Five campaign tips from our candidate training program
#1 Ask yourself the obvious questions
Stop for a moment and reflect. Why are you running for office? How will you make a difference? These are the most common questions you will get on the campaign and by far the most important. You should be able to answer in 2-3 sentences. If you think this is easy, ask Ted Kennedy.
#2 Make a list of everyone you know
Get scrolling through your cell phone contacts and bring out the holiday card list. Try not to be too selective though. Even people who do not live locally may want to find ways to support your campaign. Organize the list in an excel spreadsheet for now and you can import it into a donor/volunteer management system like NationBuilder or NGP VAN in the future.
List still short? Time to get involved in local organizations, volunteer on like-minded campaigns, and start building your future campaign team from the ground up.
#3 It is OK to not know everything
Ask questions. Lots of them. Meet with people who have held the position before, talk to small business owners, teachers, and your local elections office. And consider applying for the EBLC’s Build the Bench program if you want to learn directly from local campaign professionals. Having an area of expertise related to your office is helpful, but not required. It is required that you ask questions, listen, and learn along the way.
#4 Choose the signature option
For some offices the filing fee is waived or reduced if you submit a certain number of signatures. It may seem easier to pay the fee and move on, but you will miss an opportunity to start talking to potential voters about your campaign. Set up a table somewhere that locals frequent like a farmers market and use it as a chance to practice answering the "why are you running" question while saving precious campaign dollars.
#5 Take it easy with the lawn signs
Just because you staked a sign with your name on it in a field does not mean you have a field campaign. If you must order signs, do so sparingly. Signs are expensive and often go unseen by voters. Instead, ask your sign-crazed supporters to host a house party with their friends and neighbors where you can introduce yourself and answer questions. Make sure to circulate a sign-in sheet so you can follow-up with potential supporters.
Looking for the full campaign playbook?
We are currently accepting applications for our 2021 Build the Bench program.