See the core elements of running for political office with the Roosevelt Tech quick guide!
Running for office for the first time can feel overwhelming. While many new candidates aren’t sure where to begin setting up a political operation, Roosevelt Tech can ease the process. First, you'll need a money goal and a vote goal.
Once you’ve decided to run for office, you will need to organize your paperwork and file to run before launching your campaign. While the specific documents vary by state, the fundamentals remain the same.
Once you have organized your paperwork, you will now need a campaign plan to begin operations and stay focused throughout the campaign. While many details go into a plan, it can be summarized into five straightforward steps
Once you have your campaign paperwork and a campaign plan, it is time to prepare for launch! Turning a political campaign into a professional operation requires several things including branding, digital infrastructure, and data organization.
It all starts with a campaign summary to set the stage for entering the political arena. Once you have decided to run for office, it is time to bring your immediate team together to discuss your plan.
To establish your message, verbalize in content and branding what your campaign is standing for. Throughout the campaign, you will want to stay focused on core issues that can unite people behind a common cause.
Using information on the district and data from past elections, set a vote goal for each precinct that will get you successfully over the finish line. Additionally, make sure to have some research conducted to support your campaign.
Based on your tentative budget and the size of your team, organize the various elements of your campaign and assign the roles, responsibilities, and functions to your staff based on their skills and the campaign’s resources.
Put together a total budget for your campaign based upon the spending of past campaigns and the amount of outreach you will need to hit each of your voter goals.
A key part of political organizing is having clear goals and developing relationships with like-minded groups and organizations. As you are moving forward in grassroots contact, build coalitions that raise support for your campaign.
You won't be able to fund your campaign without fundraising. You will need to create a financial plan that covers all fundraising along with tracking all donations and expenditures for campaign compliance.
Campaigns operate in three phases: introducing the candidate, persuading voters, and getting out the vote. Conclude your plan with notes on scheduling in each campaign phase and responding to emergency situations.
If you are running a campaign on a limited budget, you will need to prioritize your campaign dollars. For many forms of voter contact, there is a direct correlation between the amount of money something costs and the time something takes with its overall effectiveness.
Everyone is trying to capture your attention, “Do this”, “Do that”, “Come over here”. But I would ask you to pause for just a moment and ask yourself what a better America looks like.
A campaign launchpad acts as a campaign starter pack to win your election. With links to essential training, campaign resources, tools, digital setup, and more, we are making it easier to plan your campaign, step forward, and win.
Whether you are an experienced campaign operative, a grassroots volunteer, a community organizer, a businessman, a pastor, or a maintenance worker, we are here to help you run for office and win.
Fundraising for a political campaign is often the least-favorite part of a candidate running for office. Although uncomfortable, raising money is a critical element of outreach and name recognition which wins a political campaign.
Fundraising, for political campaigns, school field trips, or missions trips, all begin in the same way. Reach out, personally, to all the people who are close in your life.
Friends calls can be a critical component for raising money and winning a political campaign. By having close friends call their friends, you can multiply your fundraising efforts.
Small events are the bread of butter of events for most campaigns. Easy to host, at a much lower cost, there is immense flexibility to introduce the candidate, recruit volunteers, and raise money.
Raising money online isn’t easy, but it all comes down to simple principles of being present online, sharing a compelling story, and then asking supporters to give.
Reaching out to larger donors and organizations for support is different than for others. Larger donors, who are accustomed to giving, want to see a strategic plan, talk with you, and know that you can win.
