THE POLITICS GUY TM
CAMPAIGN TIPS
September 2009

Money is the mother’s milk of politics, goes the old saying. Now is the time to plan a campaign budget.

First, consider whether to be a traditional candidate who must raise private funds or, if your state has it, a publicly-funded candidate.

Public funding for campaigns is a thorny issue. If you’re a fiscal and tax watchdog, it is hard philosophically to rationalize taking tax funding to run for office. But, realistically, it is available and there is a good chance your opponent is taking the money. Some states have a process to weed out frivolous candidates. You might need a certain number of voters to sign a candidacy petition with each writing a check for $5 or $10 not made out to you but to the state Clean Elections Commission, or whatever the agency is called in your state.

The decision is entirely yours. But, if you opt to make a statement that you won’t take public funds, you had best prepare yourself for the arduous task of raising campaign contributions. This route will consume your time for the next several months. And, when budgeting, consider in-kind spending for your opponent from unions or special interests for which he or she won’t have to budget. You will need funds to counter those too.

Legally, either choice requires that you take the proper procedures to file for office. You can’t take campaign money – public or private – until you have a registered campaign. Have someone in your campaign inner circle who understands the state campaign disclosure laws and can keep good records. Every penny taken in or spent must be accounted for and reports should be filed on deadline accurately.

If you decide to raise funds privately, the first donation is from yourself. It doesn’t need to be a substantial amount but you need seed money to pay for fundraising costs like campaign business cards, letterheads or mailings. Unlike the government, you can’t print money at will. So, the first thing is to either make a personal donation to your registered campaign committee or, if it is a large sum, a loan from you personally to your campaign committee.

Now plan a budget through November 2010.

You will be spending the most money early in the campaign and late in the campaign. Budget accordingly.

Early expenditures are for simple introduction pieces to establish your name recognition and develop a brand. These don’t get into issues. They’re the door opener which tells people who you are and why you’re running. Poll after poll shows that a year out from an election, only about five percent of voters could name a candidate – even for a visible office like governor – without being prompted. So, in the early going, you’ll devote considerable effort and expense getting known.

In the middle of the campaign, budget lightly to conserve funds. You’ll need enough palm cards to have something to hand out at summer fairs. That’s about it.

Late in the campaign, after next Labor Day, you’ll have your biggest expenses. You’ll need to budget for collateral materials, lawn signs, mailings and advertising costs.

Don’t waste money for ego. If your legislative district is a tiny part of a large radio station’s listening area, why spend money for ads reaching an audience where 95% of the listeners can’t vote for you? The same rule applies to regional daily newspapers. Your money will be better spent in local weeklies and community media which the majority of your target voters read or hear. You get more bang for the buck and they’re less expensive.

Make sure to budget Get Out the Vote for the last 40 days of the campaign. Traditionally, GOTV concentrated on Election Day. But trends indicate that in each election a bigger portion of voters cast early ballots. Some states do not even require a reason for getting an absentee ballot. So, you might need two tiers of GOTV materials to reach voters early in October before their ballot is a done deal.

Where do you get the funds?

Start by drawing up a list of family members, close friends and associates. Don’t be shy. Ask them early and close the sale. It isn’t enough to get a nod and a promise. Follow-up to collect the checks. You are fundraising to amass cash-on-hand, not IOU’s.

With those funds, pay for a carefully-crafted fundraising letter to mail to lists of party people and political activists. Augment those lists by researching the financial disclosures of the last four elections for the office you seek. You might discover names of donors to the prior candidates whom you hadn’t thought of approaching.

Have pledge envelopes on you at all times. If you meet someone and, in conversation, they wish you well on your campaign they’ll need an envelope and a request to donate.

Ask for referrals. Every time someone donates, when you thank them ask them whom they know who might be a potential contributor. And ask permission to use his or her name as the ice-breaker to approach the referral.

State laws will determine the campaign budget and fundraising effort. Some states have campaign spending limits which set the framework.

The Politics Guy Campaign Tips will be published periodically at RLC.org to help pro-liberty candidates get elected.