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Great Websites for Political Candidates

When we started Local Victory almost nine years ago, there weren’t a lot of great resources on the Internet (or in print, for that matter, with a few notable exceptions) for people running for political office.  Sure, there were some companies online selling products to candidates, but not much in the way of actionable information, [...]

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The Negative Campaigning Debate

People have lots of different opinions on “negative campaigning.”  Some say never use it, some say always use it… and some are in between.  Every year around election time, there are huge debates on cable news shows and in the editorial pages about “going negative,” and the repercussions of modern political combat.
Today, I’d like to [...]

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7 Creative Political Fundraising Ideas

Sometimes, those of us who work in politics get tied to thinking “inside the box.”   We follow the herd – using the same tried and true tactics in this campaign that we did in the last campaign, and in the campaign before that.  Nowhere is this truer than in political fundraising.
In this article, we present [...]

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How to Win a Multi-Candidate Election

Multi-candidate elections are tricky affairs.  Most often they are seen in primary elections (but sometimes in general elections too, when there are strong third party contenders, in non-partisan elections, or in states like Louisiana that have run-off systems), multi-candidate campaigns are those elections where there are more than  two candidates in the running… that is, [...]

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Why Politics Matters

Over more than a decade in politics, I’ve heard lots of derision of the political profession.  Elected officials, candidates, and political operatives of both parties make easy targets.  How often have you heard how bad politicians are, or had someone react with less then enthusiasm when you told them you were thinking about a career [...]

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Political Careers: Finding Your Path to the Top

Usually on Local Victory, we concentrate on teaching candidates how to get elected (and how to get re-elected).  But I know that many of our readers are engaging in long-term political careers as campaign operatives, legislative staffers, PAC managers, and party committee employees.  Because of that, in this article I want to take a break [...]

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Advanced Political Fundraising: How to Make an Ask

(This is the 2nd part of a 2 part series on political fundraising.  Part 1 is available here: Political Fundraising 101)
For many candidates, asking friends, colleagues, or supporters to make a donation is scary and unappealing.  But political fundraising need not be frightening.  Making an ask can even be (gulp!) a pleasant and enjoyable experience. [...]

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Political Fundraising 101

No one in politics likes fundraising.  Candidates would rather be shaking hands and giving policy speeches, and campaign managers would rather design messages, target grassroots efforts and buy TV spots than worry about how much that event tomorrow is going to raise or what numbers the campaign will show on the next finance report.
While fundraising [...]

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