So You Want To Run For Office?
Chris Faulkner has a great slide series on running for office and what it takes.
As an ally of the RNC and State Parties, we want to help in the effort of candidate recruitment.
Effective candidate recruitment will only happen when we decentralize the process of asking so that the responsibility is not resting exclusively on the shoulders of "them" in headquarters.
"Can you raise the money" is a serious question that Chris asks and one that is often overlooked by prospective candidates. For some reason, prospects believe that once they throw their hat in the ring, the money will naturally flow because they are "the candidate." Once they realize the well is dry, they quickly blame the state and national party for failing to deliver a boat load of cash.
The truth is, if you can't raise funds on your own, you are proving you are not worth investing in. Ironically, these Republican candidates are advocating economic independence in their stump speech and then demanding "free" money on the phone back at the campaign headquarters.
The same principles that exist in the free market also exist in the campaign world. Your campaign needs to show real value before you can expect a state/national party to make an investment. Some factors are in your control, and other factors are not. Let's review:
Factors Not In Your Control:
Demographics - some districts are just bad, it's not your fault you and your wife fell in love with X house in X town in X district.
Voting history - this is obviously tied to the previous item but this is also a consideration.
Incumbency - are you running against a 30 year incumbent that is well liked?
Incumbent bank - does your opponent have significant cash on hand?
Yourself - are you new to the area, just moved into the district and thus making it difficult to tap preexisting networks?
Factors In Your Control:
Funding - have you raised a competitive amount of money for your race (projections based off of previous races and similar races)
Team - have you hired a professional campaign team, and have a campaign manager that is not the candidate?
Plan - do you have a written campaign plan that shows how you can get to 51% of the vote?
Voter ID - are you conducting an aggressive voter ID plan?
GOTV - do you have a plan in place to mobilize your voters?
Network - have you made an effort in the past to belong to organizations?
A state and national party can't bring a campaign from 38% of the vote to 43% of the vote - it's not their job and it does nothing to advance the party. Put yourself in field goal range and then the Parties will come in to push you over the finish line. However, all campaigns should expect assistance from their state/national party - technology, training, guides, local knowledge etc... But if you are expecting direct funds, first, you need to be thinking on how to put your campaign in a position to win.
As an ally of the RNC and State Parties, we want to help in the effort of candidate recruitment.
Effective candidate recruitment will only happen when we decentralize the process of asking so that the responsibility is not resting exclusively on the shoulders of "them" in headquarters.
"Can you raise the money" is a serious question that Chris asks and one that is often overlooked by prospective candidates. For some reason, prospects believe that once they throw their hat in the ring, the money will naturally flow because they are "the candidate." Once they realize the well is dry, they quickly blame the state and national party for failing to deliver a boat load of cash.
The truth is, if you can't raise funds on your own, you are proving you are not worth investing in. Ironically, these Republican candidates are advocating economic independence in their stump speech and then demanding "free" money on the phone back at the campaign headquarters.
The same principles that exist in the free market also exist in the campaign world. Your campaign needs to show real value before you can expect a state/national party to make an investment. Some factors are in your control, and other factors are not. Let's review:
Factors Not In Your Control:
Demographics - some districts are just bad, it's not your fault you and your wife fell in love with X house in X town in X district.
Voting history - this is obviously tied to the previous item but this is also a consideration.
Incumbency - are you running against a 30 year incumbent that is well liked?
Incumbent bank - does your opponent have significant cash on hand?
Yourself - are you new to the area, just moved into the district and thus making it difficult to tap preexisting networks?
Factors In Your Control:
Funding - have you raised a competitive amount of money for your race (projections based off of previous races and similar races)
Team - have you hired a professional campaign team, and have a campaign manager that is not the candidate?
Plan - do you have a written campaign plan that shows how you can get to 51% of the vote?
Voter ID - are you conducting an aggressive voter ID plan?
GOTV - do you have a plan in place to mobilize your voters?
Network - have you made an effort in the past to belong to organizations?
A state and national party can't bring a campaign from 38% of the vote to 43% of the vote - it's not their job and it does nothing to advance the party. Put yourself in field goal range and then the Parties will come in to push you over the finish line. However, all campaigns should expect assistance from their state/national party - technology, training, guides, local knowledge etc... But if you are expecting direct funds, first, you need to be thinking on how to put your campaign in a position to win.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Whitehorse (Robin Ray) on -
Good post Robert. Running for any office, even alderman in a small town (which I have done), is a big undertaking if one is serious about it. The campaign plan aspect is critical, & something many many don't do.
One has to be ready to win or lose. Losing is pretty self-explanatory, however many aren't prepared to win. (I'm not sure if one can truly be fully prepared to win, much like one cannot be fully prepared to be a parent) Case in point - my wife is the mayor of our small (2500 pop) town. She's been city recorder & alderman, so she was not coming in blind - however, the viciousness & nastyness of some of the opposition was something not expected.
This is a wonderful study & fits in with my proposal to Mindy for a "candidate school" type seminar for local office candidates...
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brennan on -
Why was my comment deleted?
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Permalink Reply by Robert Willington on -
Hi Michael, not sure. I didn't delete any comments - was it a comment on this post?
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brennan on
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Yes. was the second comment on this discussion post, Suzanne's was deleted to, she had on before me.
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Permalink Reply by Whitehorse (Robin Ray) on
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If you're reading this & not desiring to run yourself, be a "foot soldier" for someone who does. US House & Senate races are fun, as are Presidential races. You can, however, have much more impact on a local & state level. The conservative Republican running for county commission or state representative needs boots on the ground, & these boots on the ground will make an even greater impact for these candidates.
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Permalink Reply by Terrence Abrams on -
Good Advice. We're foot soldiering down here in Texas quite a bit now, but also raising support for new chairs and district chair replacements where nothing was getting done. We had one problem of a radical chair on a large district trying to control who could even become a candidate!
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brennan on
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Man, I wish we had more people from my district on this site, I need more foot soldiers in my campaign. LOL
As a new candidate, I do not see much training on how to fundraise, all they do is tell you to go out there and get it. In the world of politics, it is about who you know, not what you know that makes the difference. If you do not know who is out there, what does a new candidate do to find the resources to prove their viability besides the door to door canvassing and begging. LOL Yes begging is the correct term. LOL
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Permalink Reply by Jim Needham on -
I would begin by cultivating a following in local Chambers of Commerce. I am not a big proponent of the inordinate influence of money in our politics. I'm particularly opposed to situations where preoccupation with financing precludes the importance of election goals.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Brennan on
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I am finding as I run for office that many who call themselves Republican or conservative have no idea what the terms mean. And it makes it hard for people who are "working" to rebuild compared to those who are sitting and still crying. I know we will win. It will take more work.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Needham on
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I am a candidate for the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. Please check my website and grant me some feedback. http://www.fyi.bz
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