RUNNING A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN

Transcription

1 RUNNING A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN The Essential, The Necessary & The Good to Know A Comprehensive Guide and Workbook for Newcomers and Veterans of Political Campaigns 0

2 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART I THE ESSENTIAL CHAPTER 1 AN OVERVIEW CHAPTER 2 GETTING ORGANIZED CHAPTER 3 GETTING ORGANIZED; WORKSHEETS PART II THE NECESSARY CHAPTER 4 CAMPAIGN STRATEGY CHAPTER 5 CAMPAIGN STRATEGY; WORKSHEETS CHAPTER 6 FUNDING THE CAMPAIGN CHAPTER 7 FUNDING THE CAMPAIGN; WORKSHEETS CHAPTER 8 COMMUNICATIONS CHAPTER 9 COMMUNICATIONS; WORKSHEETS CHAPTER 10 SCHEDULING TOOLS CHAPTER 11 CAMPAIGN BUDGETS; WORKSHEET PART III THE GOOD TO KNOW CHAPTER 12 SPEECHES AND PUBLIC SPEAKING CHAPTER 13 LETTER WRITING CHAPTER 14 FORUMS AND DEBATES CHAPTER 15 EVENT PLANNING CHAPTER 16 ASSEMBLING YOUR CAMPAIGN TEAM CHAPTER 17 TOP 10 THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THE MEDIA CHAPTER 18 ADVANCED LESSON ON POLLING 1

3 RUNNING A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: THE ESSENTIAL, THE NECESSARY AND THE GOOD TO KNOW During a political campaign everyone is concerned with what a candidate will do on this or that question if he is elected except the candidate; he's too busy wondering what he'll do if he isn't elected Everett Dirksen INTRODUCTION If you have decided to seek political office, there are many approaches you might take to running your campaign. You could just throw your hat into the ring and then spend whatever free time you have shaking hands in shopping centers or knocking on doors until Election Day. Or, you could hire a professional campaign consultant and a large campaign staff that will take care of most of the campaign details so that you can use your time to raise money (to pay for the staff, consultants and communications) and attend campaign events. Or, you could do something in between these extremes such as gather some friends and advisors together to form a volunteer campaign committee to help you raise money and decide how to spend it. The fact is that every campaign is different. Some, such as those for very small, local offices, may be won simply by shaking more hands than your opponent. Others, such as those for statewide offices, generally require the services of professional staff and consultants in order to reach the number of voters needed for victory. Most campaigns fall somewhere in between. Whatever elective office you are seeking, however, there are some common elements in virtually all political campaigns. For starters, all candidates have to officially qualify for the office they seek. Likewise, all candidates who raise campaign funds (including from the candidate himself) must file campaign disclosure documents with some level of government. And virtually all candidates must make decisions about how to allocate their campaign resources, whether those resources are the candidate s time, volunteers time or campaign funds. Another common characteristic of all political campaigns regardless of how small or large the office being sought is the clear advantage gained by those candidates who develop a campaign plan early and adhere to it (with minor modifications as needed) through Election Day. Even if the campaign plan is no more complex than organizing the candidate s time so that he or she can shake as many hands as possible, it is important to make sure that this is the most effective use of campaign resources and that the plan is implemented as thoroughly as possible. 2

4 The purpose of this book is to provide any candidate for elective office with just the right amount of information to help him or her run a professional campaign for the office that he or she seeks. That means that a candidate for a seat on the county commission in a small county will be able to find the information needed for organizing and planning his or her campaign without having to sort through tons of information about negative television ads or choosing a campaign consultant information that may be essential for a candidate for statewide office. RUNNING A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: THE ESSENTIAL, THE NECESSARY AND THE GOOD TO KNOW is designed and organized to make it easy for candidates to find information that is essential for all campaigns, as well as additional information that is necessary for most campaigns, and still further information that will be good to know for many candidates. This book is also designed to help a candidate evaluate what type of campaign he or she should run one that will increase the chance of victory without being so complicated and expensive that it depletes the candidate s time, resources and energy. PART I covers elements that are essential to all campaigns, including organizing the nuts and bolts of the campaign and fulfilling the requirements of various local, state and federal laws, such as QUALIFYING and FILING FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES. At the end of PART I, in Chapter 3, worksheets are provided to help you and your advisors organize your campaign committee and the campaign structure and processes. PART II deals with matters that, while not legal requirements, are necessary in virtually all campaigns such as developing a campaign strategy, a communications plan and three budgets. Throughout PART II, worksheets are provided to help you and your campaign think through and develop your campaign plan, including a fundraising strategy, a communications strategy and three budgets. PART III provides more in-depth and expert analysis of some of the topics covered in PART II as well as some additional topics. While the information is useful for any campaign, it is particularly useful for larger-scale campaigns. 3

5 PART I THE ESSENTIAL CHAPTER 1 AN OVERVIEW PLANNING A (WINNING) CAMPAIGN The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win without proving that you are unworthy of winning. Adlai E. Stephenson You wouldn t attempt to run a business without a business plan, and you shouldn t attempt to run a campaign for public office (even the smallest elective office) without a campaign plan. By helping make the most of scarce financial resources and/or helping manage your time in the most productive manner possible, a good campaign plan can literally be the difference between victory and defeat on Election Day. A good campaign plan pulls together all of the various components of a political campaign to make certain that the campaign s resources are maximized to achieve the candidate s goal winning more votes than his opponent on election day. Failure to develop a comprehensive campaign plan can result in wasted time, effort and resources and fewer votes. A professionally prepared plan and budget will maximize the results of even the smallest and simplest campaign. For more complicated and sophisticated campaigns, professional plans and budgets are essential to impress supporters and volunteers, build their confidence in you as a candidate, and enhance your ability to raise money and make volunteer efforts more productive. Following are the elements of a campaign plan for virtually any elective office that a candidate seeks. For some offices, the final plan may be extremely simple, while for others, it may be more complex, but for all campaigns, these elements should be carefully considered and evaluated. GETTING STARTED (AND ORGANIZED) Just like opening a new business, there are a number of basic things that a campaign has to address just to get underway. These include setting up an office and determining whether there will be paid staff, the role of the spouse and family in the campaign and how to handle the money and other resources. Thought must also be given to a slogan for the campaign, attracting and using volunteers, ordering stationery and other such basic matters. As mundane as they may seem, these elements are every bit as important as issues, media and other more public aspects of the campaign. Give close attention early to establishing the basic structure and organization of the campaign and things will run much more smoothly from the beginning through Election Day. 4