Essay: The Junk Mail Candidate

Today on Medium: I wrote an essay about what I’ve learned from subscribing to every presidential candidate’s email list.

that's like TWO DAYS WORTH

I occasionally tweet interesting tidbits from the emails I receive, but today’s essay is a longer, sustained dive into an observation that struck me as interesting…

In February, I subscribed to all the presidential candidates’ email lists.

Since then, I’ve gotten over 1,000 requests for money. Today is the 17th of October, and so far, this month, I’ve heard from Hillary Clinton’s campaign 32 times and Donald Trump’s 53 times. (Carly Fiorina chimed in once in support of Trump, too.)

Sometimes I hear from them many times in a day. “Let’s bug our subscribers incessantly,” the theory seems to go, “so they’ll be more inclined to give us money!”

The emails become an interesting lens through which to examine each campaign’s opinion of its supporters. Do they think they’re the type of people who’re driven by hope, or by fear? By sincere human appeals, or by stern orders? By pleading, or by threats? Or like Jeb!, by just being pathetic?

You can read the whole thing on Medium: The Junk Mail Candidate, by David Malki !

Previously in candidate correspondence: A Poem I Made from Jeb Bush’s Emails
Previously by me on Medium: I grew up in San Bernardino.


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