a picture of George Washington) in a blue button down shirt. The Gilmore campaign did not hold an event (press conference or rally) for the governor’s announcement.

The campaign seems to only have two paid consultant, Boyd Marcus and Dan Kreske. While Marcus has a history with Gilmore, there is nothing to suggest he is a communication specialist.

Kreske, similarly, has a history with Gilmore, but no notable history in communication.

In a campaign cycle that’s embracing Snapchat, Gilmore has kept his social media strategy simple. He has Facebook and Twitter.

The Gilmore website includes amongst its headers a ‘VA Petition’ to get the governor on the ballot in Virginia, the state Gilmore is a former governor of. The ‘News’ feature of the Gilmore website may be the most effective tool the Gilmore campaign uses, given that anyone reads it.

The news section of his website and recent posts on Facebook show Gilmore campaigning in Florida, but the ‘Photo Galleries’ on the website only have links for ‘New Hampshire’, ‘South Carolina’ and ‘Virginia’.

The photo gallery for New Hampshire shows that Gilmore, like other governors, is focusing on the Granite State over others.