Effective Campaign Strategies for New Candidates

Campaigning for political office can be a daunting task, especially for new candidates entering the arena for the first time. The key to a successful campaign lies in having effective strategies in place to build the team that is trained to engage effectively with voters. There are proven steps to build a strong support base, and ultimately win citizens' votes. In this article, we will delve into some essential campaign strategies that new candidates can implement to make their mark on the political landscape.

The above video was taken days after the 'skin-of-his teeth' election victory of Alvin Brown in 2011. It is a near ideal case-study of what it takes for someone with 0% name recognition to achieve electoral victory in the largest city (land mass) in America. Alvin is an African-American Jacksonville, Florida native. He left the city before college, eventually through hard work and determination worked his way to Washington, DC to serve in the Clinton/Gore administration until the year 2000. Jacksonville, FL is a predominately white and evangelical city. Alvin Brown finally moved back to Jacksonville, shortly before the mayoral election of 2011, when he was 50 years old.

Alvin does a good job in the above video, detailing the challenges he, his family and the campaign team endured to eventually win. He breaks down his personal obstacles, the coalition-building that needed to be done early in the process, the staff & volunteer demands as well as the money it took to achieve his under-dog/'came out of no-where' victory.

I was his Field Director. He gave me gas money to drive from Washington DC to Jacksonville, Florida, a city I had never been to prior. It is true, no one knew who Alvin was in those first days of the campaign. I once was walking down the block to the campaign office one afternoon, about a week after I first touched down in Jax. I got to the corner to cross the street and a gentleman to my right noticed my Alvin Brown sticker, he introduced himself as a reporter for a local newspaper in Jacksonville. I gave him my name and informed him I'm the new Field Director for the Alvin Brown for Mayor Campaign. He snickered and said, "Ah Alvin Brown, the candidate no one knows." As if he saw it in some near-future headline. I got back to my office a few moments later, filled with high-octane fuel to empower our team. I was pissed. Maybe my ego was bruised. Good thing, it healed fast. It strengthened me though. I was determined more than ever to build a movement that taught Jacksonville and its 270 voting precincts, not only about who Alvin Brown was, but also the change he planned to bring to Jax.

That reporter made me angry in that moment, he insulted my candidate and the team that I just began working to build. When I got to my office a few moments later, I thought back to a lesson I had learned earlier in my career. Anger is good, particularly in politics. Have you ever been so pissed-off at someone that you worked extra hard to prove them wrong? Anger, directed towards the right target(s) can create monumental change for the benefit of many people. Anger, however is something far different from blind rage. Rage brings chaos. Anger, properly managed can bring change.

Imagine the anger John Lewis, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. James Orange must have had after being beaten by police on Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama that day in 1965. Their pain and anger strategically executed gave me and many who look like me, the ability to not only vote, but to write these words and do this work today. Their anger didn't crash-out that afternoon in some dramatic violent end. It in fact grew, methodically into a highly organized campaign that concluded in an epic legislative victory four years later in 1969 with the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Problem today, substantive organizing work and political strength-building has largely stopped for Black people since then.

For more details of this campaign and others across the globe using the proven-effective Movement-Based Method that's in The How to Build a Winning Electoral & Issue Based Campaign Manual as well as the Campaign Matrix. This Tool-Kit is a two-document package that details the steps & formats you will need to target, plan, then build a real team of people to carry your campaign message far and wide. Sign-up, equip yourself with the GRU Tool-Kit and schedule some time to speak with a GRU Campaign professional today.

Reference

-- Tom.