Three Things to Think About When Running For Office

My firm Election Impact Group has also worked with many conservative activist organizations including the Minuteman Project, National Taxpayers Union, and FreedomWorks. By working with Tea Party groups all over the United States for the past 2 years, I see an opportunity for conservatives to run and win office in the 2011 elections in Mississippi, but only if they understand the basics on running for office. Below are three suggestions that every person considering running for office to think about.

Running for public office is an incredibly difficult challenge for anyone. There are so many variables in each election it can turn even experienced individuals in knots not knowing what to do and where to turn. In fact, many people who have worked on campaigns learn that once you put your name on the ballot it is an entirely different experience than being a campaign volunteer. That is why it is so important to have a qualified team to get you across the finish line when running for office.

The Tea Party movement has galvanized millions of conservatives across the country into political action. Over the past 2 years I have traveled to over 16 states working with many people who have never been involved with politics before. They want to make a difference for their community, and they feel strongly the call to run for public office.

I applaud those motives and want nothing more than for candidates to succeed, but for that to happen you need to successfully transition from activist into candidate. As I have gone across the USA promoting ideas on how to run for office I have found this can be especially hard task for many people to accomplish. That is why I have words of advice for those people who are right now considering running for office in Mississippi in 2011:

Get Qualified Advice: You would not ask for medical advice from a veterinarian when you want information on the human body, would you? Then why get advice from someone who has not been successful at your level? There are basically 4 levels of campaigns: Local, Regional, Statewide, and National. I always recommend to anyone running for office to find someone who has been a winner on the same level of race you are pursuing.

Don’t just ask anyone. Find someone who has been a paid staffer on a campaign at the level you are seeking. Many times campaigns are won based on the hard work of volunteers all across our state, and every candidate is extremely grateful for their volunteers carrying them to victory. However, how many volunteers understand issues like who to target in a race, what message you need to use in appealing to voters, and what mediums are most effective to reach those voters? How many have worked on developing and carrying out a fundraising plan? How many know where to obtain the least costly yard signs, the least expensive way to create and apply direct mail, radio, or TV advertising, and how to correctly get campaign donations through a website?

You need to have someone who has been in the room when the big decisions were made and the reasons behind those decisions as well. You could promote someone who has been successful on a level right below your race, but I strongly recommend you find someone who has experience on your level first. Professional advice is paramount for any candidate who wants to run an effective and victorious campaign.

Don’t Wait to Get Advice: I cannot tell you the number of times when someone calls me and asks for my help, but only after they have declared for office, bought all of their materials, and has just 60 days left until Election Day. Sometimes they call only after they have won the primary election, not knowing that they wasted an opportunity by not using their time effectively throughout that period. Know this: when it comes to campaigns the earlier the better when finding an advisor for your campaign.

A campaign is an incredibly complex and chaotic series of events. That is why it is so important to have a solid base created before you move on to the next series of steps. Longtime campaign workers know that it is incredibly difficult to go back and redo things that should have been done differently in the first place. Any consultant or campaign manager you may hire needs to have as much time and flexibility as possible when building a campaign organization and campaign plan.

In the closing days of a campaign I have moved a candidate 49 points in 30 days in a GOP Primary for US Congress, and 36 points in 14 days in a General Election for Congress – but that was only because we had a strong base from which to leap forward. I strongly recommend that any candidate get campaign professional advice long before you ever make a public announcement to run.

The Campaign is Not About You, It is About the Voters: Too often candidates take their passion and energy for a topic and confuse that with the central theme of a campaign. No matter how much money you raise, no matter how cool your ads are, and no matter how many doors you knock on – if you are not talking about an issue or issues that voters not only care about, but that voters think makes you a better person to represent them in political office – you are wasting your time.

Every race is different. Each candidate has their own unique abilities and knowledge, but so do their opponents. The political landscape of each district, the issues those voters face, and the way voters receive their information from outside sources are all different. You simply have to look at your effort and make it an individual affair different than any other race in the state. But one thing never changes – the person with the most votes wins.

That is why candidates must focus their race around the voters they are trying to persuade on Election Day. No matter how many times a candidate sees their names on yard signs, billboards, and in the newspaper – it is the voters who matter most. A professional consultant has the ability to either create polling for your campaign or have access to polling on similar campaigns to ascertain basic voter attitudes. Get someone to advise your campaign that builds your effort around what voters care about, not what you think is important.

Conclusion: There are many things that are involved in running a political campaign. No matter if you are running for County Supervisor or US Congress it takes an incredible amount of coordinated effort built around people and ideas to get on a path to victory. That is why it is so very important for anyone who has a strong set of beliefs to take those ideals and develop them into a campaign that will lead to legislative action in our towns, the Legislature, and in Congress. Get qualified advice, don’t wait to seek that advice, and always keep the voters at the center of your campaign. From there you can develop a winning effort that will continue to move Mississippi in a positive direction.

Howie Morgan is a political consultant based in Oxford who has worked on over 40 campaigns across the United States in the last 10 years, mostly on the Federal level. He has managed 5 campaigns for US House of Representatives in Tennessee, New Jersey, and California, as well as working with 20 other races for the US House and Senate across the United States. For more information on Howie check out his website Election Impact Group.