Jeff Frazee Executive Director, YAL	Jared Fuller Project Director, YAL's Year of Youth

SO YOU WANT TO RUN FOR OFFICE?
SELLING YOU ISN'T SELLING YOUR SOUL -- IT'S CALLED WINNING by MATT ROBBINS

*Abridged article, originally published in Young American Revolution #7.

Where and how should you begin considering a run for office?  When do you decide it’s you who should step forward?

Putting your name on the ballot involves enormous sacrifice, followed only in magnitude of difficulty by the actual job of becoming a public servant…that is, if you win a campaign.

In the spirit of “stacking the deck” with right-thinking, credible, competent candidates, here are some shortcuts you should take if you decide to throw your name in the proverbial hat.

First, get a political “lay of the land.” Look for open seats! If you live in a state with term limits at the state legislative level, an open seat is the best opportunity for a new, solid candidate. Do your homework in a term-limited state (compile a list of all seats coming open) and find out which seats are up in 2012.

Second, look for vulnerable seats – districts with a specific partisan make-up. Where’s the “low-hanging fruit”? Where are the best opportunities for victory (or unexpected wins)? Which incumbents are “asleep at the switch”? Which districts are long overdue for an upset but haven’t had an effective challenger?

Occasionally you can find a congressional seat that falls into this category, but not often. And frankly, far too many idealistic individuals sally forth at this level only to have no real impact.

THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL

Why not steal the liberals’ mantra? Think global, act local.

Many of the best opportunities for newcomers exist at state and local levels. Don’t put your entire focus on Washington—plenty of statist, big-government decisions are made at municipal and county levels.

It’s a mistake to ignore the tax-and-spend good ol’ boys at city hall or the state capital when you can de-pollute that very real political ecosystem right under your nose.

And it’s quite appropriate to run for school board, city council, or county board/commission (often multi-million, if not billion-dollar budgetary entities, with plenty of civic responsibility) before running for state legislature—much less Congress

Then it’s time to ask yourself what makes you a strong candidate.

WHAT MAKES A STRONG CANDIDATE?

Are you a natural leader? Can you inspire other people? Articulate a positive vision? Zero in on voters and their core values?

If you’d rather win the philosophical argument than actually go out and meet the people who could become your proud supporters, running for office is probably not for you.

Can you solve problems? I don’t mean demagogue—I mean solve. Solutions are rarely easy, or somebody else in office would’ve already found them. In other words, are you willing to listen, learn, help, and then lead? Push forward when you feel that your ideas are right, even if they are unpopular?

And on the flip side, can you admit when you don’t have the answers? Will you be able to break the mold of the politician as performer and sincerely relate to non-political (read: normal) people?

If you can’t speak to your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and fellow citizens about these things, your campaign won’t get off the ground.

Here’s a good rule of thumb:  When decisions to run are announced, it should always be an “of course” moment for those who hear of it. No one should be surprised or shocked that you are daring to run and alter the status quo.

But run you will, and yes, some folks’ apple carts will be overturned. Because of this, you’ll have to investigate yourself before formally filing as a candidate for office. This means properly and comprehensively vetting yourself.

Learn to accept that “if it’s out there, it’s going to come out,” especially in our 24/7, interconnected world of social media, text messages, flip cams, and YouTube. Perform a simple Google search of yourself as a starting point—but don’t be afraid to pay for a full background check, just as any opponent would—to see what sort of things (defaults, arrests, divorces, liens) might be attached to your name.

BE THE GENERAL -- NOT THE SOLDIER

Next, to build out the structure of your campaign, you’re going to need volunteers—tons of them. The old adage of 20% of the people doing 80% of the work holds true. Look to those individuals who’ve been active parts of organized groups or successful events to be your core team.

Recruit from allies! Pro-liberty groups will each have committed, passionate people within their ranks. And don’t forget small business owners in your community. Nobody understands or embodies do-it-yourself success like they do. Convince them your election would benefit entrepreneurs, and you could gather volunteers, as well as in-kind donations of goods and services.

But don’t lose sight of the bigger battle while you’re organizing and then running your campaign. You’re the general, not a soldier in this fight.

Getting confused about who is the candidate and who is the campaign manager is the number one mistake new candidates make. (For one of the best pieces on essential roles in a campaign for lower-level office, please see Stephanie Naczelnik’s article “Running Low Budget Campaigns.”)

Micro-managing day-to-day efforts only keeps a candidate from staying focused on his or her single role:  asking for support. A successful candidate will spend almost all of their time asking for more volunteers, money, and votes.

For further, more advanced training on how to effectively run for office (organization, fundraising, new media, and more), groups like American Majority provide cutting-edge candidate tracks.

But the declared candidate has almost all the responsibility for implementation and getting it right.

Lastly, don’t be daunted!

This is one of the most exciting political periods in recent American history. The explosion and growth of civic and liberty-minded individuals within the last two years will continue to yield great results into 2012 and beyond. With the right preparation, you can smoothly enter the political process and make a direct, personal impact—adding to the quality and caliber of candidates and serving the body politic as the Founders intended for years to come.

DISCLAIMER: Not all political opinions expressed in the Winning on Principle Newsletter are representative of Young Americans for Liberty, nor does YAL endorse or oppose candidates. This newsletter is distributed to provide you with a unique perspective on the political process to advance our mission.

WINNING (AND LOSING) ON MISTAKES
 HANDLING DOWNFALLS AND CAMPAIGN PITFALLS by KIRK SHELLY

"Winners aren't perfect. They make fewer mistakes than their rivals." -- Morton Blackwell's Laws of Public Policy #39.

In a campaign, everyone makes mistakes.

Every candidate, campaign manager, or staffer slips up at least once on the campaign trail. The good news is that your opposition makes just as many mistakes, if not more, than you.

The difference: Winners capitalize on the mistakes of their opposition; losers dwell and let their mistakes go too far. 

In the next issue of YAL's Winning on Principle Newsletter, campaign strategist, Kirk Shelly, wisely communicates two key points to manage mistakes:

1. Keep your opponent guessing; do not fire all your ammunition at once.
2. To starve a fire, stop giving it fuel. 

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