The community was, and still is, a majority Republican-voting area, meaning Wooten’s beliefs and sexual orientation were different than the average voter. Since Wooten was also a Berea College employee (professor), he was also seen as a form of opposition to the city’s financial and political independence from the college, which was seen as an encroaching and powerful entity in the city.
The community, mimicking the country, was highly divided on recent and past issues, with one of the hottest topics being fairness and Civil Rights for minorities within the community.
The community was, and still is, a majority Republican-voting area. Only a few other candidates were running on a Centrist-to-Liberal platform, so it was imperative to differentiate the candidate from them. Since Wooten was also a Berea College employee, he was also seen as a form of opposition to the city’s financial and political independence from the college, which was seen as an encroaching and powerful entity in the city.
After examining voter issues, it was clear where the campaign’s efforts would get the best foothold: fairness. Dedicating the campaign to fairness and promoting liberal policy beliefs on the College’s campus capitalized on crucial votes from the community as well as the local student body. Mobilizing and empowering student voters pushed Wooten over the edge to beat reigning incumbents.
Wooten faced direct opposition online, with people attacking his support of certain liberal policies as well as his occupation.
Part of the work to promote him also became crisis management, because a Facebook group worked to promote Republican candidates and to create and spread rumors about those that they opposed. They were a fake news mill meant to damage candidates’ political and personal values. Nearly 24-hour online surveillance was required to find fires and to put them out with facts and information, such as the efficacy of certain policies and the true power of community entities.