I wrote a little something yesterday about seeing Wendy Davis signs in equal number near my house as Greg Abbott signs. Only two each. That was surprising to me, since my area goes red over blue.
Now see this email from Abbott consultant Craig Murphy, who breaks down the economics of yard signs. Live and learn. He wrote:
You won’t many yard signs for statewides these days because of two graphs:
1) Cost per vote of a yard sign vs. all other ways to spend money.
2) Affordability of yard signs vs. all other options.
Those sound like the same thing, but they are not.
With regard to number 2) above, Abbott can afford anything, so he does not have to choose simply based on what he can afford. So, he chooses based upon 1) above, which is essentially “efficiency.” Yard signs are hugely expensive for Abbott (while still affordable) but very inefficient.
So, Abbott would HOPE people do not ask for yard signs and will not often suggest it. He will have signs available at HQ, but not push it. Where does he put his money? TV. NOT MUCH MAIL NOR SIGNS.
Meanwhile, the Koop campaign pays about the same as Abbott does for a yard sign effort. So, cost per vote is about the same for her. On the surface, inefficient.
But on affordability, signs look great to a Koop campaign. She can AFFORD signs while not being able to afford DFW TV. So, where does she put her money? Signs. Mail.
And one last thing about signs. They have no message (other than “I am voting for Abbott, if you like me or like to go with the crowd, vote Abbott”). Signs = Name ID. A down ballot candidate like Koop needs name ID. Abbott and Davis do not.
It used to be that these top of Ballot races like President and Governor needed yard signs. Those days are gone. I could drop 5,000 signs in houses around a huge county like Dallas County and you would have a hard time driving around and finding one. To make a real dent in perception, you need to get 10s of thousands of signs up in Dallas County which is massively expensive and requires a huge organization to get them all to the right houses (and replace them when they are broken or lost). And when you are finished, you have not increased your name ID or support by a bit.
That is why what is happening in your neighborhood is happening.