Even for the person who only catches snippets of news along their daily path (like myself), it’s pretty hard to have missed the big wins for underdog candidates in Ayanna Pressley in Massachusetts and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez in NYC.  In both instances they were able to bounce well liked, seasoned candidates of the same party in a primary election.  Now all empires eventually fall, and the 10-term incumbents in these instances were no exceptions, but what was the catalyst?  What can we draw from these big wins?

I’m sure differing opinions on the “why” of these big wins can be had across the political landscape, but from where I sit I think it’s pretty cut and dry.  Brand positioning through digital storytelling.

In both cases these candidates and their teams put together a masterful piece of video content that positioned them perfectly among their electorate.  Pressley put together a video called “The 1 Bus” seen here which features her riding a public bus that traverses a geographic region of diverse economic opportunities over a very short distance.  There’s nothing particularly ground breaking or cinematic about the piece, but it clearly elicits a very emotional response and instantly positions Pressley as a candidate who understands and empathizes with the issues of the electorate.  No policy outline, 5-point plan, or “specs and techs.”  Just storytelling.  And as with everything, it’s just as important in the things she didn’t say.  She makes no mention of the 10-term incumbent, but it is painfully evident to the viewers what is being said without actually saying it.  He’s rich, white, and out of touch.  Fair or not.

Cortez utilized a similar piece of content in her video “The Courage to Change.”  It checked literally every single box.  It starts out in small bathroom with Cortez touching up her makeup and stating “Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office.”  From there it transitions into storytelling mode, systematically touching on every hot button issue a democrat would hold dear.  It expertly positions her as a friend who identifies with the struggles of her constituents while at the same time portraying her opponent (also a 10-term democrat) as out of touch with the reality of life for the majority of the population in the Bronx.  Cortez goes on to say of the incumbent “(he) doesn’t send his kids to our schools,  doesn’t drink our water.”  Ouch.  “They’ve got money, we’ve got people.”  They sure did have money.  Crowley spent a little under 4 million, Cortez spent a little over a 1/2 million.  Apparently they had enough people to win the election.  Scroll through Cortez’s campaign spending and you’ll see Google and Facebook time and time again.  Positioning and story telling on the platforms where people spend their time.  Go figure.  I’ll bet Crowley’s mailers were fire though.

And then there is MJ Hegar.  I’ll just leave this video right here.  It’s enough to make this republican want to move to Texas to vote democrat.