Multi-State Government Relations. A Burden or a Blessing?

If you're responsible for multi-state government relations, you understand the logistical challenges — a calendar full of committee hearings, deadlines, competing priorities, multiple advocates, and opponents.

To bring focus to multi-state work, allow me to suggest grouping states into three categories: Right-to-Win States, Must-Win States, and Follow-On States.

For me, Right-to-Win States were those where we deserved to win because the policy solution directly aligned with the state’s needs. If we couldn’t make the case there — where our value proposition was strongest — we wouldn’t make it anywhere.

Once a Right-to-Win state moved, it became a paragon for others. It gave credibility to the model and momentum to replicate. Must-Win States came next — those that were vital for market expansion and public impact, or those where a bill needs to be defeated. Finally, Follow-On States were those that naturally benchmarked against early adopters.

Covering multiple states offers an incredible advantage: scale. I covered nineteen states and two countries, and learned four benefits of multi-state government relations:

1. Ability to Scale Messages and Resources

Covering multiple states allows you to communicate efficiently. The same talking points and briefing memos can be customized rather than recreated. You build templates, trackers, and engagement maps that make outreach smarter and faster. Working at scale isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing what matters once and applying it everywhere it fits.

2. Transferability of Policy and Tactics

States benchmark each other. When something moves in a red or blue state, policymakers in other red and blue states take notice. That’s the beauty of working across multiple states — you start to recognize patterns before they’re obvious. You can pilot an idea in one place, refine it, and replicate it elsewhere. Transferability becomes your secret advantage.

3. Repurposing Model Language

Model language is a gift — but only if you respect the local context. Each state has its quirks: legislative style, political culture, stakeholder ecosystem. You can’t copy-paste legislation, but you can repurpose it. The best GR professionals know how to adapt strong policy frameworks while keeping the core message intact.

4. Identifying Likely Advocates

When you cover multiple states, you get better at identifying both traditional and non-traditional constituent advocates — and that’s one of the most valuable byproducts of multi-state work.

Because you see how issues play out in different political and cultural contexts, you start to recognize what kind of voice breaks through. You learn which constituent advocates — those who live, work, and vote in the state — move the needle.

Multi-state GR teaches you not just how to build relationships, but how to activate the right ones at the right time.