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Hello again and welcome to the 2014 Campaigns/Elections/Politics thread. This thread is designed to answer any questions you may have about working on or the inner workings of political campaigns or political offices. I've been doing one for a few years now though the 2013 thread kinda sputtered out. Who am I you may ask? I am Mooseontheloose (or just Moose) and I am a just a guy who worked campaigns for about 3 or 4 years before moving over to an official office. I've run two campaigns a small city council race and a state senate race. Have been an organizer for two statewide campaigns and ran a paid canvass. I've worked mostly in the north but did spend some time in the South. I do not consider myself a expert or like David Axlerod but I do feel like there is a lot of questions that people have about the political process that they are afraid to ask. I am here to demystify our sometimes complicated political world. Mooseontheloose's rules and general questions 1. This is a safe space and I ask everyone to refrain from being internet detectives. Don't be that jerk who ruins it for everyone. 2. If you work in the political world please feel free to jump in with your own opinions. Always good to have more opinions and always good to have different perspectives. 3. I want to be Josh Lyman! Can you help me become Josh Lyman? I will also settle for Toby Zigler. Shamelessly stolen from this youtube video. If you want a job you can certainly send me a resume, please PM me but be warned that it's hard to recommend random strangers from the internet. 3a. Help! I have a chance to run a small state rep race or I can be low man on the totem poll on a competitive governors/Senate race. What would you do? Every option has advantages and disadvantages. Running a small state rep campaign gives you some invaluable experience in management, hiring, and volunteer management. Still, it's a small world and sometimes it hard to move up. Working for a bigger race is great, you meet a lot of influential people and lots of people within your political party. But be warned if you want to advance you can't just show up once a week. You have to dedicate yourself to the campaign and take every opportunity thrown at you. Even then, it takes time to claw your way up. 4. Aren't you part of a system that is just corrupt, making you part of the corruption. All political parties are the same and clearly my pet candidate from (libertarian/green/vermin supreme) didn't win because the two political parties don't want them to win. You make sick. Listen straw-man I made up, I get that you think that all political parties are the same and that your pure 3rd party candidate and thoughts would show Americans the light IF ONLY they could get elected. But both parties are not the same from the way they governor to the way the run campaigns and yes their policies are significantly different. 5. Lawn signs are a tried and true method of getting people elected. Why don't more campaigns use lawn signs? [sobs internally] 6. Where can I find jobs? Look for jobsthatareleft, idealist (thought those are more of the grassroots campaigns, more on that in a second), Democratic Gain, and Tom Mantos are all places that come to mind. 6a. I saw a Grassroots Campaigns job that says I can run a campaign with no experience. What's the catch? The catch is they pay like poo poo and make more than enough money to not do that. They say they run more legislative campaigns, which maybe true, but I haven't really seen them make a huge impact. This is my own personal opinion and others may vary. 6b. What about paid canvassing? It's not a bad way to start though it all depends on who is running it and if the people running it are willing to teach you things and let you in on what's going on. Plus, they are a bit disconnected from the other campaigns due to FEC and PAC laws. Finally, everyone should go to https://www.campaignsick.tumblr.com and learn to love that site. Ask away!
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Jan 4, 2014 02:18
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Monkey Fury posted:
It's a fraternity and not in the college sense. You make tons of bonds working those 80 hour work weeks. And no one else can quite know what you went through other than fellow organizers (or fundraisers). The reason you miss it so much is because of the emotional roller coaster. EVERYTHING just feels so enhanced and stakes feel so big from the smallest race to the biggest.
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Jan 7, 2014 04:43
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this_is_hard posted:Yeah, some of my closest friends here in the DC area are people I met during the 2012 campaigns. Googling Grassroots Campaigns makes you really think twice about them.
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Jan 10, 2014 22:25
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Xanderg posted:
I had one vol come in on election day to yell at me because we took so long in giving her a reimbursement she didn't deserve. Also, yay! Political nerd christmas!
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Jan 29, 2014 02:41
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Junior G-man posted:So what's the joke with the lawn signs? I'm honestly asking. You nailed most of it but the other side is the fervor that people want lawn signs and think how effective they are. There is also a subset of people who will only get a lawn sign and get pissy if you ask them to do anything else. Lawn signs do nothing for a campaign, they don't talk to voters, they don't convey much, and they get stolen all the time.
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Jan 30, 2014 13:26
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Concerned Citizen posted:I feel like it's the opposite. Yard signs are not only ineffective, but they're hilariously high effort. For some reason, it became a tradition to deliver yard signs to people rather than having them come pick them up. But there are ways to use lawn signs to your advantage! You want to give out lawn signs, that's fine so long as you give me a list of names, numbers, and addresses of where you dropped them off. Than you make recruitment calls based of that. Still, they are awful and should be used sparingly.
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Jan 30, 2014 23:03
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Concerned Citizen posted:Does this really work? In my experience, the guys who ask for a bunch of signs just end up storing them in their garage. I think you have to stay on them and limit the number of lawn signs people can take.
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Feb 2, 2014 20:14
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Azuth0667 posted:Did you ever run into ballot access problems? Anyone who is running seriously never should have ballot access problems. I've never seen ballot access as a major hurdle for a candidate.
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Feb 17, 2014 05:42
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site posted:I know this is a lot to ask, but honestly I don't know where to even start looking. A few thoughts: Above all else. Be dedicated, there is nothing worse than lazy candidates and lazy candidates rarely win. Candidates who don't work hard piss me off. Mainly because I worked for one and ended up begging for the candidate to do the work and they wouldn't do it. They thought it would just come to them and it hurt me cause I was working so hard. YOU SET THE TONE FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN!!! Aside from that, look at what other candidates have done in the past, start getting in with local party leaders, see what paths are available to you. On the local level, I feel you shouldn't worry so much about having a rich job as you can win relatively cheaply.
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Mar 6, 2014 03:53
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Azuth0667 posted:Have you ever worked on a small state level campaign like a state legislative representative and if so what was involved? I worked on a senate campaign and did a state wide paid canvass. And a lot is involved. Think of this way. You need the following things: Campaign manger, finance director, field director, field organizers, communication director, policy person (assuming you aren't already elected). You have to have data on the race for finance, field, and media buys. You have to research donors. It's a huuuuge wonderful undertaking.
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Mar 6, 2014 04:04
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Azuth0667 posted:Are many of the personnel volunteers? What makes donors such a crucial piece, advertising ability? Everything costs money. Mailers, advertising, office space, staff, swag, food, votebuilder, everything everything everything. Some of it can be done by volunteers but your higher level stuff really shouldn't be.
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Mar 7, 2014 03:29
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tyler is a joke posted:In my experience, most state leg races might have one or two paid staff. Maybe 3. A field "director," a finance person, and a campaign manager (who does everything else) but maybe you're familiar with states that have a lot more money available for those races? When I hear state leg, I think of state senate or state house. But a statwide (governor, treasurer, ect_ that requires a boat load of staff.
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Mar 17, 2014 05:10
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tyler is a joke posted:Sure but the question was not about that: That'll teach me to read.
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Mar 18, 2014 02:35
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CobwebMustardseed posted:I have field experience on a large coordinated, a smaller (but still fairly large) municipal race, and working for a paid canvass piece. In all of these jobs, I worked very closely with my fellow organizers/rfds. The job I'm in now has me in an office alone in a corner of the state that no one really ever comes to. In some ways, it's been nice to get to run my own show up here and not constantly (or ever) have a boss over my shoulder micromanaging me. On the other hand, it's incredibly isolating and I'm having a difficult time feeling connected to the team, most of whom are together in our main office or at the very least in an office with other staff. I'm sure other people in this thread have experienced this or something similar. How do you deal with being alone in your region without it killing your motivation and buy-in? If you build it, they will come. Get some volunteers my friend!
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Mar 26, 2014 01:59
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Concerned Citizen posted:I would not expect a field organizing job to get you any sort of substantial connections into government proper. While there is some cross-pollination between the campaign world and the government world, this mainly occurs at senior staff levels. If you work directly for a candidate in field, it can pay off. A lot of organizers get hired to staff after the campaign.
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Apr 5, 2014 18:42
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Monkey Fury posted:I'm getting vetted through for a dream job right now, and it is currently more stressful than any campaign or anything else I've ever done. YAY! What type of job?
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Apr 12, 2014 23:29
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Monkey Fury posted:Not in field, and it's DC based, which is what matters most! No more volunteers, activists, or wacky county party people for this guy. How did it go Monkey Fury? I've been working on the official side for over a year now. It's great, definitely good to understand all sides of the political coin. Part of me wants to start a GR firm later in life or go back into campaign consulting but man loving the stability and normal(ish) hours.
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May 8, 2014 01:00
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CobwebMustardseed posted:Primaries suck. I'm probably going to lose my job in twelve days. Well, did you at least make a big issue out of something?
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May 9, 2014 00:46
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gagelion posted:How can I find places to volunteer for 2014 in my area? I live in western Massachusetts Mass has a ton of open races this year. Off the top of my head you have: Gov (5 Democrats, 2 Republicans), Lt. Gov (4 Dems, 1 Republican), Treasurer (3 Democrats), AG (2 Democrats). Probably no competitive house race. As for your state rep and state senator, check here https://malegislature.gov/ and google their campaign.
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May 11, 2014 20:37
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Ofaloaf posted:I've just been asked to help out a few counties over with the state party's coordinated campaign. The location of the office has yet to be fixed and the CC doesn't know if it'll end up with its own place or if it'll share space with a local congressional campaign. For anyone who has gone through this already, what are some of the best things to do this early on, when everything's in a flux? 1) If you think you are working with a Congressional Campaign office, reach out to them and sit down with them about how you want to split the work load. I have seen too many coordinates NOT talk to each other and it's lead to bitterness/work not getting done/the wrong work getting done. Try to find a way to hit what you need to hit while helping them out. 2) Just because you don't have a physical office, doesn't mean you can't build your vol base. Start making those calls early, make some events, get people in the door. 3) Get an idea of what your targets are going to be and how you want to hit them. When I did paid canvass the group I was with did not understand the terrain at all which made their goals tougher. That's off the top of my head.
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May 11, 2014 21:56
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Tim Pawlenty posted:Anyone here ever worked on a superPAC campaign? I help run a SEIU paid canvass if that helps?
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May 20, 2014 00:47
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Jackson Taus posted:I mean if it's crunch time there should be food in the office. And if you're doing call time until 9pm and then entering data, I wouldn't count on eating dinner until 9:30, so have a mid-afternoon snack. I lost 10 pounds in two weeks on one campaign.
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May 22, 2014 03:44
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Reserving this space for Eric Cantor's campaign manager. /sarcasm
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Jun 12, 2014 00:38
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Dante Logos posted:I'm going to get laughed at but might as well try anyway. If you are going to volunteer, set a day/time for yourself that you know is going to work. Consistency is key here because campaigns have a lot of internal goals they want to hit (shift hours, body count, calls made, doors knocked, ect). If they know you will volunteer after work every Tuesday and Thursday they will get to know you and what you do. If you are erratic, they may not be able to pin you down. You'll look even better if you can start bringing in friends. Thank god you said you want to do voter contact, most people think they will be policy people or help in "other ways." Unless you can bundle some decent money together, voter contact is the most important part of a campaign. You may not get to know the candidate but you will get to know the people around them which is just as important. They will have sorts of contacts that will help you out in the future, no matter what you decide to do. By no means does that mean they can just get you a job out of thin air but it does mean they will put you in touch with the right people.
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Jun 18, 2014 23:28
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Dante Logos posted:I'm rather curious now. What are your experience with the sorts of people who want to be policy wonks or want a job? I can understand where they are coming from to an extent. I have a variety of skills that might prove useful for a campaign. Keyword: "might". It sounds more like they want to advise on policy when the core focus is getting people out to vote, and nothing else. Is this interpretation correct? The problem with people who want to do policy is that policy rarely wins campaigns. Sure, you want to keep your candidate informed and have their own opinion on how to do things but really people aren't policy wonks at the day. Even your hardcore activists are driven by concepts than concrete policy ideas. Take single payer for instance, lots of people on the left LOVE the idea of single payer. But really, you don't have to say much more than that. You want to have some statistics and studies handy but it's not worth having more than a two or three people on policy. And this is if you are new. If you already are an elected your policy shop IS your elected office. They do your policy, they set your policy. They don't need a campaign policy person. Now, this is generally broad, I was on a Senate campaign that had a few policy people. But again, most were unpaid interns trying to get someone who only had AG experience to Senate. You need a few people doing research. Most people who want to do policy have higher degrees and don't have much political experience. While I am sure they are smart people, policy can only get you so far. You need to be able to articulate (press/field) your policies to people. As someone who works on the left, sometimes we can infatuated with our idea that we can convince anyone of our amazing policy positions that will convert the Randiest of bootstrapers. As for "other" generically things like getting into communities you can not otherwise access are important. Condo Commanders in Florida are a great example. Or being able to get into groups that the campaign might not of thought of before. Host a house party, get in with community leaders, do intel, all sorts of things. But at the end of the day voter contact rules the day.
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Jun 19, 2014 01:48
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GlyphGryph posted:I suppose I could campaign for the guy who's running unopposed but that seems like a waste of effort. So I guess it's state level or... even city level? Do city level campaigns have volunteers doing stuff? It depends on what you want to do but yes not only do these places want volunteers, often they need more volunteers because people ignore local races. quote:What are some "cheap tricks" or underhanded poo poo that any of you have personally seen in campaigns? I'm always interested in stories of political bad behavior. Doing a robo call at 2 am saying your oppositions name as the first thing to make them look bad comes to mind. Smearing a female candidate using her sexual past of hooking up with someone at the state house against her.
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Jun 21, 2014 01:50
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CobwebMustardseed posted:Do you guys have any resources that you use when finding office space in a city that you're unfamiliar with? Craigslist will give you a basic idea. Find out the part of town you want to be in, look for empty office space and give a call. See if you candidate has any connections to real estate broker and see if they can help you.
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Jul 8, 2014 02:01
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GlyphGryph posted:So, I never did find a place online that listed local candidates, but I followed the lawn signs until I found what seems to be a campaign office, and across the street hidden in a nook is another campaign office for a different guy (that did not have lawn signs), both of whom seem to be running for the same spot? Have you contacted your state, local, or county party yet?
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Jul 10, 2014 00:10
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GlyphGryph posted:I guess I'll do that if this doesn't work. Wouldn't have thought of it on my own. Honestly, call them first instead of trying to find the Hogwarts field office.
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Jul 10, 2014 04:11
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:A private host for wordpress might have been overkill, but if I'm going to do Email, lists and donations then yeah, that would justify it. GMail business services is usually good enough.
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Jul 14, 2014 12:14
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GlyphGryph posted:Whoo, I'm canvassing for the first time this weekend! Looks like it's just three hours, but it's a start. Relax! Also, do you want to email me. I can give you some advice about where you are right now. Mooseontheloose fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2014 00:33
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GlyphGryph posted:First time canvassing went well, I think! Got a handful of pledge cards and had a bunch of conversations and it was actually really cool seeing and talking to people with lots of diverse positions on the scale, from folks who honestly seemed more enthusiastic than the canvassers (the old folks loved the fact that one of the candidates regularly visited the retirement communities they were involved in especially) to folks who honestly weren't all too keen on voting at all but would support your candidate if they did to people who outright stated things like "I'm not gonna vote for any of those communists!" Any more updates Glyph?
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Aug 6, 2014 02:32
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The only problem with auto dialers is that there is a pause so you will lose a lot of people who think you are a telemarketer. Plus, you won't have names unlike a votebuilder list. However, it will eventually weed out bad numbers and it will let you open up your universe a bit. Just make sure that you train people REALLY WELL on hubdialer/autodialer/jetdial. You need a bunch of well trained folks for it to work the right way. edit: Also, it's not necroing the thread since I imagine there will be more questions the closer we get to E-Day!
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Aug 27, 2014 21:46
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Jackson Taus posted:Yeah, I used the votebuilder predictive dialer. But the pause freaking murders us on these persuasion calls - it's not just me, staffers and interns had the same issue. Folks already aren't especially thrilled to talk politics and issues on a cold call before Labor Day, but that pause just seems to get them in the "gently caress telemarketers" frame of mind. Is there anything more I can do beyond jumping right into it on the beep and trying to be as cheery as possible? Honestly if it's a long weekend, try to shift people to doors more than phone calls.
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Aug 28, 2014 02:03
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G-Hawk posted:20-30 is optimal, very large would be double or triple that. FYI if you do Jet Dial make sure you have a freaking huge universe.
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Sep 3, 2014 03:09
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Tim Pawlenty posted:My actual work cell number shows up as the autodialer callback number since the campaign uses it for everything else in the state for our media/lit. Tried switching it tonight, didn't change at all. I don't even want to touch my voicemail and I've pretty much switched to using my personal phone for work until I start having an intern check my voicemails. OOOOH man that is going to be quite a slog/treat for the intern. Make sure he tracks how many threaten to sue or tell you how evil you are.
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Sep 6, 2014 00:07
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Slaan posted:So I couldn't find a political job before coming back, and got just a normal job. But I am still interested in volunteering for local/state campaigns here. The only thing is that I am unaffiliated.Do parties actually care if volunteers are actually in the party or not? If needed, I can change to Democrat when I register to vote (and probably should as I plan to run for office in 5-10 years), but I enjoy not being within a party for the moment. Parties don't care unless you have a LONG history of working for the other party.
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Sep 12, 2014 12:13
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Jackson Taus posted:What are folks' thoughts on canvassing vs high-traffic events? My local campaign seems really focused on canvassing/phones vs. staffing at high-traffic events. They're obviously sending the candidate to events like 24/7, but my local town-level committee is getting pissed that nobody from the campaign will help them at like arts festivals on a Saturday because all the staffers and the campaign volunteers are knocking doors or making phone calls. Thoughts? Canvasses are actual voters where high traffic events are a mishmash of who knows what. We have 6 weeks until the election, I would focus mostly on voter contact.
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Sep 19, 2014 05:14
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Jackson Taus posted:Is there a secret to making fundraising asks? I'm a generally shy person and I hate asking folks for things, but now I've got to try to raise some money for my committee's fundraiser. It just really sucks calling up people you like and being like "give me money" Remember you believe in this candidate for a reason. So you are asking to give to a cause that you believe in (And give me money!)
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Sep 27, 2014 00:19
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Jackson Taus posted:Unfortunately it's not a candidate, it's a political committee. And half my committee-mates are lazy morons. Still, you are committed to a cause and money helps said cause.
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Sep 30, 2014 03:35
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