To: Friends and Allies of Carly for President
From: Sarah Isgur Flores, Deputy Campaign Manager
Date: May 5, 2015
Re: Media & Polling

We are thrilled to share that Carly has officially announced her candidacy for President of the United States. Thank you to all of you who have helped us get to this point. We’re looking forward to continuing to spread Carly’s inspiring message of leadership and citizenship with your support.

Even before yesterday’s announcement, we know many of you have been keeping a close eye on the media attention that Carly is receiving through newspaper articles, social media, and television and radio appearances. We also know that many of you have taken note of the poll results. It’s hard not to; polling is everywhere, mentioned in seemingly every newspaper article and on every television appearance.

But we know that polls at this stage can’t tell us anything useful. As we get nearer to primary season – and ultimately to the general election – these polls may be useful tools for gauging the excitement level about different candidates. At this point, though, they are almost solely an indication of name recognition. As Fred Barnes wrote in the
Weekly Standard recently:

At this stage, polls that rank the candidates are dubious but ubiquitous. National
 polls are totally irrelevant. They are unconnected to how candidates might do in early caucuses (Iowa, Nevada) or primaries (New Hampshire, South Carolina). In fact, state polls aren’t much help either. Such polls should be taken “with whole tablespoons full of salt,” according to stats geek Nate Silver.

Though we’re on the same page as Nate Silver and taking these polls “with whole tablespoons of salt,” we have taken one piece of encouraging news away from these results. If taken in the context of Carly’s overall low name recognition, it’s clear that the people who do know Carly are getting excited about her.

So how do we know how we’re doing without the polls? We’re watching and listening to what people are saying about Carly. We’ve taken note – along with many commentators – of the exceptional level of audience engagement and enthusiasm from people across the country when they get to hear from and see her. Carly continues to wow audiences with her inspiring personal story and her thoughtful, wholly conservative approach to governance.

The media is also paying attention. Numerous commentators have noted that she got the “loudest and most wild applause” of any speaker at the Faith and Freedom event in Iowa. They’ve highlighted that her attendance at the Westside Conservative Club breakfast generated the largest crowd since Rick Perry in 2011. It is clear that, in sharp contrast to Hillary, people see Carly as genuine, authentic, and trustworthy. They’re excited to see more – and we’re excited to give them more.

So stay patient and don’t watch the polls – yet. We have no doubt that, as Carly continues to impress audiences across the country, the poll results will catch up. In the meantime, we’re already enjoying watching the response to Carly’s exciting announcement – and we’re looking forward to working with you to keep the excitement level this high over the next few months.

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