The Catty World of Political Consulting
Satire Opinion
Orange Cat Bad,
I assessed the record of well-known central Virginia consultants Diana and Chris Shores, alias Bonnie and Clyde Strategies, LLC. Their name is self-descriptive; some even pawtray their work as a purramid scheme! Given their record is littered with losses, it is indeed purrr-plexing. ! ~Cat Woman
A paw-try 23.5% success rate.
Only 4 races out of 17 won- a cat-astrophe!
Seven candidates got 30% or less of the votes. One only got 13%!
In 2023, they were paid for 5 campaigns and 4 lost.
Experienced consultants can predict a candidate’s chances. When it’s obvious the odds look bad, consultant cheetahs prey on people, all the while knowing they are simply pocketing their scratch. Why did the Shores work for Katie Arrington, who lost her South Carolina Congressional race? Arrington was endorsed by President Donald Trump. Did the Shores disclose to Arrington they are Never-Trumpers from 2016?
Our researcher has a Good feline the Shores’ hiss-tory is about money, not the win. They take on candidates with no chance and empty their purrrses. They attempt to rig conventions, but people are waking up to their schemes.
Under their littership, Duane Adams’ convention bid for the 10th District Senate seat failed spe-catularly. Adams clawed out 24% of the vote even with the Shores having their meal ticket Bob ‘No-Bills’ Good campaign hard for him rather than do what we hired him to do in Congress. Good’s reputation with a whole swath of his constituents is litter-ally a cat–astrophe.
JK Meowling looked up campaign finance reports for state and local candidates on the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP). You can look up consultants or “vendors” for yourself.
https://www.vpap.org/redistricting/plan/us-house-of-representatives/
The Federal Election Commission has US Senate and Congress records. Look up a candidate and to whom they disburse money.
https://www.fec.gov/data/browse-data/?tab=candidates
Below are the campaigns that hired the Shores for their “services.” We were told of other campaigns but did not find them in VPAP or FEC. Campaigns that could not be verified were not listed.
There are gaps in time where no records were found in either VPAP or FEC. If they worked on campaigns during those years (e.g., 2009-15), they were likely employed by a third party that the campaign hired. Those companies do not have to disclose who they hire. For example, Axiom Strategies was hired by Cynthia Dunbar and is now a partner in the failing pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC.
Cat-alogue of Candidates:
Duane Adams, 2023 State Senate 10th District Convention, Bonnie & Clyde Strategies, $15,000 fee. Lost- only 24% of the vote.
Herman Sadler, 2023 State Senate 17th District Primary, Bonnie & Clyde Strategies $18,000 fee. Lost with 41% of the vote.
Lowell Bowman, 2023 State House District 41 Primary, Bonnie & Clyde Strategies $15,700 fee. Lost - 42% of the vote.
Eric Zehr, 2023 State House District 51, General Election, Bonnie & Clyde Strategies, $25,500 fee. Won got 72% of the vote (Zehr had no serious competitor)
Bryce Reeves 2022 US House 7th District Primary: It’s known that the Shores worked for Reeves. No record in FEC. 3rd party company hire? Lost got 20% of the vote.
Bob Good, 2020, 2022 US House 5th District Convention and General Elections, Bonnie & Clyde Strategies, Won. See below for details.
Tamara Neo, 2021 State Senate 38th District Primary, Chris Shores $4,000 fee. Lost got 13% of the vote.
Gina Ciarcia, 2021 State House District 2 General Election, Bonnie & Clyde Strategies, Clawed for $10,000 fee. Lost with 43% of the vote.
Pete Snyder, 2021 VA Governor Convention, It’s widely known that the Shores worked for Snyder, no record in VPAP, 3rd party company hire? Lost- got 25% of the vote.
Scott Wyatt, 2019 State House District 97 General Election, Christopher W. Shores $3,000 fee. Won with 56% of the vote.
Cynthia Dunbar, 2018 US House 6th District Convention. It’s widely known that the Shores worked for Dunbar. No record in FEC. 3rd party company hire? Lost with 36% of the vote.
John Adams, 2016, VA Attorney General Christopher W. Shores, $12,000 fee. Lost- with 46% of the vote.
Craig Hudgins, 2015 State Senate 8th District Primary, Diana & Christopher W. Shores, $2,750 fee (Diana & Chris combined.) Lost with only 29% of the vote.
Bill Bolling, 2009, VA Lt. Governor General Election, Christopher W. Shores, $9,746 fee. Won with 56% of the vote.
Walter Brown, 2003 State Senate 18th District Primary, Christopher W. Shores $500 fee. Lost with only 30% of the vote.
Jay Katzen, 2001 VA Attorney General, General Election, Christopher W. Shores $13,919 fee. Lost with 48% of the vote.
Bob Good. The Shores finally scored a congressman in 2020. Lots of Friskies for hooking a Congressman! The following is from Good’s Federal Election Commission finance filings:
2020 = $ 49,542; 2021 = $ 32,450; 2022 = $ 81,400 ($ 7,000 a month); 2023 = $ 36,000 through September (the latest filing). 2023 was not an election year, but they are still scratching the litter box each month for $4,000.00! Meow!
They don’t get credit for Buddy Fowler. Fowler won the recent (2023) State House 59th District primary with 57% of the vote and the general election with 58%.
VPAP shows Rep. Buddy Fowler hired Bonnie & Clyde Strategies from October 2022 to April 2023 and paid them $35,000.00. The not-so-secret rumor is that the Fowler campaign terminated the Shores’ contract in April, about two months short of the primary. Therefore, we scratch the Shores from credit for Fowler’s primary or general election wins.
A Warning:
Candidates should choose wisely who they hire. Sloppy consultation can tarnish your reputation when you lose, affect your chances of running again, and stifle future donors. Ask yourself, would you donate to candidates who hire consultants that frequently fail? Did Bidenomics put burn money in your pocket to blow on doomed campaigns? Your donation only ends up paying for someone’s lifestyle. Ask candidates about their consultants and then check them out before donating. Ever wonder why so many campaigns sound exactly alike and go nowhere? The candidates are hiring the same firms. We should all ask ourselves, is it grassroots or manufactured? Is there a correlation between how candidates are produced and run and the larger picture in Richmond and DC? Buyer beware.
Five & Dime VA/HCC is an opinion blog. I employ satire, commentary, and fact to entertain and convey my opinions on religious, cultural, and political issues. I expect you to know the difference.
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