Political Campaigns

Self-care is a must after a grueling election cycle. Getting through Election Day is a huge accomplishment, but it takes a toll. Late nights, too much pizza, a prolonged, laser-like focus on work—it can leave you feeling drained, foggy and exhausted. Moral of the story, you deserve to kick back with a good book (or a great crossword, if you’re a nerd like me) and an even better drink in hand. Cocktail, mocktail or wine, the choice is yours, but the sentiment is the same: treat yourself.

You’ve worked hard to run a strong campaign—now you can carve out some space for some post-election self-care ideas!

If you work in the campaign world, I’m willing to bet you’re deeply acquainted with post-election burnout. While that fatigue may be more acute after presidential and mid-term elections, never discount the exhausting pace of state and local races. No matter the election year, type, or outcome, it’s crucial to take care of yourself after you take care of your campaign.

You want to make a great candidate video. But hiring a video crew, even for a few hours, can be expensive. Video shoots also often take longer than expected and it can be hard to manage all the moving pieces. Get organized with some of our tips below and make sure you get the most out of your candidate video shoot.

Running for political office is a daunting task that can be exceedingly taxing without a campaign manager at the helm to help run the show. For first-time candidates in particular, getting a viable campaign off the ground is more than a full-time job. Fundraising call time alone is all-consuming, taking up to three to six hours per day of your time five days a week. With so many moving parts to a campaign, there’s no harm (but rather, lots of value) in investing in a campaign manager. A full-time manager is worth the expense.

A question we are asked frequently is how a political campaign can assess if they have reached saturation with their digital program. As with lots of things digital, the answer isn’t totally cut and dry, but we have some tips for you to assess whether or not your political campaign is reaching saturation within your target audience.

Direct mail can be your campaign saving grace. Running for office can be overwhelming. There is a steep learning curve with very little room for error and a lot to consider. Always remember that once you formulate a strong, clear message for your campaign, the most important part of a primary campaign is getting that message out to voters. What better way to do this than via direct mail? 

Testimonials can work wonders for your ballot measure campaign—especially if you’re dealing with an issue that’s abstract or polarizing.

As folks make the trek back home for the holidays, family politics can create even more conflict. This week we took a different turn; instead of talking about political strategy which is the main focus of this blog, we asked for help on navigating family politics from the professionals. Our final interview is a deep dive into family politics with Edward Honnold; a therapist in D.C.

Election meddling has made national news starting with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect in Europe this summer. In response, many folks in the states took a look at their own privacy policies and laws surrounding political digital ads to see what they could do better to be more transparent. Companies like Google and Facebook created their own policies to verify users and target who was actually paying for political digital ads. Lawmakers in states across the country also started to pass laws to push for more transparency.

Hal Malchow has over thirty-five years of experience in politics, having worked for four Democratic presidential nominees and a long list of Senate, congressional, and gubernatorial candidates. Hal Malchow’s pivotal role in introducing data science to American political campaigns and measuring the impact of voter communication tactics changed the way campaigns are run. In his latest novel, No Popes in Heaven, Hal Malchow draws upon his experience to highlight the absurdities of our political system and the negative consequences of well-meaning reforms for our democracy. We sat down with him to hear all about his new book.