Candidate
Marty Stu was born in 1960 in Houston, Texas in the family of Mexican immigrants. He was the second child out of six kids. His father, a third-class educated immigrant laborer who eventually worked in construction, passed away in 1982. His mother completed the fifth grade while working at home and raising six kids. Always being an assertive and highly inquisitive person, Stu pursued his thirst for knowledge by attending various educational institutes. He became a student of honors of the Harris County’s Aldine Senior High School. Later, Houston Community College awarded him an associate’s degree in art. After that, he attended the University of Houston, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service and a Master of Arts and PhD in International Trade.
In Houston, Stu established his own customs brokerage legal practice in 1991, and in 1993, he earned his license as a customs broker. From 1995 until recently, Stu served as a representative for the majority of Houston in the Texas House of Representatives. In addition, he has participated in a number of national committees that dealt with international trade in general and the border of U.S. and Mexico in particular. During that time, he was proposed several times as the candidate of the Democratic Party for the United States Senator Representative of the state of Texas. In 2021, Stu has chosen to proceed with the nomination and has launched a campaign for the current elections.
Campaign Message
Stu’s campaign message became a fusion of several candidate types due to his unique personal qualities. First and most obviously, he is easily associated with the “local boy does good” type known for its roots in the candidate’s place of origin (Unit 2 Written Lectures [Unit 2], n.d.). Stu’s extensive experience in the Texas House of Representatives and participation in more local committees has created a reasonable positive reputation in the state. Second is the progressive candidate type, described as a candidate promising to bring economic and social equality (Unit 2, n.d.). Stu is affiliated with the Latino race and originates from an immigrant family. In this context, Marty Stu has experienced first-hand various social issues connected to racial inequality. Moreover, Stu has witnessed a glimpse of gender and income inequality on the example of his mother struggling to raise his younger siblings as a single mother after 1982.
On a broader scope, these two typologies display Stu as the savior in light of his election to the nation-wide institute. Particularly, Stu resembles a local social activist with perfect previous records who has the energy and resolve to solve numerous social justice issues that the U.S. face today. The modern Texas registers noticeable shifts in Democratic electoral ground at the expense of Republicans (Huerta & Cuartas, 2021). Therefore, this message, despite not being particularly appealing for Texas of the previous century, displays a rising probability of success.
Campaign Strategy
Relying on a “social justice” context of the mission statement will provide the Stu’s campaign with a diversified pool of supporters. During the past 50 years, partisanship has taken on a greater significance in American politics as people’s attitudes toward the opposition party and its candidates have deteriorated. “Negative partisanship,” according to Huerta and Cuartas (2021), is the notion that voters are more driven to defeat the opposition than by any particular program or policy aim. As the party split on racial issues became more apparent, this partisanship also significantly increased (Huerta & Cuartas, 2021). Consequently, there may be significant levels of such partisanship in Texas.
Another target group that will likely support Marty Stu is the young adult voters. According to Huerta and Cuartas (2021), Democratic identification is more common among in adults born after 1980. Namely, compared to the Reagan era, young individuals were significantly more likely to identify as Democrats throughout the “Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama administrations” (Huerta & Cuartas, 2021, p. 1334). As a result, there may be a Democratic tilt in Texas as younger, diversified, and Democratic-leaning generations replace older, more conservative, and less diverse ones.
The final target population group represents all racialized minorities in the state, regardless of their partisanship attitude and age. Most notably, Marty Stu can bet on Latino minority support due to his origin. Nevertheless, other racialized minorities might support Stu’s initiative due to the notion of social equality inherent to the campaign mission. Overall, although it is possible to artificially categorize them as separate, these three groups frequently intertwine and blend into a progressive voter pool that spans not only people seeking social justice but also all classes, with a slightly higher emphasis on the lower and middle classes.
Campaign Resources
The first among the campaign resources is the Stu’s private capital accumulated due to his customs brokership business. After obtaining the clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture in 1993, Stu continued to earn profit as the company’s owner after his shift toward politics. Another vital source of funds lies in a broad people and volunteer support that Stu managed to acquire during his servitude in the Texas House of Representatives and local committees. As was mentioned earlier, the image of the “good boy” from Texas has gained a solid foothold behind Stu’s name.
Apart from financial and human resources, Marty Stu displays a stunning resolve and devotion to his cause. Since 2021, Stu spends time on campaign organization, establishment of campaign branches in Texas counties, and public appearances throughout the state. His wealth that was accumulated for almost thirty years is now put to work to allow Stu not to disperse his attention over business duties, showcasing both his commitment and desire to win the elections.
References
Huerta, J. C., & Cuartas, B. (2021). Red to purple? Changing demographics and party change in Texas. Social Science Quarterly, 102(4), 1330-1348. Web.
Unit 2 Written Lectures. (n.d.). Components of a modern campaign [Course handout].