My Campaign Coach Minute

Time, Treasurer and Talent are the three primary resources every campaign relies on. Treasurer and Talent are renewable resources but Time is not. A good campaign can always raise at least a little more money and recruit more volunteers but I don’t care how awesome you are, you can’t turn back the clock. This means that not only is it important that we don’t waste time, It’s also critical that we kick off the campaign early. Now, I’m not talking about holding your campaign launch event 5 years out from election day. That’s probably not a good idea. My point is in regards to the candidate’s planning and preparation. For instance, a friend of mine is a current elected official and would like to run for a major state’s Attorney General office when the current incumbent retires. We don’t know when that’ll happen but it’s likely 5 years off. Instead of forgetting about the idea for 3.5 years, we’re already thinking through the logistics, identifying threats, planning outreach and shoring up his strengths. All of this will make it more likely that he can mount a strong campaign when that seat opens up. It’s also rare for a campaign to actually launch too early. This is especially true for first-time candidates who are starting at zero on all fronts. If you’re in this position, you need the maximum amount of time possible to identify and persuade voters to support you. When you’re planning your launch, don’t shy away from the early side of the calendar. This will give you more time to let voters get to know you and give you more time out of the limelight to hone your skills as a candidate. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Time, Treasurer and Talent are the three primary resources every campaign relies on. Treasurer and Talent are renewable resources but Time is not. A good campaign can always raise at least a little more money and recruit more volunteers but I don’t care how awesome you are, you can’t turn back the clock. This means that not only is it important that we don’t waste time, It’s also critical that we kick off the campaign early. Now, I’m not talking about holding your campaign launch event 5 years out from election day. That’s probably not a good idea. My point is in regards to the candidate’s planning and preparation. For instance, a friend of mine is a current elected official and would like to run for a major state’s Attorney General office when the current incumbent retires. We don’t know when that’ll happen but it’s likely 5 years off. Instead of forgetting about the idea for 3.5 years, we’re already thinking through the logistics, identifying threats, planning outreach and shoring up his strengths. All of this will make it more likely that he can mount a strong campaign when that seat opens up. It’s also rare for a campaign to actually launch too early. This is especially true for first-time candidates who are starting at zero on all fronts. If you’re in this position, you need the maximum amount of time possible to identify and persuade voters to support you. When you’re planning your launch, don’t shy away from the early side of the calendar...

Do you like begging for money? Probably not. I sure don’t. And at the beginning of my work fundraising, that’s exactly how it felt. It wasn’t until I had a change in the way I perceived the work that I started feeling differently about raising money. What happened was that I stopped viewing fundraising as a zero sum game. This isn’t just about me taking money from one person and putting it in my campaign account. If my candidate or cause is actually serious about the difference we’re saying we’ll make, then it’s an investment. It’s a positive sum game. With that outlook, it became much easier for me to pitch donors on supporting my cause or candidate. Because of a shared set of beliefs, I’m asking them to join me in a cause. To invest in a mission that we both believe in. From there, I need to make a clear ask for a discrete cause and give a specific deadline. That’s the ask! Even with the right mindset though, nobody is more effective at asking for money than the candidate. Their presence and the fact that the candidate is the one making the ask makes it more likely that they’ll say yes. Plus, nobody is as good at sharing the candidate’s passion or beliefs than themselves. Put these two lessons together and you should be off to a great start as a fundraising candidate. Practice is all that remains! At the end of the day, the fact is that you can’t win a political campaign without raising money. You may not need as much or more than your opponent, but you’re going to need a decent amount. If as the candidate you’re not willing to make fundraising a major part of your work, you shouldn’t run. So get out there and start sharing your passion with your voters. Then bring them into the cause with you and ask for their investment. There are three ways they can invest: Time, Treasure and Endorsement. I’d be willing to bet that you don’t have a problem asking for the investment of time or endorsements, so change the way you view asking for treasure and go raise some money! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Do you like begging for money? Probably not. I sure don’t. And at the beginning of my work fundraising, that’s exactly how it felt. It wasn’t until I had a change in the way I perceived the work that I started feeling differently about raising money. What happened was that I stopped viewing fundraising as a zero sum game. This isn’t just about me taking money from one person and putting it in my campaign account. If my candidate or cause is actually serious about the difference we’re saying we’ll make, then it’s an investment. It’s a positive sum game. With that outlook, it became much easier for me to pitch donors on supporting my cause or candidate. Because of a shared set of beliefs, I’m asking them to join me in a cause. To invest in a mission that we both believe in. From there, I need to make a clear ask for a discrete cause and give a specific deadline. That’s the ask! Even with the right mindset though, nobody is more effective at asking for money than the candidate. Their presence and the fact that the candidate is the one making the ask makes i...

When was the last time you said something you shouldn’t have in frustration or anger? You may not be able to remember a specific instance but I’m betting it wasn’t that long ago. Even if you aren’t particularly prone to outbursts of anger, if you’re anything like me, you slip up every now and then. This tip is true of any aspect of life, not just campaigns, but in the pressure cooker created by a campaign office, I’ve seen these lapses of control cause major problems. As a leader, equanimity is one of your greatest assets. In the chaos of the campaign, you should stand out as calm. Think about the paintings of old battles with George Washington or Stonewall Jackson standing tall on their horse in the heat of the fighting. Maintaining your cool amidst confusion is one of the greatest tests a leader faces. The other side of it is that your ability to cow and injure your volunteers and staff can’t be overstated. These folks are either working for free or little pay and are primarily motivated by the idea of putting you in a position of public authority. If you snap at them or put them down, the damage is catastrophic. Not only does it make it less likely that they are helpful moving forward, but it will likely also undermine their desire to put such a bully into a powerful position. It all comes back to the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Praise their efforts. Kindly correct their errors. Let them know that you’re counting on them and that they are a vital part of the effort. Those actions build them up and help them take ownership of even the mundane parts of the campaign. It’s the only way to really win. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! When was the last time you said something you shouldn’t have in frustration or anger? You may not be able to remember a specific instance but I’m betting it wasn’t that long ago. Even if you aren’t particularly prone to outbursts of anger, if you’re anything like me, you slip up every now and then. This tip is true of any aspect of life, not just campaigns, but in the pressure cooker created by a campaign office, I’ve seen these lapses of control cause major problems. As a leader, equanimity is one of your greatest assets. In the chaos of the campaign, you should stand out as calm. Think about the paintings of old battles with George Washington or Stonewall Jackson standing tall on their horse in the heat of the fighting. Maintaining your cool amidst confusion is one of the greatest tests a leader faces. The other side of it is that your ability to cow and injure your volunteers and staff can’t be overstated. These folks are either working for free or little pay and are primarily motivated by the idea of putting you in a position of public authority. If you snap at them or put them down, the damage is catastrophic. Not only does it make it less likely that they are helpful moving forward, but it will likely also undermine their desire to put such a bully into a powerful position. It all comes back to the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated. Praise their efforts.

Here’s today’s tip: Money in your account when the polls closed is wasted. We lost the first election I ever helped in because we didn’t give it everything. I can’t remember what the financial balance was when the polls closed, but I know we metaphorically had “something left in the tank” individually. We could have touched a few more voters. And because we didn’t leave everything on the field, we lost by 12 votes. Whether it’s financial or individual energy, anything left in the tank when the polls close is wasted. Now, I’m not advocating fiscal irresponsibility. If you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’ve got this wrapped up, I can understand holding back some funds and not just blowing it on another mailer. These are exceptions to the rule and outside what most people will face. My point is that you shouldn’t be afraid to spend what you’ve got and give every ounce of effort, right up until the last votes are cast. Win or lose, you want to KNOW that you did everything. Any effort not used will be repurposed to self-flagellation if you lose. And all the money remaining will just get reimbursed to donors. If victory is at all in doubt, never leave an ounce in the tank.   To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes!   Here’s today’s tip: Money in your account when the polls closed is wasted. We lost the first election I ever helped in because we didn’t give it everything. I can’t remember what the financial balance was when the polls closed, but I know we metaphorically had “something left in the tank” individually. We could have touched a few more voters. And because we didn’t leave everything on the field, we lost by 12 votes. Whether it’s financial or individual energy, anything left in the tank when the polls close is wasted. Now, I’m not advocating fiscal irresponsibility. If you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’ve got this wrapped up, I can understand holding back some funds and not just blowing it on another mailer. These are exceptions to the rule and outside what most people will face. My point is that you shouldn’t be afraid to spend what you’ve got and give every ounce of effort, right up until the last votes are cast. Win or lose, you want to KNOW that you did everything. Any effort not used will be repurposed to self-flagellation if you lose. And all the money remaining will just get reimbursed to donors. If victory is at all in doubt, never leave an ounce in the tank.   To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with

Here’s today’s tip: Don’t call a voter before 9am or after 9pm. Throughout the campaign, you’ll be working non-stop to identify, persuade and turn out voters. Every minute counts but some minutes are off limits for certain types of contact. I recommend keeping you set 9am and 9pm as the outer bounds of your phone banking. The last thing you want to do is wake them up or interrupt someone at the beginning or end of their day. That’s when people are most perturbed by an unwanted call. For canvassing, 9:30am is about as early as I ever recommend starting and you shouldn’t go later than 30 minutes before dark. If the street lights are coming on or there are dark shadows on the porch where you’re standing, it’s time to stop. Knocking later is likely to have people more concerned about threats, so you are more likely to spook them. Work within these time parameters to touch as many voters as possible. It’s going to be your key to victory! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Don’t call a voter before 9am or after 9pm. Throughout the campaign, you’ll be working non-stop to identify, persuade and turn out voters. Every minute counts but some minutes are off limits for certain types of contact. I recommend keeping you set 9am and 9pm as the outer bounds of your phone banking. The last thing you want to do is wake them up or interrupt someone at the beginning or end of their day. That’s when people are most perturbed by an unwanted call. For canvassing, 9:30am is about as early as I ever recommend starting and you shouldn’t go later than 30 minutes before dark. If the street lights are coming on or there are dark shadows on the porch where you’re standing, it’s time to stop. Knocking later is likely to have people more concerned about threats, so you are more likely to spook them. Work within these time parameters to touch as many voters as possible. It’s going to be your key to victory! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes!

Here’s today’s tip: His chest is a cage in which two squirrels are at war – his conscience and his career. This quote comes from Winston Churchill, one of the 20th Century’s greatest statesmen and a personal hero of mine. He made an art of turning phrases and this is among my favorites. In describing one of his contemporaries, Churchill made a caricature of him. A combination of absurdity, violence and discomfort that comes to mind. It’s an apt representation of what happens to a person when they allow these facets of themselves to lose harmony. Examine yourself regularly to see whether your conscience and career motives are working together or if you’re nearing squirrel fight territory. You should subordinate your political and career motivations to your conscience. Do what you know is right, even when you may not see how it can help your career. Never allow yourself to embody this caricature. Only you can ensure that you don’t. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: His chest is a cage in which two squirrels are at war – his conscience and his career. This quote comes from Winston Churchill, one of the 20th Century’s greatest statesmen and a personal hero of mine. He made an art of turning phrases and this is among my favorites. In describing one of his contemporaries, Churchill made a caricature of him. A combination of absurdity, violence and discomfort that comes to mind. It’s an apt representation of what happens to a person when they allow these facets of themselves to lose harmony. Examine yourself regularly to see whether your conscience and career motives are working together or if you’re nearing squirrel fight territory. You should subordinate your political and career motivations to your conscience. Do what you know is right, even when you may not see how it can help your career. Never allow yourself to embody this caricature. Only you can ensure that you don’t. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes!

Here’s today’s tip: A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation. I love this quote from James Freeman Clarke. Whether you are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or Alien, I imagine that you are nodding your head in agreement with Mr. Clarke. Too many politicians of all stripes fall into this trap. There may be times when you have to take hard votes, but when you find yourself justifying a vote against principle by saying, “Well, I’ve got to get re-elected if I’m going to really change things…” then you’re doing something wrong. A strong accountability system is key to staying on the right side of this line. As an elected official, you have a moral and fiduciary responsibility to your constituents. You need to be examining the long and short game in government. This frequently means looking beyond the immediate passions of voters, to what is going to serve them best down the line. When voters are nearsighted, you need to focus further out. This is the purpose of a representative democracy like ours. We elect people who are supposed to give the decisions they make more thought than we can and consider them carefully. If you know that something is the right action to take, do it. Even if you think it’ll make your next election harder. Do the work to communicate your WHY to your constituents and, if that turns out to be impossible, know that there are some things worth losing elections. A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation. I love this quote from James Freeman Clarke. Whether you are Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or Alien, I imagine that you are nodding your head in agreement with Mr. Clarke. Too many politicians of all stripes fall into this trap. There may be times when you have to take hard votes, but when you find yourself justifying a vote against principle by saying, “Well, I’ve got to get re-elected if I’m going to really change things…” then you’re doing something wrong. A strong accountability system is key to staying on the right side of this line. As an elected official, you have a moral and fiduciary responsibility to your constituents. You need to be examining the long and short game in government. This frequently means looking beyond the immediate passions of voters, to what is going to serve them best down the line. When voters are nearsighted, you need to focus further out. This is the purpose of a representative democracy like ours. We elect people who are supposed to give the decisions they make more thought than we can and consider them carefully. If you know that something is the right action to take, do it. Even if you think it’ll make your next election harder.

Here’s today’s tip: Don’t forget: Your opponent reads your website too. Don’t post anything you don’t want used against you. This tip applies broadly to your website, social media and anywhere online. In any campaign, you are appealing to various constituencies which overlap to a greater or lesser degree. If you find yourself appealing loudly to one group, you may tick off another. The idea here isn’t to be disingenuous or to pander. Rather, be careful about what you say and how you say it. Know that there’s somebody on the other team seeing all the material you put out. If it can be used against you, it will be. Write your content for your idea support base at large and be careful that you don’t hand ammo to your opponents in the process. Factual inaccuracies, grammatical errors, contradictory positions and more have been found by opponents in campaign materials and used against them. Be smart, keep your positions clear, have somebody check your grammar and know your opponents are watching. Unforced errors happen to most campaigns, but nearly every one I’ve seen could have been easily avoided. Don’t post anything you don’t want used against you. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Don’t forget: Your opponent reads your website too. Don’t post anything you don’t want used against you. This tip applies broadly to your website, social media and anywhere online. In any campaign, you are appealing to various constituencies which overlap to a greater or lesser degree. If you find yourself appealing loudly to one group, you may tick off another. The idea here isn’t to be disingenuous or to pander. Rather, be careful about what you say and how you say it. Know that there’s somebody on the other team seeing all the material you put out. If it can be used against you, it will be. Write your content for your idea support base at large and be careful that you don’t hand ammo to your opponents in the process. Factual inaccuracies, grammatical errors, contradictory positions and more have been found by opponents in campaign materials and used against them. Be smart, keep your positions clear, have somebody check your grammar and know your opponents are watching. Unforced errors happen to most campaigns, but nearly every one I’ve seen could have been easily avoided. Don’t post anything you don’t want used against you. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.

Here’s today’s tip: Effective door-to-door campaigns are meticulously planned and methodically executed. If there’s one area of campaigns where the majority of my experience lies, it’s the ground game. Knocking doors, recruiting volunteers and calling voters. It’s where most campaigns live or die. Their ability to navigate the logistical hurdles and tactical setbacks dog make it a difficult area to play. Your door to door campaign should be considered among your earliest strategic discussions and be a central focus of your campaign. As with all campaign activity, start with the close of polling places on election day and work backwards. Plan your GOTV, then your Persuasion phase and finally Identification. In each phase, figure your voter touch goals and how many contacts are needed (at an average of 30% door open rate) in order to reach them. By estimating that your canvassers will hit an average of 15 houses per hour, that will tell you how many man-hours you need. When broken down by week through the campaign, you’ll quickly see how many man-hours you need on a weekly basis to hit your targets. Based on your messaging and research, write your canvassing scripts and determine what data points you want to collect from voter conversations. Identify and train on a strong software platform that will give you flexible options for targeting, deployment and tracking for your team. I recommend Campaign Sidekick. Finally, start recruiting, training and fielding your team. You’ve got a lot of doors to knock so get after it. This obviously isn’t a complete step-by-step training, but it hits the high points and gives you an idea of the meticulous planning and methodical execution required in an effective ground game.   To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Effective door-to-door campaigns are meticulously planned and methodically executed. If there’s one area of campaigns where the majority of my experience lies, it’s the ground game. Knocking doors, recruiting volunteers and calling voters. It’s where most campaigns live or die. Their ability to navigate the logistical hurdles and tactical setbacks dog make it a difficult area to play. Your door to door campaign should be considered among your earliest strategic discussions and be a central focus of your campaign. As with all campaign activity, start with the close of polling places on election day and work backwards. Plan your GOTV, then your Persuasion phase and finally Identification. In each phase, figure your voter touch goals and how many contacts are needed (at an average of 30% door open rate) in order to reach them. By estimating that your canvassers will hit an average of 15 houses per hour, that will tell you how many man-hours you need. When broken down by week through the campaign, you’ll quickly see how many man-hours you need on a weekly basis to hit your targets. Based on your messaging and research, write your canvassing scripts and determine what data points you want to collect from vote...

Here’s today’s tip: Answering hypothetical questions is a great way to lose ACTUAL elections. I hate hypothetical questions in campaigns. I’m not talking about things like, “If elected, would you vote to cut taxes and spending.” The worst offenders are more detailed and harder to square with circumstances you may face in office. They’re also largely agenda driven. One might sound like, “If you knew that banning all private gun ownership would end firearm crime, would you support the removal of the 2nd amendment?” Answering that question in the affirmative means you’re not protecting constitutional rights and in the negative, it means you are heartless and love murder…neither of which I hope you support. That’s a “gotcha” hypothetical question. It’s constructed so there is no way to win by answering it in the form requested. The best path here is to reject the very premise of the question. Since I KNOW that the abolition of the 2nd amendment would not lead to the utopia the question suggests, I should point out the agenda-driven nature of the question and make an argument for how I believe another policy would more effectively lead to a lowering of violent crime, without curtailing our Constitutional rights. Hypothetical questions come in many shapes and sizes. So always be on the lookout for questions that box you in. Most have a strong emotional appeal and it regularly feels like not answering in the way requested makes you sound like a typical politician. The fact is though that by rejecting the premise of their question and reengineering it, you can protect yourself and articulate a real policy solution. Answering your adversary’s question is a good way to hand them the momentum. Answering hypothetical questions is a great way to lose ACTUAL elections. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Answering hypothetical questions is a great way to lose ACTUAL elections. I hate hypothetical questions in campaigns. I’m not talking about things like, “If elected, would you vote to cut taxes and spending.” The worst offenders are more detailed and harder to square with circumstances you may face in office. They’re also largely agenda driven. One might sound like, “If you knew that banning all private gun ownership would end firearm crime, would you support the removal of the 2nd amendment?” Answering that question in the affirmative means you’re not protecting constitutional rights and in the negative, it means you are heartless and love murder…neither of which I hope you support. That’s a “gotcha” hypothetical question. It’s constructed so there is no way to win by answering it in the form requested. The best path here is to reject the very premise of the question. Since I KNOW that the abolition of the 2nd amendment would not lead to the utopia the question suggests, I should point out the agenda-driven nature of the question and make an argument for how I believe another policy would more effectively lead to a lowering of violent crime, without curtailing our Constitutional rights.

Here’s today’s tip: Rejection on the campaign trail is a fact of life. Dust yourself off and get back on the horse. I don’t remember the first time I got cussed at while canvassing. I know it’s happened a lot but after careful examination by my bride, I can confirm that I don’t have a single scar as a result. No blood has been lost and rigorous counseling has been unable to uncover the slightest psychological ramifications from political rejection. The truth is that being rejected on the campaign trail sucks. Whether it’s someone wordlessly shutting the door in your face or your conservative friend telling you that they won’t donate to your campaign. None of that feels good! Those are small defeats though. And you KNOW they’re going to happen! Repetition is the key and letting yourself be put off by temporary defeat will lead to permanent failure. To win a campaign, you need to be tenacious. No matter what failures you face, keep plowing ahead. Dedicate yourself to keeping on through election day and keep getting back on the horse! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Rejection on the campaign trail is a fact of life. Dust yourself off and get back on the horse. I don’t remember the first time I got cussed at while canvassing. I know it’s happened a lot but after careful examination by my bride, I can confirm that I don’t have a single scar as a result. No blood has been lost and rigorous counseling has been unable to uncover the slightest psychological ramifications from political rejection. The truth is that being rejected on the campaign trail sucks. Whether it’s someone wordlessly shutting the door in your face or your conservative friend telling you that they won’t donate to your campaign. None of that feels good! Those are small defeats though. And you KNOW they’re going to happen! Repetition is the key and letting yourself be put off by temporary defeat will lead to permanent failure. To win a campaign, you need to be tenacious. No matter what failures you face, keep plowing ahead. Dedicate yourself to keeping on through election day and keep getting back on the horse! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes!

Here’s today’s tip: Projecting enthusiasm is critical. I don’t care how tired, stressed or far down you are in the polls. Smile! If you’re running for office or directing a campaign, optimism should simply ooze out of you. It doesn’t matter to me whether polling shows you down 15 or 25 points. If you’re in the race, project enthusiasm. If you can’t do that, drop out of the race and make your defeat official. The fact is that plenty of races swing wildly in the last couple weeks. Even more suffer from a poor read on the political environment. That means that most of you will have no real idea of where you stand until election day. So what good does it do to be down on yourself? My point isn’t that you should lie to yourself or supporters. What I’m saying is that if you’re IN the race, be IN it. Don’t run unless you believe winning is possible and once you’re in the race, fight through the finish line. At every point, look to your supporters and find ways to motivate them. You’re running for a cause, make it infectious. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Projecting enthusiasm is critical. I don’t care how tired, stressed or far down you are in the polls. Smile! If you’re running for office or directing a campaign, optimism should simply ooze out of you. It doesn’t matter to me whether polling shows you down 15 or 25 points. If you’re in the race, project enthusiasm. If you can’t do that, drop out of the race and make your defeat official. The fact is that plenty of races swing wildly in the last couple weeks. Even more suffer from a poor read on the political environment. That means that most of you will have no real idea of where you stand until election day. So what good does it do to be down on yourself? My point isn’t that you should lie to yourself or supporters. What I’m saying is that if you’re IN the race, be IN it. Don’t run unless you believe winning is possible and once you’re in the race, fight through the finish line. At every point, look to your supporters and find ways to motivate them. You’re running for a cause, make it infectious. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes!

Here’s today’s tip: Free interns are awesome! Get all you can, train them well and keep them busy. As a former free intern, I endorse this message. The fact is that everybody wants free labor…but it’s the training and deployment where most people fail. The biggest surprise that I found once I started hiring interns was how much work it took to find things for them to do. Let’s face it, when you get an intern, even if you’ve seen their resume, you have no idea what they’re competent with. Can they take pictures, file documents, respond to emails or is refilling the toilet paper the ONLY thing you can trust them to do right?! I recommend that at the start, or even before beginning of the campaign, you should spend significant time identifying the tasks you can easily delegate. At least scratch out a rough training framework and decide who while monitor them, as well as how. With this done, you’ll be able to train and deploy them much more quickly when you acquire them. From there, just make sure you’re communicating with them and provide them steady direction. These folks are working for free because they want to gain experience and help you win. They’re on YOUR team. Make sure it’s worth their time and give them real opportunities to make an impact! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Free interns are awesome! Get all you can, train them well and keep them busy. As a former free intern, I endorse this message. The fact is that everybody wants free labor…but it’s the training and deployment where most people fail. The biggest surprise that I found once I started hiring interns was how much work it took to find things for them to do. Let’s face it, when you get an intern, even if you’ve seen their resume, you have no idea what they’re competent with. Can they take pictures, file documents, respond to emails or is refilling the toilet paper the ONLY thing you can trust them to do right?! I recommend that at the start, or even before beginning of the campaign, you should spend significant time identifying the tasks you can easily delegate. At least scratch out a rough training framework and decide who while monitor them, as well as how. With this done, you’ll be able to train and deploy them much more quickly when you acquire them. From there, just make sure you’re communicating with them and provide them steady direction. These folks are working for free because they want to gain experience and help you win. They’re on YOUR team. Make sure it’s worth their time and give them real opportunities to make an impact! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under

Here’s today’s tip: All campaign documents and material should be secure and accessible. Use the cloud. It’s hard to imagine that just a few years ago, you had to make hard-copies of campaign documents in order to share them. Printing, collating and mailing important documents all too significant time. Now that’s not the case. Cloud storage and collaboration and editing are the way to do it! Security and accessibility are the two key factors in deciding where you’ll store your campaign files. I highly recommend Google Drive for all your campaign needs. I don’t get a penny for recommending them but I’ve been using them for years. Every campaign I’ve worked with, clients I’ve served, and projects I’ve directed have all been run through Google Drive. There’s nothing out there that will give you ease of access, tight security and collaborative capabilities like Google Drive. Consider security and accessibility when deciding all kinds of campaign tech. From password sharing with tools like LastPass to basic graphics editing from Canva. All of these provide fantastic software as a service tool with air-tight security and broad accessibility. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: All campaign documents and material should be secure and accessible. Use the cloud. It’s hard to imagine that just a few years ago, you had to make hard-copies of campaign documents in order to share them. Printing, collating and mailing important documents all too significant time. Now that’s not the case. Cloud storage and collaboration and editing are the way to do it! Security and accessibility are the two key factors in deciding where you’ll store your campaign files. I highly recommend Google Drive for all your campaign needs. I don’t get a penny for recommending them but I’ve been using them for years. Every campaign I’ve worked with, clients I’ve served, and projects I’ve directed have all been run through Google Drive. There’s nothing out there that will give you ease of access, tight security and collaborative capabilities like Google Drive. Consider security and accessibility when deciding all kinds of campaign tech. From password sharing with tools like LastPass to basic graphics editing from Canva. All of these provide fantastic software as a service tool with air-tight security and broad accessibility. To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on

Here’s today’s tip: Never break the law. You’re not Frank Underwood and you WILL get caught. I pretty well hope that y’all are virtuous, law-abiding citizens but it would be silly to pretend that temptation isn’t real. On the campaign trail, there are a lot of laws you need to pay attention to. The impact everything from how you raise money to election day sign logistics. I hope I don’t need to worry about y’all breaking the kind of laws that Frank Underwood conveniently forgets about, but the smaller ones don’t always seem important. The fact of the matter is that whether you’re a hot-shot like Frank Underwood or not, skirting or breaking the law usually has significant, negative repercussions. Trying to persuade voters to support you a bit inside of the legal demarcation line when you think no one is looking or slipping a piece of literature into their mailbox may seem like small things, but when they become news, they will paint your campaign in a broadly negative light. Make sure you find out the rules governing your campaign early on. Ideally, before you start running. From there, follow them religiously and work your butt off, within the rules. Keep your eyes out for opponents breaking the rules but don’t waste efforts doing that when you should be working! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under My Campaign Coach. If you want to help support our efforts, you can do that with financial support via Patreon.com/mycampaigncoach or by giving us a nice rating on iTunes! Here’s today’s tip: Never break the law. You’re not Frank Underwood and you WILL get caught. I pretty well hope that y’all are virtuous, law-abiding citizens but it would be silly to pretend that temptation isn’t real. On the campaign trail, there are a lot of laws you need to pay attention to. The impact everything from how you raise money to election day sign logistics. I hope I don’t need to worry about y’all breaking the kind of laws that Frank Underwood conveniently forgets about, but the smaller ones don’t always seem important. The fact of the matter is that whether you’re a hot-shot like Frank Underwood or not, skirting or breaking the law usually has significant, negative repercussions. Trying to persuade voters to support you a bit inside of the legal demarcation line when you think no one is looking or slipping a piece of literature into their mailbox may seem like small things, but when they become news, they will paint your campaign in a broadly negative light. Make sure you find out the rules governing your campaign early on. Ideally, before you start running. From there, follow them religiously and work your butt off, within the rules. Keep your eyes out for opponents breaking the rules but don’t waste efforts doing that when you should be working! To find out more about what it takes to win a political campaign, go to MyCampaignCoach.com. You can also check out our interviews with Candidates, Elected Officials, Consultants and Campaign Staff on the How to Run for Office Podcast! On Facebook, you can find our campaign mastermind group by searching for the Elite Campaign Mastermind and our page under