A political campaign is a coordinated effort to elect or pass a candidate or ballot initiative. These campaigns range from a few volunteers to large, federal operations that employ paid staff and consultants. Campaigns may last for a few months or two years, depending on the type of election and the length of the campaign cycle.
Identifying your career goals and your passions is an important first step to determine whether political campaign work is the right fit. While the work can be exhausting, it is also highly fulfilling and provides a level of knowledge and experience that you won’t get anywhere else.
A campaign’s core function is to orchestrate the winning of votes through fundraising, volunteer management, communication strategy, and more. To do this, it must develop a clear message that resonates with voters and donors, determine how many votes it needs to win, organize a team of people to support the candidate, and plan activities to reach those potential voters.
Candidates use their stances on key issues to frame their messaging across voter and donor outreach, speeches, and debates. As the election approaches, they must test these messages to ensure their effectiveness and make changes if necessary. Additionally, candidates must prepare to respond to questions from the opposition that take them “off message” and try to undermine their credibility. Lastly, the team must create and manage the campaign’s financial resources, including the collection of donations. The campaign must also ensure that all of the appropriate data and analytics are being collected to inform campaign decision making.