Overview

After the Great Recession, the Carpenters Union in Hawaii was in serious trouble. Half of its members were unemployed and new housing developments, a key source of jobs, were stalled.

What We Did

The Pacific Resources Partnership (PRP) – a joint effort between the carpenters union and unionized developers and contractors – turned to Tulchin Research to find ways to create jobs for union members through sustainable growth projects like the Honolulu rail project and the transit-oriented development it would generate. But when popular former governor Ben Cayetano jumped into the mayor’s race as the anti-rail candidate, we had to devise a strategy to elect a pro-rail candidate to protect the project. Through multiple rounds of polling, ad testing and sophisticated statistical modeling, we worked closely with PRP to develop a strategy that helped elect Kirk Caldwell as mayor, overcoming a 22-point deficit in route to winning the general election.

Results

Furthermore, our polling accurately predicted the results, no easy feat as Hawaii is one of the toughest states to poll. We have also helped elect several other pro-growth candidates to office and win approval for three large housing developments, improving the union’s political and economic position by bolstering the long-term employment prospects of its members.