  |
|
|
|
You have received the endorsement to run for public office, you have chosen your campaign committee, you have had your campaign photos taken and you have researched your opponent and yourself. . . .
Next is your campaign strategy. Have you spelled out from A to Z what you will do from today until the day that your voters go to the polls to cast their ballot for either you or your opponent? Is your strategy in your head or is it written down on paper? An unwritten strategy is like having no strategy at all! Those who run for legislative or local office are usually left to their own devices to make their own mistakes. At the very least, as a candidate, you need to have a volunteer campaign manager and a steering committee. Once this group has been chosen and assembled, their first job is to begin the strategic planning process. Like a military general planning a battle strategy, they must evaluate the opposing side and make plans to action accordingly. In planning your campaign strategy, there are a few things that should be done. First, you need to review demographic data that is pertinent to the area you are running in, whether it be city, district, state or higher. Some demographic information that needs to be looked at is the average age of citizens in your area, the average household income of the voters and the racial diversity of your area. You can find this information at your local chamber of commerce or other information gathering entities. Don't miss targeting a large group in your area, because you don't know they are there. Get in your car, and take a drive around your entire area . . . know what is there and where it is located. Next you need to review voting records. For example, you need to know how many democrats there are, how many republicans there and how many independents there are. Voting results of previous elections by precinct can be obtained at your local election board or city auditor's office. You need this type of information to do your targeted mailing and the types of issues that might be of greatest interest to your voting citizenry. As we talked about before, detailed information about opponents such as background, prefessional, reputation, finance reports, voting records, past campaign information and newspaper clippings must all be secured. Researching you opponent's record if she/he is an incumbent or their stated positions if she/he is not, is a critical part of an accurate strategic process. Deciding how to use this information can be of the utmost importance as well . . . Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Campaign Strategy in Women in Politics is owned by . Permission to republish Campaign Strategy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
