GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) -- In what has already shaped up to be an unusual election year, many local campaigns have had to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic in the months leading up to the August 11 primaries.
"The challenge is that usually you tell that story by talking face to face with people, knocking on a lot of doors, having a lot of conversations, going to events and so forth," GBAPS school board member and candidate for the 90th Assembly District Kristina Shelton said. "So obviously, that space isn't happening right now."
Large gatherings have been out of the picture for nearly six months, when Governor Tony Evers issued Safer at Home orders in March. Those events are crucial for fundraising, according to incumbent Staush Gruszynski.
"Early in march, we had a big fundraising event that we had set up, all of our sponsors and endorsers were gonna be there," Gruszynski said, "and that was kind of the first thing we had to cancel because of COVID."
Since then, candidates have been forced to get creative as they navigate social distancing and inch closer to their partisan races ahead of the general election. While both candidates in the Democratic primary for the 90th Assembly District have embraced phone calls and internet marketing, each have their different strategies. For example, Shelton has been personally involved with engaging voters via text.
"We're sort of throwing the campaign playbook aside and saying yes, there are tried and true methods to reaching voters, but let's really get creative," Shelton said. She says the campaign has sent over 22,000 text messages to voters in the Green Bay area, and constituents express shock when they respond and reach her.
Both candidates have cut door knocking and in-person conversations out of the picture, but Gruszynski has embraced door literature heavily, where Shelton has prioritized direct mail over that specific method.
"Obviously a lot of that is done behind a mask, or dropping off a packer for a volunteer, and you don't have as much of that social interaction," Gruszynski said. "COVID is going to increase potentially in to this fall, so we're gonna have to run the same kind of considerate campaign moving forward after this primary."
Republican opponent Drew Kirsteatter is running unopposed in the upcoming primary and will face the Democratic winner this November. Kirsteatter was unable to be reached for this story.
