The Summer Offensive is How You Win in the Fall
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
We’ve reached the midpoint of the year, and the public affairs calendar is quieting down; most state legislative sessions have concluded, Congress is approaching the August recess, and midterm elections are dominating the landscape. It's tempting to read that as a lull where there’s no opportunity to make moves.
But the quiet is the opening. The work you do in these slower weeks is exactly what puts you ahead when sessions pick back up, and the organizations that get that pull ahead while everyone else waits for September.
Here are five moves worth making before the calendar fills back up:
Book the recess meetings. Your lawmakers are home and reachable, the one window all year for facility tours and member visits you can't get once they're back in floor votes. Are your members in front of them this summer, or is someone else's?
Get into the regulatory fight. Comment windows and rulemaking don't break for summer, and that's where a lot of what passed actually gets decided. Are you tracking the rules, or just the bills?
Pre-position the narrative. It's cheaper to set the story than to correct one mid-fight. Debrief last session honestly, then decide what you want established as conventional wisdom before the next bill drops.
Warm the coalition. Partners drift in the quiet months. Check in, align on next session's ask, and refresh the materials now so you're activating a ready network in the fall, not rebuilding one.
Bank the creative. Shoot the short-form video and line up the assets now, so when a hearing lands, you launch instead of scramble.
The second half belongs to whoever prepared for it. A summer on offense is a fall where you win.
