Electoral Campaigns

How to Get Involved and Keys to Victory

“The strongest people aren’t always the people who win, but the people who don’t give up when they lose” – Ashley Hodgeson

Keys to Electoral Campaigns

Here are our main keys to joining your first electoral campaign:

• Find a local campaign in your area. For example city/county council, school board, or a race for state representative/senator. This way you will not only learn about campaigns but also more about what is going on in your community.
• Research the candidates to see who fits with your values. Often multiple campaigns are running in either the primary or general election, so you will need to research the candidates to see who best fits with your values.
• Sit down or meet with the candidate. If you live in the district where the person is running, then they should be able to make time to sit down with you for a few minutes. Ask to sit down with the candidate for 15 minutes to determine if they are a good fit for you.
• Ask and follow-up to get involved on the campaign. Local campaigns are often run by volunteers doing this for the first time, so they’re still learning everything that’s involved. If you offer to help and consistently follow up they’ll work with you to find the right role.
• Take on a campaign team role. After you have volunteered a few times, consider asking to take on a more consistent role with the team (even if it starts small for a few hours a week).

How to Get Started on a Campaign

Overview

Only a small percentage of Delawareans get involved in electoral politics and actively support people running for office, which has a huge impact on who gets elected. The reason we created this guide is that we want campaigns to be fueled by the community, rather than a select group of people.

Find Out Who is Running

The first part of the journey to getting involved in a local campaign is by finding out who is running. Currently, Delaware does not have an easily searchable database for candidates running by district (though there are voter guides in the last month or two before the election), but here are some other ways that make it a little easier:

• Look online, call, or email Delaware’s Department of Elections to find out who is running in your area. They will need your address.
• Alternatively, the League of Women Voters of Delaware can help you find the information you are looking for or by checking out the Campaign Finance Reporting System to see who has opened a committee.
• Note – Sometimes there will not be a candidate in your district, or will not be one that has the same values as you, that is OK. Usually, there will be one in the surrounding area so just expand your search.

Research the Candidates

Once you find the candidates running in your area, search for their website and social media pages to find out their policy positions and whether they resonate with you.

Ask to Talk to the Candidate

Once you have researched the candidates and found one that you are potentially interested in volunteering for, reach out to the phone/email listed on the campaign’s website/social media pages to see when the candidate is available to meet. Make sure to say whether you live in the district and that you are looking to get involved.

Follow Up

Sometimes you will need to ask and follow up to get involved in the campaign. Local campaigns are often run by volunteers, many doing this the first time, so they are still learning everything involved. If you offer to help and consistently follow up they will work with you to find the right role.

What Can You Do on a Campaign?

Ways to Volunteer on a Campaign

There is a lot to do on a campaign, and here are a few examples of what is needed:

• Canvassing! This is absolutely the most valuable thing you can do to help a campaign. Many people who have never canvassed before are nervous to try, but once they do it the first time they keep coming back. So, give it at least one try.
• Phone banking is another really important way to help campaigns. This means calling folks and sharing why you support the candidate and hearing the issues they care about.
• Host a house meeting. A house meeting is when you get 10-20 of your personal friends, colleagues, neighbors, or family members to gather at your house to meet with the candidate.
• Recruit volunteers by finding others who want to get involved to help the campaign.
• Fundraising support is another way to help by recruiting those you know to donate to the campaign (even just small-dollar donations make a difference).
• Other roles depending on the campaign and your interests. You can help with graphic design, web design, social media, picking up supplies, promoting the candidate at community events, etc. 

Ask to Take on a Role

After you have volunteered a few times, consider asking to take on a more consistent role with the team (even if it starts small for a few hours a week). Being on a campaign team is a great way to learn new skills and learn about our political system.

As a reminder from above, most campaigns are run by first-time volunteers so they are still learning along with you. So you may need to offer multiple times and follow-up to find additional ways to help and volunteer. Help the team by giving ideas of what you like doing and ways you can help. Campaigns need the most support with voter contact, getting new volunteers, and raising funds.

Five Keys to Starting A Successful Campaign

Overview

Note, these keys are specifically for starting races at the legislative and local levels. Statewide races have different keys.

Knock on as Many Doors as Possible and Listen

Ideally, candidates should spend at least 50% of their time knocking on doors (and keeping track of the data). Ideally, candidates should spend at least 50% of their time knocking on doors (and keeping track of the data). In most cases, it’s ideal to spend 75% of their time knocking on doors. Make sure to listen more than you talk. 

Put Early Effort into Fundraising and Save

Prioritize raising the funds needed for the campaign as soon as possible after announcing. Raising funds early means you can return to early donors to ask for additional donations toward the end if needed, and early donations provide a sound financial start so you aren’t always scrambling to pay bills. The success of early fundraising is helpful in better preparing a realistic budget.

Know Your Message and Your Policies 

Practice your public narrative often and refine what vision you are trying to present. This means you know two to three policies that can specifically help your district.

Build Your Team Through 1-on-1 Meetings and Find a Campaign Coordinator (or Two) 

Campaigns get busy not just for the candidates, but also for their team members. It can be useful to have two campaign co-coordinators since in volunteer situations it is common for things to change (e.g., a family, work, or personal obligation comes up for a team member). Also, find those four to six others who will be with you the whole way. They are often NOT your close friends, but people who care about the district and seek a change.

Announce Early 

The earlier you announce and start running the easier it is to build a strong team, learn how to be an effective candidate, and meet people at their doors. Consider announcing a year in advance of the election. The support you build early on will start to snowball and help you learn how to be a better candidate, know the issues in the district, and prepare you to be a strong elected official.

Campaign Plan Template Summary

Achieving Victory

• Expected turnout: The number of people you expect to vote is based on the last three to four similar elections + projections for the upcoming race based on the population increase. The expected turnout in our race is X (e.g., 10,000).
• Win number: the number of votes needed to win 50% of the votes plus a little more to give wiggle room in case it’s close. Our win number is X (e.g., 520 votes).
• Voter universe: Voters your campaign believes will vote or that your campaign will intentionally target to persuade to turnout. Our campaign will focus on X (e.g., people who voted in 1 out of the 3 last elections, newly registered people in our party since the last election, Independent young people [45 and under], etc.).

Key Metrics

• The number of candidate canvassing hours a week: (e.g., 15-20 hours).
• The number of candidate Call Time hours a week: (e.g., 5-10 hours).
• The number of 1-on-1s conducted weekly: (e.g., 5 meetings).
• The number of story-based social media posts and emails weekly: (e.g., 3 posts).

Message, Policy, and Candidate Bio

• Message: The campaign’s main message is X (e.g., to fight for a Delaware that works for all of us, not just the wealthiest few).
• Slogan: The campaign’s main slogan is X (e.g., “I have a plan for that!,” “Change We Can Believe In,” “Happy Days Are Here Again”).
• Policies to focus on: Our campaign will focus on X (e.g., a $15 minimum wage, ending cash bail, and an equitable education funding formula).
• Bio and background of candidate: When communicating about the candidate we will emphasize X (e.g., seventeen years volunteering for a youth sports team, organizing with a local issue campaign, etc.).

Candidate Time

Our candidate will spend X hours a week (e.g., 30 to 35 hours) on the campaign doing the following:

• Canvassing X hours a week (e.g., 15 to 20 hours)
• Donor call time/meetings X hours a week (e.g., 5-10 hours)
• Community events/meetings X hours a week (e.g., 3 hours)
• Policy/Debate prep X hours a week (e.g., 2 hours)
• Team meetings and volunteer recognition/recruitment X hours a week (e.g., 2 hours)
• (Extra and essential) Self Care X hours a week
  • Exercise (it really does improve mood and execution of the campaign)
  • Eating (e.g., prepared meals, eating healthy, etc.)
  • Time with family/friends
  • Hobbies/Relaxing

Campaign Team and Volunteers

To reach our win number the campaign will work to recruit and maintain the following:

• Core campaign team: We will have X (e.g., a seven-person core team of Candidate, Campaign Coordinator, Field/Volunteer Coordinator, Fundraising Coordinator, Communications Coordinator, Body Person, and Treasurer).
• Volunteers: We will have X (e.g., 42 canvassers, five phone bankers, 20 hosts for meet and greets, and two people for administrative support).

Voter Contact

To reach our win number we will:

• Canvass X doors (e.g., 10x the win number for 5,200 doors) 
• Phone bank X calls (e.g., 3x the win number for 1,560 calls)
• House meet and greets X meet and greets (e.g., 20 house meet and greets)
• Voter registration X new people registered (e.g., 100 new voters) 

Fundraising

• Budget goals – Our high, medium, and low budgets are X (e.g., $50,000, $30,000, and $20,000).
• Call time – Through candidate call time, we aim to raise X% (e.g., 70% of budget).
• Fundraising events – Through fundraising events, we aim to raise X% (e.g., 20%).
• Email fundraising – Through email fundraising, we aim to raise X% (e.g., 10%).

Communications

• Social media – The campaign will focus on X social media platforms (e.g., a Facebook page with 2,000 likes, a Twitter page with 1,500, etc.).
• Earned media – We will aim to secure the following earned media (e.g., two to three Op-Eds in the News Journal, two radio interviews, and ten supporter LTEs).
• Paid communications – We will supplement our campaign with the following paid communications (e.g., three pieces of direct mail, $2,000 of Facebook promotions, etc.).

Important Electoral Campaign Practices

There are many things you can be doing on a campaign, but if you only do the following you will be on the right track:

• Identify your win number and how you will reach it.
• Budget – Create a high, medium, and low estimate of funds required and a list of what is needed.
• Candidate – Focus on call time and new voter contact (a little on policy/debate, less on events/meetings, etc.).
• Communications – Develop your public narrative and message.
• Communications – Focus only on social media platforms you can consistently maintain.
• Field – Listen more than you talk (e.g., aim to have ten to 15 minutes conversations at the door).
• Field – Plan to canvass three to ten times more than the win number (depends on general vs. primary election).
• Fundraising – Candidate should have consistent time set aside for call time (e.g., 30% of their campaign time).
• Team – Have a campaign coordinator(s) and four to six other committed team members.
• Volunteers – Conduct 1-on-1 meetings to get volunteers invested in the campaign.
• Volunteers – Ask committed/consistent volunteers to take on specific roles.