A Progressive Guide to Running for Office

A Progressive Guide to Running for Office

Every Question A Progressive

Candidate Needs to Answer to

Win an Election

Created by Revolutionary Exchange Productions

Kenneth Professor Rex Quinnell

Shawn Logue

Version 1.1

Copyright 2019

Preface

Hello and welcome to A Progressive Guide to Running for Office! This book is a comprehensive guide to all the things you need to know about running for office in the United States as a progressive. If you live elsewhere or you are a conservative there may be useful content for you, but the text within is progressive and gives advice to progressives and was written with U.S. elections in mind.

The book’s focus is not on a specific government level or office; its goal is to be open-ended. Take note that since we’re aiming at all levels of government, we’ll use the word district to refer to any geographical area where you might run for office, so it could be a congressional or senate seat, a statewide office, a legislative district or a citywide mayor. We will use the same word, district, to refer to any or all of them.

We designed this book for newer candidates; if you are a long-time incumbent, you have theoretically already done much of the work here. The questions here are both a guide to how to build a campaign and are a way to determine whether you have what it takes to be a candidate who wins elections. Reading this book will give you a well-rounded picture of the work it takes to win an elected office. If you are not planning to run soon, it can also help you prepare for running later on by making sure you have done the work you need to do before running.

This book is free. If anyone charges you for a copy, they are scamming you. The whole point of the book is to give it for free to potential candidates across the country, so they can prepare to win and prepare to make the government more progressive at all levels and move the country back in a better direction. Electing progressive candidates is the solution to overcoming the problems that led to Donald Trump’s political ascendancy and the ones he created after he took office.

This is not the final version of the book. This is version 1.1, shared with people who will come back with suggestions, corrections and additions. We will take those in and add them if they are valid. We will also be adding a resources section in the next version of the book. If experienced progressives think something here is wrong and will go on the record, we will add sections that offer alternate takes to give people better advice and expose them more extensively to parts of the progressive movement and different schools of thought. If adding to the book interests you or if you disagree strongly with something in it, message Kenneth Quinnell on Facebook or at quinnelk@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading and good luck in your upcoming election.

Great Candidate and a Great Campaign

With thousands and thousands of candidates running for office each cycle, it is amazing that only a few organizations, campaigns or candidates set up a systematic approach to winning elections. It is not surprising that the vast majority of those candidates lose. They have to since there are only so many elected positions available. However, it is surprising how many of those candidates who file never create a plan that gives them a realistic shot at winning. Calling yourself a grassroots candidate and going to a few picnics and hoping you will win is not a path to victory.

In order to win, there are six key campaign components that candidates need to focus on. The campaign that does the best job of achieving the highest level of quality in each of these areas almost always wins. Campaigns that are flawed in these areas usually lose. It is possible to overcome a weakness in one or more of these elements by having a lot of money or a clueless or even weaker opponent.  

But why leave such things up to chance? Electoral campaigns are not the mythical and incomprehensible enigma that many think they are. Campaigns are knowable beasts. They can be examined and perfected; they are not unique. It is possible to build a better campaign and increase the candidate’s chances of winning.

In the early days of any campaign—and even before you decide to run—you should master these six elements so you not only run a high-quality campaign but so that you can get a head start on any opponents you face down the road. The elements that make up a great campaign are: candidate image, campaign resources, knowledge, fundraising, campaign message and networks. A little more detail on each is below, and then there will be a thorough examination of what questions you need to ask to master each of these elements.

1. Candidate Image

The candidate’s image is a battleground. A competent opponent will try to control your image, and portray you in ways that will make voters less likely to trust you, less likely to like you, and less likely to vote for you. The longer you wait to establish your image, the more successful your opponent will be.

Your opponent’s image is just as important. The most successful campaigns control their own candidate’s image and have a strong, if not dominant, effect on their opponent’s image in the mind of voters.

2. Campaign Resources

Even when you have a candidate like Barack Obama, every campaign has finite resources. Your dual goal in this area is to increase those resources and to use what resources you have wisely.

3. Knowledge

With other things being equal, the campaign with the better knowledge wins—knowledge of the candidates, knowledge of the district, knowledge of the election, knowledge of how to run campaigns. With superior knowledge, a campaign can overcome an opponent that has more resources.

4. Fundraising

It is not necessary to raise the most money (unless you are running for president), but it is necessary for a successful campaign that you raise a competitive amount of money.

5. Campaign Message

More than any other aspect of the campaign, you control the message you put out. You can issue a good, powerful message; you can promote a weak, negative message; or you can ignore or fail to adequately address or promote your message. This will confuse voters.

6. Networks

Your networks are one of your key resources beyond money. If they are large enough and influential enough, they are often more powerful than money. Networks influence the money you raise and the votes you win.

Let’s Get Started

The rest of this book lists all the questions that anyone who is running for or thinking about running for public office needs to ask. If your campaign has already started, you can still ask these questions, although the earlier in the process you ask them, the better off you are likely to be. As you initiate your plan, it does not matter if the answer is I do not know or I have not thought about or done that yet. The later you go into the election cycle without knowing the answers to these questions, the more likely you are to lose. If you have a quality opponent, they will know the answers to not only their own questions but also yours.

This might seem like a herculean task, but keep in mind that running a modern electoral campaign and winning is a herculean task. These questions are not a sideline to the campaign, they get right at the things you need to know to run the best campaign and have the best shot at a victory.

Do not feel bad if you do not know how to get help on many of these questions. Throughout the book, you will find hints and tips, and there will be a resources section with links for where you can go for help. This book comes from a progressive point of view, so if you do not fall into that group, you will have a harder time getting help from the resources found within.

But, One Last Note...

It is important that you answer these questions as honestly as possible. While many politicians lie to the public, a politician who lies to themselves not only makes it harder for themselves to win, it becomes harder for them to do the right thing, even if that is their intention. On the other hand, what you put in any document can be stolen or leaked, so be careful about putting these answers in writing if you are not going to be secure with them. A full set of your answers to these questions would be a goldmine for your opponent, even if you had done nothing wrong. Proceed with caution.

Chapter 1. The Big Questions

The questions in Chapter 1 are those that any candidate must ask at the beginning of a campaign. If you do not ask these questions, you will not connect with voters, have any shot at winning and you could find yourself in personal or professional trouble. If you cannot answer these questions in a satisfactory way, you should not be running in the first place.

1. Why are you running?

This is where it all starts. This is the big question. And the answer matters. If you cannot answer this question well, then you cannot explain it to voters and donors. If you cannot explain why you are running to voters and donors, then you are not going to have any voters or donors. This question also informs the vast majority of the remaining questions on this list.

That has not to say that you should make up a reason. Voters can see through phoniness. It is not an automatic disqualifier, but if you come across as a fake, your opponent(s) better be very weak or you are in a lot of trouble.

If you are inspired enough to run for office, you should take the time to be able to clearly understand and articulate why to anyone, from the least likely voter all the way up to the richest donor. Do you want to make the world a better place? Or at least your district? Are you inspired to change a misguided or harmful policy? Are you a leader that has the ability to inspire others to make change?

Why you are running is the most important question you can ask yourself and the most important question in the minds of many voters.

2. Have you talked to your family?

Your family members have opinions of their own. Be mindful of family members who have different political views than your own. Be aware that, even if they support you, family members have access to a lot of your personal information.

3. Do you have their permission to run?

A political campaign, even for local office, is a major commitment. It will take over your life and have a big impact on your family. Before deciding to run, talk to them about the campaign and explain to them what it entails. When you run for office, your family will be part of your public persona, often scrutinized and talked about in the media. Candidates who do not talk to their family and make sure they are on board often find family relationships strained. Many a marriage has ended because of an electoral campaign.

4. Have you explained your values to your family and explained why you are running?

Honestly, you should have already done this when you were talking to your family about running, but if you have not, it should be one of your earliest actions. If you cannot convince your family that you are running for office for good reasons and that you share their values, who else are you going to be able to convince?

5. Have you discussed the costs of running a campaign with your family?

Campaigns are expensive. And not just in terms of campaign finance. During an election, you can be sure that you will not only spend a lot of money on the campaign, but your personal finances are going to take a big hit. Your car is going to put on tons of miles. Your house will be open to campaign workers and volunteers. Your time will no longer belong to you. Your will strain your relationships with family and friends.

Your family should have a choice in this matter and they cannot make a fair decision without knowing what they are getting themselves into.

6. Have you considered the personal sacrifice required of a campaign?

7. Can you say no to something you care about to focus on the campaign?

Your family supports you. Your friends support you. It is time to think about the things you value in your day-to-day life. Reflect upon the family vacation you go on every year. If you have kids, you will miss out on their achievements while you are running for office. You will miss a tradition or ritual in your life you once thought was unconscionable to miss. Depending on what office you seek, this may be a recurring challenge throughout your public service career.

8. Are you ready to handle the weight of a campaign on your mental health?

You understand that this will take a lot of work, hours and energy. At times, you will disappoint people on a personal level.

Many public officials have mental health disorders. There are also people with mental health disorders who have had tremendous success in their political careers. Consider what steps you need to take and what support you need to be successful. A known medical condition does not disqualify you, but you need to have a plan.

9. Have you examined the race to know if you can actually win the election?

You should make the big choice of deciding to run for office in a vacuum. If you are not a current office-holder or super wealthy and famous, then randomly deciding to run for president is a bad idea. Running for office can be a bad idea on a much smaller scale, too. Is there an incumbent in the seat from your own party that has a massive network and plentiful money? Are you a flaming liberal in a conservative district? Are there other candidates who fit the district better than you do? If you have no chance of winning an election that should factor into your decision whether to run. It should also help you choose which office to run for.

10. Are you running for a position that suits your skills, experience and values?

An elected office is a difficult job. It requires advanced knowledge of a multitude of subjects if you plan to do it well. Are you ready for it? If not, voters are likely to find out. Imagine that you are at a forum about the issues in the race. You know nothing about these issues. How are you going to answer questions from an expert moderator or audience? And if you cannot answer those questions, what is the likelihood that anyone in the room will vote for you?

11. What difference would it make if you were elected over your opponent?

This is a fundamental question that voters will ask. If I vote for candidate X, will my life be better than if I vote for candidate Y? Does it matter? How and why does it matter? You must be able to articulate in clear language how your victory will make things better for constituents. Voters care about this. A lot.

12. What is important to you?

Your messaging should focus on what is important to you. These things do not have to be issues. In fact, a long list of policy preferences bores even dedicated voters and gets them to tune you out. Some candidates go too far in the other direction, though, and offer nothing of substance, showing that nothing is important to them. Avoid both extremes. Be authentic and honest.

This is an easy way to make connections with voters and donors. Things are important to them, too, and if you have a common ground, you are likely to connect. This works across party lines (sometimes) and helps bring in voters who distrust politics and politicians. It also helps you focus your messaging and your policy agenda.

It is important to note, though, that what is important to you should match up with the office you are running for. If classroom sizes in county schools are a high priority, then running for Congress is not your best option. Running for school board or a related local office would be more relevant.

13. What are your values?

Despite what the media, politicians, and armchair analysts tell you, voters do not vote based on issues. Or, at least, only a small percentage (usually pegged somewhere between 10-15%) of voters vote based on issues. Scientific research has shown this since the beginning of political science as a professional field (beginning with 1960’s The American Voter by Angus Campbell, Philip Converse, Warren Miller and Donald Stokes. Research has consistently shown this effect ever since.

The easiest way to see this in action is to survey voters on whom they are voting for and why. What you find is that voters, across the spectrum, know little about the positions of the candidates they support. It is common that people will express a value in abstract terms and then vote for candidates whose positions are the opposite. Voters who fall into this category outnumber those who can articulate policy differences between candidates.

If voters are not voting based on issues, what are they voting based on? A variety of things drive these choices, including party identification, ideology, social cues from prominent figures, race, religion, religiosity, gender, class, age and personal experiences unique to the individual voter. But, we can sum all of these influences up under the banner of values.

Through a combination of these influences and others (although when you control for the above, few other things show up as statistically significant), voters approach the ballot with a set of values. These values are rarely consistent and fully thought out, but they are powerful and most voters, most of the time will cast their vote for the candidate they perceive as being the closest to sharing their values. The key word here is perception, though, as many politicians express values different from their actions. And many a candidate has lost to an opponent who lied about their values.

An egregious example comes from Georgia, where patriot Max Cleland, who gave three of his limbs in service of his country, was defeated by Saxby Chambliss after Chambliss successfully attacked Cleland’s patriotism, an attack that was easily refutable and should not have carried any weight. So, while your real values matter, what matters more for elections is your ability to communicate those values to the voters.

To start that process, you must know what your values are and be able to articulate them. That may not be sufficient, Cleland expressed his values with brilliance and passion, but you have little chance of winning without the ability to do this.

14. What have you done to pursue your values?

You do not have to be a long time political staffer or activist to answer this question. In fact, it is often an asset to have a resume outside of mainstream political work to demonstrate your values to prospective voters.

Tim Kaine literally worked his way up from being a city councilman to U.S. Senator and then selected to be vice president on a ticket that won the popular vote. To this day, Kaine talks about his missionary work and his career as a civil rights attorney. Even someone who has held positions in city, state, and federal government talks about how he has pursued his values outside of politics.

This is good news for you if you have not been politically active in the past. Like Kaine, you can build your story off your career if you have had jobs that line up with your values. But let us say