Campaign Compliance Basics: A Reading List for Serious Candidates
Campaigns are built on energy, relationships, and message. However, none of that lasts without structure underneath it. Serious candidates understand that campaign compliance basics are not optional — they are foundational. While compliance rarely generates excitement, it determines whether your campaign can operate legally, scale responsibly, and maintain credibility. Too often, candidates focus on fundraising […]
What Is a Union Bug?
If you’ve ever looked closely at a political mailer, flyer, or campaign sign, you may have noticed a small emblem tucked into the corner. It often includes a number, a symbol, or the name of a union printing shop. That’s a union bug. That small mark is called a union bug. But what is a […]
What Every Campaign Website Must Include
A campaign website is not a digital business card. It is infrastructure. Before voters attend events, before donors write checks, and before volunteers knock doors, they visit your website. Whether they arrive from social media, a yard sign, a debate, or a Google search, your site often becomes the first controlled environment where they evaluate […]
Hosting a Political Fundraiser in Your Home
Hosting a political fundraiser in your home can be one of the most powerful ways to support a candidate you believe in. When done well, it creates trust, builds momentum, and strengthens the campaign’s financial foundation. However, a successful fundraiser requires more than hospitality. It requires structure, coordination, and clarity. Too often, people approach hosting […]
Disagreeing Gracefully in Politics
There is a moment in almost every campaign when the room shifts. A strategy meeting grows tense, a volunteer questions a decision, a consultant pushes back on messaging, or a supporter posts something critical online. No one planned for the disagreement, but suddenly it is there — and it demands a response. Politics is built […]
Is Your Campaign a Marathon or a Sprint?
People love to say campaigns are marathons. It sounds disciplined. Strategic. Mature. Pace yourself. Build steadily. Protect your energy. Think long-term. But here’s the truth most people don’t say out loud: It’s a luxury to run your campaign like a marathon. Not every race gives you that runway. Some candidates step in late.Some inherit chaos.Some […]
Campaign Payroll: What Campaigns Need to Know
Campaign payroll is one of the behind-the-scenes tasks essential to running a successful and legal campaign. While it rarely gets the same attention as messaging, fundraising, or field strategy, payroll becomes unavoidable the moment a campaign begins paying staff. Many campaigns underestimate how quickly payroll obligations appear. Understanding when campaign payroll is required—and how to […]
Fundraising Isn’t Just for Candidates
Fundraising is often treated as a line someone crosses only after deciding to run for office. Before that point, many people assume it does not apply to them—or worry that engaging with fundraising signals ambition they are not ready to claim. That assumption misunderstands how political power actually works. Fundraising is not only a candidate […]
When Social Media Shuts Down Your Advocacy, What Comes Next
For many advocates, social media has become the default place for political expression. It is where information moves quickly, ideas circulate, and support feels visible. Because of that, when a platform suspends an account, throttles content, or limits reach, it can feel as though advocacy itself has disappeared. In reality, something else usually happens. What […]
Campaigns Need Advocates, Not Just Volunteers
Political campaigns often track visible metrics such as volunteer sign-ups, doors knocked, and calls made. These numbers matter. However, they do not tell the full story of how support spreads or how trust forms inside a community. In reality, campaigns that withstand scrutiny, skepticism, and moments of uncertainty rarely rely on volunteer numbers alone. Instead, […]