A secret to Larry Aceves’ surprise win in the primary election race for superintendent of public instruction? Slate mailers, the pay-to-play election campaign mailings run by political operatives.

Senior reporter Louis Freedberg of California Watch cites an analysis by veteran Republican commentator Tony Quinn  in the California Morning Report (subscription-based) that Aceves’ name appeared in a key Democratic- and most Republican-targeted slate mailings. That was a smart move for a largely unknown, sharply outspent candidate running in the one non-partisan race for statewide office.

Slate mailers are the campaign fliers that come from official-sounding organizations like “Voter Information Guide for Democrats” and “Small Business Action Committee,” targeted at Republicans. They’re run by political operatives, usually affiliated with Republicans or Democrats, who charge candidates to have their “endorsements” on the mailer. Like better known Los Angeles State Sen. Gloria Romero and Assemblyman Tom Torlakson of Martinez, Aceves is a Democrat –  but probably more palatable to Republicans than the two veteran Sacramento  politicos, according to Quinn. And, with much of the action in the Republican primary for governor and U.S. senator, many Democrats sat out the June primary.

Slate mailers can be effective in races like the one for  superintendent of public instruction. Torlakson and Romero did some TV advertising, but slate mailers may have been the only campaign information that many voters received.

Aceves only got 19.2 percent of the vote, but it was enough to put him in November’s runoff against Torlakson, who got 18.6 percent in the 12-candidate race.