How to Run for Political Office

Filing Your Candidacy Application

Reach out to your community months before the filing deadline. Get your name out there well in advance of actually becoming a candidate. Join your neighborhood association, attend city council meetings, and get involved with as many community and civic organization as you can. You'll want people to recognize who you are when you run, and it's important to get to know potential voters' and to understand their concerns. Introduce yourself to your fellow citizens, and get to know your potential voters. Learn more about your community’s specific issues, ask people about the solutions they’d like to see, and listen to what they have to say.

Research offices that will allow you to make a difference. Available positions will depend on how your local government is structured. The right office for you also depends on your experience level and on the specific issues you want to address. Generally speaking, offices such as city councilor and school board member are more attainable for first-time candidates. When you’re just starting out, it might be tough to run a successful campaign to represent your state or province in your national congress or parliament. If it's your goal to run for your nation's congress or parliament, you might start by running for school board or city council. From there, offices such as mayor and representative of your state or province legislator could be stepping stools to national offices. In the United States, visit your state’s secretary of state website for information about available offices. Find your secretary of state website at https://www.nass.org. Keep in mind running for an open office is easier than running for one held by a strong incumbent.

Make sure you meet the position’s required qualifications. In order to run for office, you’ll have to meet citizenship, residency, age, and other requirements. Required qualifications vary by location and office. Additionally, you’ll need to file an application, pay an application fee and, in some cases, file a petition with a minimum number of signatures. In the United States, your secretary of state website’s elections section includes information about candidacy requirements. If you live outside the U.S., check your local government website or search online to find out which entity oversees elections in your jurisdiction.

Submit your petitions, application form, and fee by the deadline. Fill out your application and any other required forms, and find out where to submit them. Have family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and other members of your community sign your petition, if necessary. You’ll enter information such as your name, date of birth, address, telephone number, office sought, length of residency, and occupation on the candidacy form. Remember that you’ll need to submit all required documents by the deadline listed on your secretary of state (or other governing body) website in order to be placed on the ballot. In the U.S., you’ll most likely submit your forms to your secretary of state’s office. In some cases, you might file applications with the district that oversees your office, such as a school district.

Raising Money

Figure out your budget. Examine your finances, and determine what you can contribute out of your own pocket. Figure out if you can take time off work to campaign, or if you’ll still need to keep your full-time job. Estimate the costs of signs and literature, travel, website design and domain hosting, campaign staff (if you’re hiring any), and other expenses. In the U.S., if you're running for a local office, such as city councilor, you might only need around $20,000 for campaign signs, ads, a website, 1 to 2 part-time staff, and venues to hold rallies and other public events. On the other hand, state-wide races for governor, state legislator, or U.S. House or Senate offices can cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. A major state-wide campaign requires a hefty advertising budget and paid staff to handle things like communications, strategic planning, finances, and legal compliance. Your secretary of state website (or the body that oversees your local elections) should include expense reports from past elections, which can help you set your own fundraising goals. See how much the last person elected to the office spent on their campaign. Be sure to review campaign finance laws to avoid using campaign funds unethically or illegally.

Set up a bank account and website with the ability to collect donations. In order to accept political donations, you’ll need a checking account in your campaign’s name. To make it easier for potential contributors, you should also include a donations page on your campaign website linked to your account. You’ll need to declare your campaign finances, so make sure you keep detailed records of every donation and expense.

Get in touch with your local political party. If you belong to a political party, talk to your local committee officials about your candidacy. At a minimum, they can probably give you advice and training. The local or national party might also be interested in providing financial assistance. See if your local political party can also give you access to resources such as voter demographics, email and address lists, and major donors. Try reaching out to local politicians in your party who hold an office. Getting an endorsement from a well-liked governor or representative could help you win your race. As for candidates in your party running against you, it's wise to build a coalition and agree to run a clean race. Mudslinging a candidate in a primary will make endorsing them seem disingenuous if they advance to the general election.

Connect with major party contributors. Write to and telephone individuals, companies, and organizations who’ve donated to candidates with platforms similar to your own. Donors affiliated with your party can also host fundraisers and connect you with other contributors. In addition to campaign contributions, having the endorsement of a well-known individual or entity can boost your name recognition. When you ask for donations, name your core issues, which should resonate with the potential donor, and detail your solution. For instance, if expanding renewable resources is part of your core platform, contributions and endorsements from reputable environmental advocates can lend you credibility.

Recruit volunteers to canvass and collect donations. Major donations are helpful, but every little bit helps. Your volunteers should go door-to-door with campaign literature and donation forms. Be sure to train your volunteers to communicate intelligently and politely with potential donors. Family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors could serve as volunteers. People from your place of worship, neighborhood association, or other community organizations can help, too. You should also recruit volunteers through your website and social media pages.

Running Your Campaign

Hire campaign staff as your budget allows. Hired staff might include a campaign manager, fundraising director, volunteer coordinator, and communications or public relations director. Having an attorney on staff benefits larger campaigns for major offices. If you’re running for a lower office and have a tight budget, you’ll likely need to wear many hats and handle most of these duties yourself. If you’ll work full-time during your campaign, it’s wise to bring a campaign manager on board, if at all possible. Post job listings online, and tap your network to recruit campaign staff. Your local political party committee could help put you in touch with capable individuals. While volunteers could take on many duties in a smaller election, professional campaign staff have the expertise required to win a major election, like mayor of a major city or a state-wide office. Keep in mind it's tougher to hold volunteers accountable if they don't follow through than paid employees.

Create campaign literature with a clear, concise message. Identify the core issues that define your campaign. Think of a brief slogan or key phrase that succinctly and memorably captures your message. Your campaign signs, pamphlets, and other literature should include your slogan and core issues as bullet points or keywords. Suppose you’re running for chief magistrate judge of the county court, and you believe the incumbent lacks the experience to run the court efficiently. Highlight your practical experience with “Real leader,” “Experience counts,” and similar catch phrases. Pamphlets could add further detail to your messaging. Identify the problem and your solution: “The current backlog of court cases is inconvenient, potentially dangerous, and unacceptable. As chief magistrate judge, I’ll ensure the efficient and timely administration of the county’s court system.”

Learn as much as possible about important topics. This is one reason why engaging your community early on is key. Find out which topics are most important to voters, research those topics, and develop a clear stance. Be prepared to present your stance one-on-one with voters, at campaign rallies, in interviews, and at candidate forums or debates. For example, suppose you're running for city council, and voters in your district are worried that new development will push out long-time homeowners. If development in recent years has pushed up property taxes 200 to 300%, you might promise to propose a tax break for long-time homeowners.

Practice for public speaking events and debates. You don’t need to be an expert orator, but you should be able to speak in public confidently. Review your core issues, refine your knowledge of those issues, and home in on what distinguishes you from your opponents. Come up with responses to potential press questions and debate arguments in advance. Practice fielding questions and making statements in the mirror and with your team. You should be familiar with your opponent’s campaign, but focus on why your message offers the best solution. Politics is full of negative ads and personal attacks, but your public statements should stick to your core issues.

Use social media to your advantage. Utilizing social media involves more than simply creating pages. You'll need to update them multiple times a day, use them to learn more about voters and constituents, and interact with people using virtual tools. For instance, share articles on your core issues, and post photos and video of you and your campaign team hard at work. Be sure to vet your posts, and only share information from reputable, reliable sources. Use your posts to drive civic conversations, and check the comments to learn more about voters' opinions. To actively engage voters, participate in comment sections and forums, and hold live Q&A sessions on Twitter and Facebook.

Take every opportunity to interact with your community. Talking to people is the first and last step of winning any election. Hit the streets, knock on doors, pick up the phone, and reach out to potential voters at every available opportunity. From your campaign’s early stages to election day, making connections with members of your community will give you the best shot at success. Remember to stay connected to your community after the campaign. If you’re elected to office, remain in touch with your constituents, and listen to their concerns. Don’t get discouraged if you’re not elected. Continue to fight for the issues near and dear to your heart!