Welcome to Local Victory! We have hundreds of articles and tips on how to win elections. Be sure to check out our Archives to see a complete list!

Using Social Media in Your Campaign

Ten years ago, the hottest thing in political campaigns was the Internet.  Political consultants and candidates touted the promise of the Internet and e-mail in changing the face of campaigns.  As with most innovations, proponents of web-based campaigning oversold the medium, suggesting that, within a year or two, campaigns would raise most of their money, [...]

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Beginner’s Guide to Building a Strong Political Organization

Today, we present The Beginner’s Guide to Building a Strong Political Organization, the fourth installment in our “Beginner’s Guide” Series. (If you haven’t already, be sure to check out The Beginner’s Guide to Political Communications, The Beginner’s Guide to Grassroots Campaigning and The Beginner’s Guide to Political Fundraising). Whether you are working on a campaign, building [...]

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Political Robocalls: Do’s and Don’ts

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, political robocalls are a fact of life in modern political campaigns.  While campaigns are figuring out how to use social media in politics and starting e-mail newsletters for their campaigns, they are still using tried and true campaign tactics, including direct mail, door-to-door campaigning, and yes: political robocalls. Everyone knows [...]

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Test Your Message – Early and Often

Too often, campaigns start with the assumption that the candidate (or campaign manager, or media consultant) knows what the best message for the campaign is – without polling, without focus groups, without even running the idea before a few trusted advisers.  No public campaign activity should take place without testing – and re-testing – the message [...]

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5 Tips for Recruiting Political Volunteers

Getting volunteers for your local political campaign is hard.  People are busy.  They have PTA meetings, soccer games, and family  functions, not to mention jobs to go to and homework to help with.  Today, even more than ten or twenty years ago, people often don’t have time to volunteer on political campaigns.  Even when you [...]

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How to be a Successful Big City Pol

Richard Daley… Rudy Giuliani… Ed Rendell… Steven Goldsmith…. Martin O’Malley…  Marion Barry…  Richard Riordan… There’s not much these seven men have in common.  Some are Republicans, others Democrats.  Some were policy-oriented thinkers, others fly by the seat of your pants doers.   One is known for his appetite for food (Rendell) and another for his appetite [...]

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How to Get Involved with Your Local Political Party

I am often asked what the best way is for someone to get involved with their local political party (of all partisan persuasions). This question comes from people who are interested in someday running for office, or who simply want to help thier party’s cause in their town or county. The answer I give them is: “Just do [...]

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Top 5 Articles of 2009

With just over one week left in 2009, we present our annual list of the year’s most popular articles from Local Victory, as judged by the number of people who read each post.  If you missed any of these articles… be sure to check them out!  Without further ado, the winners are: 1.  Political Slogans: [...]

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Top 10 Political Fundraising Do’s and Don’ts

1. DO have a fundraising plan. Every campaign, no matter how small, must have a fundraising plan in place that spells out how much money is to be raised, when that money is needed, what it is needed for and how it is going to be raised. In order to fundraise successfully, this plan should [...]

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Your Guide to Writing a Great Stump Speech

Everybody loves a great stump speech… You know, one that makes the crowds go wild, generates tons of local press coverage, and leaves your opponent gasping for air.  Everybody loves a great stump speech, but few candidates are capable of writing and delivering a true winner.  This is your guide to developing a meaningful, passionate, [...]

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Last Minute Political Advice

Tomorrow is Election Day in the U.S., and for many campaigns, the election has already been won or lost – the messages are out, the grassroots are mobilized, the calls have been made, and the voters are ready to go to the polls and cast their ballots. Still, there’s a lot left to be done. [...]

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Running for Office in a College Town

This article authored exclusively for Local Victory by Zach Friend* You moved to the town because of the wealth of coffee shops, bookstores and music clubs. You have even been known to stop by the pizza house downtown for a slice after a late night movie.  However, for all of the benefits of living in [...]

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