'Message testing' can veer into push polling as campaigns heat up

MISSION — Patty Klement answered the call about 7:30 p.m. and agreed to chat with a pollster and answer questions about the District 36 race for the Texas House of Representatives.

“They asked how I felt about certain issues, and it led into questions basically delving into negative issues with regards to Kino (Flores),” Klement said.

The District 36 primary pits Flores, a five-term Democratic state representative from Palmview, against Sandra Rodriguez of Mission.

“I told (the caller) that I favored Kino, and it became apparent that her job was to change my mind,” Klement said.

Klement, a business owner living in Mission, had seen a national television exposé on push polling, in which a caller claims to be taking a political survey as a pretext for disseminating negative information — sometimes even misinformation — about a candidate’s opponent.

While political leaders generally condemn push polls, or any advocacy that does not clearly state the caller’s affiliation with a campaign, “message testing” — gauging voter responses to statements about the candidate or his opponent to shape the campaign — is generally considered OK.

Among the most notorious examples of a political push poll in recent years was one conducted by George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign against Republican primary opponent Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. South Carolina primary voters were reportedly asked if they would still vote for McCain if they learned he had fathered an illegitimate black child.

McCain has an adopted daughter from Bangladesh — she is neither black nor his biological child.

Klement says she was sure her call was also a push poll.

Rodriguez conceded a campaign consultant, top Austin political operative James Aldrete, hired a firm to conduct polls about her name recognition, weaknesses and positions on issues like education and healthcare.

But she said she wasn’t so sure it was a push poll.

“I don’t know exactly what the questions are,” she said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a push poll — we’re trying to gather information — that’s what this is for. We’re paying so that we can find my weaknesses.”

Aldrete has worked with a slew of Rio Grande Valley Democrats. Another top consultant, Kelly Fero, is currently affiliated with Eddie Saenz, the challenger for House District 40 against state Rep. Aaron Peña, D-Edinburg.

Message testing polls and push polls are often confused by supporters of either candidate, particularly in polarized environments, Fero said.

“Every campaign, you spend a lot of time talking to your supporters: ‘I just got a call, they were asking horrible questions.’”

The Saenz campaign ran a telephone poll in October 2007 testing several attacks on Peña, particularly that he had a close affiliation with Republicans in the House, according to a call script provided by Fero.

Peña said people in his district claimed that the calls also tested the notion of Peña being affiliated with drug cartels — something that was not on the script.

Callers, he said, asked: “If you heard that Peña was a drug dealer, would you be less likely to vote for him?”

“You spend a lifetime trying to do good things, and they can destroy it with a two-minute phone call. It’s disgusting,” Peña said.

Fero vehemently denied using a push poll.

“The accuracy of the information you’re imparting is really the dividing line between a push poll and a legitimate poll,” he said.

Hidalgo County Democratic Party chair Juan Maldonado said he has heard of push polling in other regions of the state but has not heard any complaints in the Valley about campaigns engaging in questionable calling practices.

In the case of Klement’s call, she said some of Rodriguez’s potential weaknesses were addressed along with the allegations against Flores. The caller asked Klement’s opinion of the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school board, of which Rodriguez was a member in less scandal-plagued days.

“Message testing” is legal and often considered to be a necessary tool in local politics. However, Peña said that when the practice is used to spread rumors rather than gather information, it is unethical.

“You’re never going to get good people running for office if they get these tactics used against them,” he said. “It’s just nonstop trashing.”

The Texas Ethics Commission in 1997 introduced a pledge form that candidates could sign indicating that they would refrain from “character defamation, whispering campaigns, libel, slander or scurrilous attacks on any candidate or the candidate’s personal or family life,” among other ethical violations. It is not clear which candidates, if any, signed and submitted this form.

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Sara Perkins covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4472.

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Jared Taylor covers Edinburg, the Delta region and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.