Campaign Evaluation: Zechariah Blanchard (U.S. House, FL-7)

[Bryan]

This thread is intended to be a collection point of the strong pros and cons of any potential liberty candidate / campaign that is being discussed / promoted on the forum. You are welcome to post both positive and not-so-positive attributes about the candidate as they related to their position on supporting liberty as well as issues relating to their campaign. The most important information may be aggregated in this top post for easy reference.

Candidate Name: Zechariah Blanchard
Office Sought: U.S. House
Website: www.blanchardforcongress.com
Social Media:
https://www.facebook.com/Blanchard2014

Candidate Profile: On the Issues
Civil Liberties: [Rating TBD]
Constitutional Issues: [Rating TBD]
Economic Issues: [Rating TBD]
Foreign Policy: [Rating TBD]
Social Issues: [Rating TBD]
Overall Issues Rating: [Rating TBD]

Race Profile: Competition & Demographics
State: Florida
District: 7
Incumbent:
Other Primary Candidates:
Non-Incumbent Candidates from Other Parties:
Relevant poll numbers: None.
Overall Race Profile Rating: [Rating TBD]

Miscellaneous Pros/Cons
Key strong points:

Unknown points for further research:

Possible weak points:

Possible deal breakers:

Overall Rating:

[ZechariahBlanchard]

Full disclosure: I am Zechariah Blanchard - Candidate for office. Everything listed here comes straight from me. It should be taken as such. I encourage everyone on the forum to vet me. Fire away with any questions.


Candidate Name: Zechariah Blanchard
Office Sought: U.S. House
Website: blanchardforcongress
Social Media: Facebook: Blanchard2014

Candidate Profile: On the Issues
Civil Liberties: Civil Liberties are of the utmost importance. How can a society claim they are "Free" when they are limited in their freedoms? Where does any government purport to have the right to make a decision regarding what we can and can't do - giving we are not causing harm to anyone but ourselves? What about the natural law?

Constitutional Issues: I am a firm believer in the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution is very clear: Limit government power and preserve individual liberty.

Economic Issues: Less regulation, less government intervention, sound monetary system, stable government investors can depend on to maintain balance through time, and less regulation on entrepreneurial ventures and new businesses.

Foreign Policy: We have to support our Allies, but we need to bring our troops home and secure our own borders. No wars without a Congressional Declaration.

Social Issues: It isn't the governments place to know what you are doing. It isn't their place to say what you can and can't do - unless you hurt another person. I support the decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level. I believe this and many other social issues belong in the States. We shouldn't be under one giant authoritarian rule.

Overall Issues Rating: [Rating TBD]

Race Profile: Competition & Demographics
State: Florida
District: 7
Incumbent: John Mica (22yrs) in office. Look up his record on NSA, Indefinite Detention, Guantanamo, War, and more.

Other Primary Candidates: David Smith - 30 yrs in Marine Corps. Respectable service. Hard to know what he really stands for. No one I've contacted seems to know much about him, except what is on his website.
Alan Azcona: Not collecting contributions, not making expenditures, only petitions. Gun rights activist according to what I've seen.

Non-Incumbent Candidates from Other Parties: (D) Wes Neuman.

Relevant poll numbers: None.
Overall Race Profile Rating: [Rating TBD]

Miscellaneous Pros/Cons
Key strong points: I believe the Constitution trumps. I believe in individual liberties. I will fight for freedom in Washington. I also live in the I-4 corridor. This is one of the most important places in many Presidential elections. Florida is often decided on based on the I-4 corridor.

Unknown points for further research:

Possible weak points:

Possible deal breakers:

Overall Rating:

[Andy.August]

Zechariah will be attending the Campaign for Liberty 'Liberty Summit' in Orlando, FL April 4-6 if anyone is going and would like to meet him.

[CG1976]

How will you beat Mica? An incumbent tea party
favorite challenged him in a primary in 2012 and lost by over 20%. She was well funded and had a professional campaign, how do you plan to compete?

[ZechariahBlanchard]

Thank you, excellent question.

I would like to fully answer your question without giving too much of our strategy away. If I fail to be clear, please let me know so I can elaborate for you.

The majority of folks we've contacted here in my district are tired of Mica. An overwhelming majority of them embrace our message and agree its time for a change. They're now four primary challengers including myself. Of us challengers, I stand out - basing my campaign on smaller government, individual liberty, and fiscal conservatism. This gives me an advantage on the ballot - because my opponents are all very similar to one another.

You see, when the vote gets split in our closed primary, the other candidates will split their side of the vote, leaving the rest to us. We also stand out on a key issue here for the 2014 election: decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level so states can decide. Something 88% of voters here in Florida are in favor of by recent polls.

Our district also lies in the center of the 'I-4 Corridor'. This is extremely important for the Presidential election, as the 'I-4 Corridor' usually decides the outcome of Florida. This is due in part to a large population of swing voters. And we're more likely to pull that swing vote than any of our opponents. Guessing that Rand may run in 2016, this could also prove to be a positive strategic lynchpin for his campaign.

The more people we contact, the more we have on our side. We are starting off slow, but a winning campaign is like a snowball going down a hill. It starts real small and slow, picking up speed and mass as it goes, eventually becoming an unstoppable avalanche. That is how we are running our campaign. No need to be the most outspoken in the beginning, we are in this to win it.

We will continue to "Double Down" as time goes on. More volunteers, more grassroots movement, and more contact with voters as the campaign moves forward.

Sandy Adams and Mica both ran on the premise of experience. Mica had her easily beat in this with over twenty years in office vs her two. More than half of the voters that elected him didn't even know what he would do. The districts were changed in 2010 for the 2012 elections. The new district lines helped him slide into office, once again.

Mr. Mica has a long history of making costly mistakes (TSA, etc.). These will be publicly known by the end of this election. The people of our district believe his time has come, the only question for them is, "Who's next?"

Hope to see you at The Summit!