Senate candidate Meek courts NASCAR fans
Kendrick Meek, the South Florida Democrat running for U.S. Senate is going after a vital constituency in a statewide race – north Florida conservatives – by sponsoring a car at Saturday’s NASCAR race in Daytona Beach.
Fans in the stands and watching ESPN2 cable coverage of the event will see Mike Wallace’s #01 race car emblazoned with the “Kendrick Meek for U.S Senate” logo. They’ll also get a pitch on the back of the car to sign up for Meek campaign updates via text message.
And this isn’t just any race. Driver Danica Patrick, the first woman to win an Indy Car race, will make her NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at the race at Daytona International Speedway – virtually guaranteeing high viewership.
Martin J. Sweet, a political scientist at Florida Atlantic University’s Honors College, said it’s a savvy attempt to bolster the Meek brand with voters who might ordinarily be more inclined toward Republican Senate candidates Charlie Crist and Marco Rubio.
“Neither Rubio nor Crist particularly ooze that real ‘Bubba’ factor, so Meek can gamble a bit here,” Sweet said. “While in years past the NASCAR crowd might not have been fertile ground for Democrats, the sport’s rapid expansion in popularity coupled with no obvious Republican candidate connection makes the Meek strategy here pretty smart.”
Meek is giving up his Miami-based House seat, which includes part of South Broward, to seek the Democratic Senate nomination in the August primary.
His press secretary, Adam Sharon, said the one-time sponsorship is aimed at helping introduce himself to a different part of the electorate. “It’s introducing himself and having others learn more about him. It’s a large venue to have that conversation.”
Sharon said the sponsorship allows Meek to show the kind of voters who are NASCAR fans that he’s like them in his values and approach to family.
“NASCAR promotes a family affair – a family experience – at their races, and he’ll be there with his family at the race,” he said.
“What is a NASCAR Nation fan? In many ways he [Meek] fits the profile. He’s former law enforcement, a former state trooper. He’s a sportsman. He’s a hunter. He fishes. He’s a gun owner. Many of those elements are part of who he is and who he’s been his whole life.”
Anyone who donated at least $5 on Meek’s campaign website by 5 p.m. Monday was entered in a contest for a pit pass. The winner gets to watch the race close to the action with the Meek family.
And Donors who contribute $25 get a Kendrick Meek "Pit Crew" t-shirt.
Sharon said the event is aimed at building the candidate’s name and image and not as a fundraising device.
While prices vary, top level NASCAR Nationwide teams typically command $100,000 to $125,000 for a one-race paint scheme, but Meek might have paid in the $25,000 to $50,000 range.
Sharon declined to say how much the campaign paid for the one-time lead sponsorship until the organization files its next report detailing contributions and expenditures. That isn’t due until April.
“We won’t say now. It’s worth it. It was just a policy, we said we’re not going to talk about the expenditure,” he said. “We’re finding that it’s proving worthwhile.”
Besides getting Meek’s name before fans at the track and on cable tv, the move is generating media attention.
The communications director for the arm of the Republican Party responsible for promoting its party’s Senate candidates, had this reaction to Meek’s sponsorship on Twitter: “Steering hard left.”
It’s not an entirely new for Democrats to shore up their conservative bona fides with NASCAR sponsorships – but it doesn’t always work.
Democrat Mark Warner ran the “Warner for Governor” Ford at a 2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series during his successful campaign for Virginia chief executive.
As a candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, then-U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., sponsored a truck in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The Bob Graham Ford won a race in Kansas City, but Graham lost the race for the nomination.
As a candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, then-U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., sponsored a truck in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The Bob Graham Ford won a race in Kansas City, but Graham lost the race for the nomination.
And in 2003, then-North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley was driving a Winston Cup race car at a charity event. He crashed into a retaining wall at 120 mph. He was unhurt – and was re-elected in 2004.
Sun Sentinel Sports Business Writer Sarah Talalay contributed to this report.
