Texas Nationalist Movement Executive Vice President Nate Smith and Chief of Staff Daphne Armour recently attended the Texas Winning Campaigns training presented by the Leadership Institute in Montgomery County on September 12. The intensive training program was led by former Republican Party of Texas Vice Chair Cat Parks and political consultant Justin Farrell of Farrell Gjesdal Strategy Group.
The training provided valuable insights for enhancing TNM’s political knowledge while offering key concepts to integrate into the Texas Arise campaign volunteering workshop. The session emphasized that knowing success factors and campaign goals are critical to victory, with special focus on campaigns determining target vote numbers and using those as the foundation for strategic planning.
Strategic Focus on Precinct-Level Organization
The training stressed the importance of setting goals and campaign strategies at the precinct level—a crucial element for grassroots movements like TNM. This approach aligns with TNM’s goal of recruiting 35,000 volunteers across Texas to connect with 2.5 million supporters of Texas independence.
Fundraising emerged as a hot topic during the session, highlighting a significant shortage of fundraisers for Texas races. This challenge particularly impacts grassroots campaigns, as incumbent campaigns typically have most professional fundraisers under contract. The training identified major keys to fundraising success, including phone calls and personal visits, making direct asks, and having candidates spend significant portions of their time engaging with donors.
Ground Game Remains Essential
Despite digital advances, the training reinforced that ground game remains a key factor in campaign success. The strongest connections and ability to persuade voters still occur through face-to-face conversations. Trainers identified the prime time for door-knocking as 90 days prior to elections, while house parties are gaining renewed emphasis as effective voter outreach tools.
This emphasis on personal contact supports TNM’s volunteer-driven approach. With over 632,000 supporters already identified, the organization recognizes that converting support into active participation requires dedicated volunteer efforts at the local level.
Implications for 2026 Campaign Strategy
The training’s emphasis on volunteer mobilization directly addresses TNM’s strategic needs. Since professional fundraisers are typically contracted to incumbent campaigns, grassroots movements must rely more heavily on volunteer networks to fill essential campaign functions beyond fundraising.
Smith noted the training was valuable both for enhancing TNM’s political knowledge and for providing concepts to incorporate into volunteer workshops. This knowledge transfer demonstrates TNM’s commitment to professionalizing its campaign operations while maintaining its grassroots foundation.
The Leadership Institute training represents part of TNM’s broader effort to build political infrastructure ahead of the 2026 election cycle. By attending professional campaign training, TNM leadership is preparing to support Texas First Pledge candidates and advance independence-supporting initiatives through proven political tactics.
As TNM President Daniel Miller has emphasized, building a successful independence movement requires both grassroots enthusiasm and professional campaign execution. The Montgomery County training session provided TNM leadership with tools to bridge that gap effectively.
