Front porch campaign

Clifford Berryman's cartoon depiction of Eugene V. Debs' campaign from prison satirizes Warren G. Harding's front porch campaign in the Election of 1920.

A front porch campaign is a low-key electoral campaign used in American politics in which the candidate remains close to or at home where they issue written statements and give speeches to supporters who come to visit.[1] The candidate largely does not travel around or otherwise actively campaign.[2] The successful presidential campaigns of James A. Garfield in 1880, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and William McKinley in 1896 are perhaps the best-known front porch campaigns.

McKinley's opposing candidate, William Jennings Bryan, gave over 600 speeches and traveled many miles all over the United States to campaign, but McKinley outdid this by spending about twice as much money campaigning.[3] While McKinley was at his Canton, Ohio, home conducting his "front-porch campaign", Mark Hanna was out raising millions to help with the campaign. Hanna also arranged for various delegations to visit McKinley and hear him deliver a short speech that would then be circulated by the newspapers. These delegations were made up of various interest and demographic groups.[4]

Another president known for his front porch campaign was Warren G. Harding during the presidential election of 1920.

In 2020, Joe Biden's presidential campaign shifted to a front-porch style during the summer, sometimes referred to as his basement campaign.[5] He used videoconferencing technology to fundraise and speak to supporters and the media from his home in Delaware during the COVID-19 pandemic given the imposition of stay-at-home orders[6] and his belief that rallies were impractical and a public health hazard.[7][8]

  1. ^ Dolan, Michael (September 15, 2016). "Porch Politics: Candidates Stayed Home to Campaign". HistoryNet.com. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  2. ^ "Front-Porch Campaign." Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2012.
  3. ^ Buggle, Johannes C; Vlachos, Stephanos (2022). "Populist Persuasion in Electoral Campaigns: Evidence from Bryan's Unique Whistle-Stop Tour". The Economic Journal. 133 (649): 493–515. doi:10.1093/ej/ueac056. ISSN 0013-0133.
  4. ^ Sides, John. Campaigns and Elections: 2022 Election Update (Fourth ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. p. 76. ISBN 9781324046912.
  5. ^ Hounshell, Blake (June 28, 2022). "Fetterman 2022: The Steampunk Version of Biden in His Basement". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  6. ^ Garrison, Joey. "Biden in the basement: Can campaigning from home work as Trump starts to travel?". USA Today.
  7. ^ "Joe Biden takes his campaign to the digital front porch as coronavirus throws up new obstacles for Democrats". The Globe and Mail. March 25, 2020.
  8. ^ Shafer, Ronald G. "Biden campaigns from his basement. Harding ran for president from his porch". The Washington Post.