5 Problems Facing Local Candidates

Running for an elected office can be a challenging task. Candidates are expected to maintain their home life including being at their kids basketball games, concerts, and conferences. And don’t forget being present with their spouse and at work from 8-5 each day. Combine this schedule with campaigning for office and candidates are likely to feel overwhelmed.

Besides the time commitment it takes to put their name on the ballot for office, there are 5 common problems that local candidates run into.

1) MONEY - You guessed number 1. Local candidates do not raise the funds that candidates raise campaigning state or nationwide. Candidates running for school board, city/county council, county attorney, and even state house can raise anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $20,000 depending on the location, competitiveness of the seat, and resources available to the candidate.

So how can a candidate overcome a lack of funds while still reaching their voters? Connecting with resources who provide candidates with the tools to be their own campaign manager, canvasser, general consultant, and even communications director is just what the candidate needs at this level. If not, a campaign manager, canvasser, general consultant, and communications director can each cost a couple thousand dollars each month. And then what? How would a local candidate spread their message?

A candidate can overcome the lack of funds with knowledge on how to raise money, spend money wisely (please no billboards!!), and managing data effectively.

2) MESSAGE - Local candidates don’t always stick to some basic messaging throughout their campaign. Candidates need to find out what the number 1 issue is in their district in order to formulate a message that resonates with their voters. By bringing up issues that the district doesn’t care about or even taking a stand against the number 1 issue could result in fewer votes and less confidence in the provider of information.

There are a few ways to overcome the messaging hurdle. First, would be to make sure to identify the top issues in the district. The second way to overcome messaging issues would be perfecting a stump speech that is fluid enough to speak to different audiences facing unique issues. The candidate should always come back to the main points when speaking! Finally, there are messaging guidelines that candidates should follow in regard to when to go negative, how to formulate responses when they don’t know the answer, and more.

3) DATA - Candidates can’t reach voters if they don’t have a universe to call on, knock on their door, or even send a mailer. Obtaining the list is harder for local candidates due to the lack of resources at that level and funds to gather the data. This goes back to #1 - FUNDING!

To overcome the hurdle of obtaining the voter file, candidates should reach out for resources. There are ways to get a voter list through a county party, state party, and data vendors. If the resources are not taken advantage of, candidates can end up spending thousands of dollars on data. To make funding matters worse, if candidates use the same list over and over each voter contact, they are spending money on people that may not support them, have already voted, etc.

4) MAKING A PLAN - Local candidates run for office because they appreciate and love their community. They want to serve. The candidate makes a plan to reach voters based on information given from political industry leaders. All too often though, they are given so much advice from friends, family, and local leaders that it is hard to make a plan and stick to it! They are told to buy 1,000 t-shirts, 10,000 yard signs, and pay for an advertisement on the local news station.

All of these advocates and supporters have the BEST intentions, but candidates need to remember this… Would they ask a member of their community who isn’t trained in surgery for advice on an upcoming procedure? Would they send their car to a friend instead of an auto mechanic?

All to say, getting expert advice and sticking to a voter contact plan is the most effective way to overcome the issue of having too many cooks in the kitchen!

5) TEAM - Let’s face it, candidates can scream their message from the rooftop, but at the end of the day it comes down to having a well-trained team advocating on their behalf to voters in the district. Local candidates have a harder time getting people to sign up to volunteer, especially if there is a primary between two well-known leaders in the community. It is so vital to a campaigns success to put together a strong grassroots team.

Local candidates for office can utilize resources to recruit volunteers including their county party. The idea is to recruit a few people and have those individuals continue recruiting for you! A campaign can not survive on a one-person, candidate-only team. Candidates should develop and maintain volunteer relationships so they have the infrastructure in place when it is time for voter contact.

Overall, local candidates can face several obstacles that challenge their campaign. It is up to each candidate to seek resources to help them overcome funding, messaging, data collection, voter contact, and developing a team. There are resources available including the Campaign Development Series, which is a comprehensive guide empowering local candidates with the tools and resources they need to run for office. Through video trainings, guides, worksheets, templates, and scripts candidates are given the framework they need to run a well-prepared campaign.