A political campaign is an operation designed to support the election of a candidate or passage of a ballot initiative. The operations vary in size, with some involving only a few volunteers and others employing hundreds of paid and volunteer staff. Every two years (a “cycle”), campaigns are organized to fill a wide range of offices, including 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 100 U.S. Senators, tens of thousands of state legislators, and local mayors and city councilmembers.
Identify key issues and develop a stance on those issues. The stances serve as the central messaging during voter and donor outreach, speeches, debates, interviewing and more. Ensure the message is simple, clear and repeatable. Use the party registration data from your local elections office to help target the messages and find your audience.
Start volunteering on the campaign early in the cycle. This provides an opportunity to gain valuable experience and connections and gives you the time to understand how the campaign works. Often, senior campaign staff will reward those who have made a commitment to the campaign by offering them jobs later in the cycle.
Assess your career goals and needs, including work-life balance, and determine if campaign work is the best fit for you. Consider the political parties with which you want to affiliate and be prepared for the limited space in most campaigns for substantive policy work. Many positions are partisan, and switching to another party may carry significant reputational or career costs.