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Campaign Tip: Never be your own campaign manager. You’ll suck at both jobs.

Here’s today’s tip: Never be your own campaign manager. You’ll suck at both jobs. It’s an old saying in the legal profession that any man who chooses to represent himself in court has a fool for a client. The same is true of a candidate who decides to be his or her own campaign manager.…

CAMPAIGN TIP: There’s no such thing as starting a campaign too early.

Here’s today’s tip: There’s no such thing as starting a campaign too early. 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…

Building a Bulletproof Ground Game with Chris Sacia

Ground game is about my favorite part of the campaign precisely because it’s so important. Chris Sacia understands the critical nature of this facet of campaigns and knows how to run it like a well-oiled machine. Today he shares a wealth of hard one tips you can leverage today! This week we’re talking about one…

CAMPAIGN TIP: Nobody is a better fundraiser than the candidate.

Here’s today’s tip: Nobody is a better fundraiser than the candidate. 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…

CAMPAIGN TIP: Never snap at your staff. If you do, apologize quickly.

Here’s today’s tip: Never snap at your staff. If you do, apologize quickly. 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…

Campaign Tip: Money in your account when the polls closed is wasted.

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…

Campaign Tip: Don’t call a voter before 9am or after 9pm.

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…

Campaign Tip: His chest is a cage in which two squirrels are at war – his conscience and his career.

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…

Campaign Tip: A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.

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…

Campaign Tip: Don’t forget: Your opponent reads your website too. Don’t post anything you don’t want used against you.

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…