Candidate Resources
(Alt headline: The resistance will be Google Doc’d.)
Find below all our running google docs of resources for local candidates. We’ll continue updating as we go!
GENERAL GUIDES
- Run for Something: A Real-Talk Guide to Fixing the System Yourself – Our book by Amanda Litman, cofounder of Run for Something
- A BEGINNER’S GUIDE: HOW TO FILE & FIND THE INFO YOU NEED – How to pick an office and how to file to get on the ballot
- ALL THE OFFICIAL “SECRETARIES OF STATE” LINKS – A starting point for finding local information for your state
- ONLINE TOOLS FOR CANDIDATES – A complete list of free/cheap resources you can use during your campaign
- ALL THE TRAININGS WE KNOW ABOUT – An exhaustive database of every training we know about, searchable by demographic, state, and cost
- 2018 STATE LEVEL OFFICE FILING DEADLINES
- SETTING UP YOUR CAMPAIGN STEP BY STEP – Campaign finance 101
- CONNECTING WITH VOTERS ON MONEY IN POLITICS – Everyvoice 2018 State and Local Briefing Book on Money in Politics
- CAMPAIGN FINANCE 101 – A Q&A
- VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION DIRECTORY – “What to do when you’re feeling hopeless and just want to DO something” list – list of progressive organizations for volunteering, resources, and candidate endorsements
- VOTER ID RESOURCES – current information on what IDs are acceptable for voting in your state
SPECIFIC TACTICAL QUESTIONS
- VENDORS & CONSULTANTS 101 – How to know what you need vendors for and what different payment plans mean.
- RFS GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA GRAPHICS – A just-for-RFS candidates guide to using Canva to create social media graphics. Note the log-in credentials on page two!
- HOW TO USE FACEBOOK LIVE – Written by Hillary for America video professionals, a quick & dirty guide to how to use Facebook live to make campaign videos.
- A GUIDE TO YOUTUBE DIRECTOR APP – A new app you can use to make professional-looking videos for your campaign.
- ADS 101 – What kind of ads you might use for your campaign and a few tips for Facebook ads in particular.
- CREATING GREAT ADS — a more in depth look at creating great content to engage your voters.
- EMAIL 101 — How do you write high quality emails? How do you engage your list? How often?
- POLICY TRAINING: You can click here to listen to the audio from our policy training — or read our “policy 101” guide here.
- POLICY GUIDES: Links to briefing books and talking points from the pros
- INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ON YOUR CAMPAIGN: Including People with Disabilities in Your Political Campaign: A Guide for Campaign Staff
- DIGITAL SECURITY TIPS: Top 10 Tips for Grassroots Campaign Digital Security
- SUPPORT WORKING PEOPLE: Policies to Support Working People from our friends at Demos
- FAMILY LEAVE BRIEFING: Why candidates should care about family leave from our friends at PL+US
- SCIENCE OF INFLUENCE GUIDE: The Science of Influence is intended for Democratic political campaigns and progressive grassroots groups who want to make their communications and outreach strategies more effective
- WHO’S IN OFFICE NOW?: A full list of state legislature and federal elected officials and upcoming election dates
You can also watch replays of our summer policy webinar series:
CAMPAIGN 101 VIDEO SERIES
STATE-SPECIFIC
STATE-SPECIFIC GUIDES
Have edits on these? Email sarah@runforsomething.net
CROWDSOURCED CANDIDATE DIRECTORIES
NCIL Database of Candidates with Disabilities – Candidates at the local, state, and national offices running for office in 2018 and 2019 who identify as having a disability
Every Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer And/Or Trans Woman Running for US Office in 2018 – updated regularly with your help
Black Women in Politics – Crowdsourced list of Black women running for office in 2018
OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES
- Filing Requirements and Deadlines – NextDems
- Key Dates for Candidates – NextDems
How to Assemble Your Campaign Team – NextDems - How to Run for Your Local School Board – TeenVogue
- Run for Office – Slate
- So You Want to Run for Office? Here’s How to Get Started – Elle
- Win Number Calculator – Wellstone
BOOKS
- Campaign Boot Camp 2.0: Basic Training for Future Leaders by Christine Pelosi (2007)
- Running for Office: The Strategies, Techniques and Messages Modern Political Candidates Need to Win Elections by Ronald A. Faucheux (2002)
- The Art of the Political Campaign: How to Run for Elected Office With No Money by Brian Duewel (2013)
- The Political Campaign Desk Reference: A Guide for Campaign Managers by Michael McNamara (2012)
- How to Run for Local Office: A Complete Guide for Winning a Local Election by Robert J. Thomas (second edition, 2008)
- How to Run for Political Office and Win: Everything You Need to Know To Get Elected by Melanie Williamson (2012)
- Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way: A Comprehensive Guide for Candidates and Campaign Workers by Jeff Blodgett (2008)
Got additions to this list? DM @rfs_sarah on Slack or email her – sarah@runforsomething.net