What do campaigns consist of

Expect twelve to sixteen hour days of Googling and Nexis research. Research staff keep the campaign informed: they may vet would-be staff or volunteers, dig up details on particular policy proposals, or track media appearances by their own candidate, surrogates, and opponents.

Research is one of the most sensitive areas of a campaign, but if the staff trusts you, it does not require a lot of experience. Research is a great introductory job in a campaign if you are willing to put in the hours. The candidate can only be in one place at a time; for everything else, there are surrogates. Larger campaigns will have staff specifically devoted to scheduling and managing surrogate appearances, including providing speech materials and talking points that are closely coordinated with what the candidate is saying.

Surrogate management is politically sensitive work and is quite interesting because you will get to meet some of the heaviest hitters in the business. Campaigns must figure out how best to deploy their resources; though it may feel like the country is saturated toward the end of a campaign cycle, campaigns cannot possibly hope to reach everyone all the time.

The targeting staff is tasked with determining which voters the campaign should prioritize contacting through different means — both in terms of general groups and specific individuals. In many campaigns, this responsibility falls under the political shop and requires people who love campaigns and data management. If you want to groom yourself for this position, put Excel, statistical modeling, data analysis, and digital outreach skills on your resume.

Many campaigns are so awash in volunteers that they must find a way to productively harness this energy. Some will employ campaign staff specifically to find and manage volunteers and to deploy the talents of campaign supporters where they can do the most good. This is generally less sensitive work, but requires a lot of patience. We have aggregated a sampling of frequently asked questions and resources to help you understand hiring processes for Presidential transitions and new administrations, and perhaps participate in them.

If you have any inclination to be involved in a political campaign, do it! The pace can be challenging, but the work is rarely boring, and individual effort makes a difference every day.

In addition to the satisfaction that comes from working for someone you respect and whose positions you support, there is a sense of gratification that comes from working on a project where there will be demonstrable winners, losers, and an end date. You will also build cameraderie and relationships with individuals that can be beneficial far into the future.

Campaigns can provide a host of experiences and levels of excitement that are difficult to match in any other environment. ARENA Arena aims to convene, train, and support the next generation of candidates and campaign staff. It hosts the Arena Summit, which brings together candidates, staff, and activists; offers training through the Arena Academy, and helps recruit and match talent to progressive campaigns.

You can subscribe to their print magazine that is published ten times a year. They also sponsor several conferences a year on specific election issues. Contact them for upcoming training events or see their website. On their site, you can subscribe to Campaign Insider, which will email political job opportunities as well as the latest inside scoop on campaigns around the country.

American University sponsors an intensive two-week semiannual training session in January and May on all aspects of political campaigning, taught by experts from both political parties. Non-degree-seeking students can apply to attend. The Congressional Progressive Caucus Center Legislative Fellowship is designed for emerging leaders who want to develop their own professional skills in policymaking and social change through learning from and working within a strong legislative operation on Capitol Hill.

Fellows are placed in the offices of active members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Fellows work closely with CPC member offices to gain substantive legislative and federal policy experience in their issue focus. Topics range from media engagement and digital planning to data management and adapting email use to a particular campaign.

There are also templates, blueprints, and worksheets on many of these topics. The programs are open to individuals with a wide range of experience. INCLUSV Inclusv works to ensure that staff, consultants, and vendors of color are found at every professional level within advocacy, policy, and campaigns and elections.

It helps to amplify available job opportunities from employer partners, elevate relevant training opportunities, and provide culturally competent career development trainings for staffs or conference attendees of partners. It is also present on many college campuses and collects relevant job opportunities on its website.

You can also find toolkits and frameworks on pressing campaign-related issues like digital voter engagement, security and storytelling strategy. It offers leadership development experiences, educational programming, and networking events focused on political campaigning. This list is not exhaustive; many other civil rights organizations engage, to a greater or lesser degree, in voting rights work. The ACLU is currently litigating voter suppression and minority vote dilution cases in over a dozen states, from coast to coast, in every region of the country.

The Advancement Project is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization that uses innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change.

It focuses on issues including voting rights, the school-to-prison pipeline, education justice and immigrant justice. It focuses on voting rights, campaign finance reform, ending mass incarceration, and preserving our liberties while also maintaining our national security. CLC watchdogs government officials, provides expert analysis and helps journalists uncover violations.

CLC also participates in legal proceedings across the country to defend the right to vote and ensure fair redistricting. The Civic Engagement and Voter Protection department is concerned with safeguarding the right to vote by ensuring fair, accessible elections.

Through cutting-edge policy research, inspiring litigation and deep relationships with grassroots organizations, Demos champions solutions that will create a democracy and economy rooted in racial equity. Let America Vote is an organization that fights back against proposals across the country that make it harder for eligible voters to exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot.

Amanda Tammen Peterson former 1L Advising Initiative Coordinator is a transplanted Westerner with extensive experience in local and state political campaigns. Amanda, a registered Democrat, brokered her first bipartisan deal when she married her husband, a registered Republican. What is Campaign Work? Introduction Political campaigns offer the opportunity to develop and refine a wide assortment of skills in an extremely fast-paced and flexible environment.

How do I decide which campaign is right for me? What level of responsibility are you seeking? Can you get by with limited funding? How geographically flexible are you? How much time do you want to devote to the campaign enterprise? How sharp are your elbows? Do you want to stay close to home or are you willing to relocate? Are you willing to travel, and if so, how frequently?

Do you prefer to work at campaign headquarters or in the field? How do I choose a candidate? Will working for a losing candidate impair my chances for professional opportunities down the road? Can someone with a legal background do legal work, or can they be used effectively in other ways on a campaign?

Do I have a realistic shot at high-profile campaigns if I do not have an inside connection? To whom would I direct my application? What materials should be in a campaign application packet? Am I going to be paid? Getting Involved As a Student Is full-time work for a candidate the only way to get involved?

I do not want to work in politics, but I feel strongly about this candidate. If I can only work in the summer, how can I maintain my contacts so that if the candidate is elected, I could have the chance to work for them post-grad? Would a campaign accept my help exclusively during the winter term? How could I work for a candidate during the academic year? These debates, between Governor Jimmy Carter, the Democratic nominee, and Republican incumbent President Gerald Ford, also demonstrated their dramatic effect.

Agenda-setting is somewhat limited within domestic politics. Due to the commercialized context within which they work, media institutions must compete for audience interest and can often not afford to ignore an important issue which another television station, newspaper, or radio station is willing to pick up.

In regards to foreign policy, agenda-setting could take place in areas in which very few Americans have direct experience of the issues at hand. In addition, the U. Coverage of the political campaigns have been less reflective on the issues that matter to voters.

Instead, the media has focused primarily on campaign tactics and strategy, according to a report conducted jointly by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, part of the Pew Research Center, and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The report examined 1, stories that appeared from January through May in 48 news outlets. Almost two-thirds of all stories in U.

The rest of the stories focused more on tactics and strategy. The growth of the Internet and its associated technologies has made a profound impact on contemporary political campaigns. The growth of the Internet and its associated technologies has had a profound impact on contemporary political campaigns. The presidential election between incumbent President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry was the first to heavily utilize web-based advertising, with advertisements tailored toward different target audiences.

When discussing the U. Given that the Internet is interactive and requires an affirmative action on the part of the users, as opposed to a passive response from TV users, it is not surprising that the candidate has to be someone people want to touch and interact with.

He used the internet to connect with his constituents and win votes. Political blogs, generally a series of discrete posts about political issues in which readers may submit comments thus reinforcing its interactive nature , have become prominent method of covering politics. Though the medium was often originally associated with individuals operating outside the formal political and media establishment, political blogs have unquestionably shaped the actions of political leadership and voter behavior.

In the United States and many other countries, the most prominent bloggers have now become an accepted fixture in the political milieu. Podcasts, a type of digital media consisting of an episodic series of audio, video, PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or streamed online to a computer or mobile device, have also become a popular way to convey political messages. The internet is now a core element of modern political campaigns. Communication technologies such as e-mail, web sites, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster communications by citizen movements and deliver a message to a large audience.

These Internet technologies are used for cause-related fundraising, lobbying, volunteering, community building, and organizing. Additional campaign data includes information about how contestants are allocated public resources for campaigning, such as media or use of public spaces. Data about media allocations includes information relating to the decision-making process the system used for the allotment, such as a lottery and outcomes i.

Relevant data can also include information about applications for rally permits — including who applied, when, why, whether the application was accepted or denied, and, if denied, why. Why do election campaigns matter?

Example election campaign data Election campaign data includes information about the timetable for official election campaigns, as well as campaign regulations or restrictions. Candidates are often recruited by political parties and lobby groups interested in electing like-minded politicians. During this period, people considering running for office will consider their ability to put together the money, organization, and public image needed to get elected.

Many campaigns for major office do not progress past this point, as people often do not feel confident in their ability to win. However, some candidates lacking the resources needed for a competitive campaign proceed with an inexpensive paper campaign or informational campaign designed to raise public awareness and support for their positions. Once a person decides to run, they make a public announcement. This announcement consists of anything from a simple press release, to concerned media outlets, or a major media event followed by a speaking tour.

One of the most important aspects of the major American political campaign is the ability to raise large sums of money, especially early on in the race. Political insiders and donors often judge candidates based on their ability to raise money.

Not raising enough money early on can lead to problems later as donors are not willing to give funds to candidates they perceive to be losing, a perception based on their poor fundraising performance. Also during this period, candidates travel around the area they are running in and meet with voters; speaking to them in large crowds, small groups, or even one-on-one. This allows voters to get a better sense of who a candidate is, rather than just relying on what they read about in the paper or see on television.

The identification of supporters is useful later, as campaigns remind voters to cast their votes. Late in the campaign, campaigns will launch expensive television, radio, and direct mail campaigns aimed at persuading voters to support their candidate.

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Assembling a Campaign Staff It is essential to gather a specialized and politically driven staff that helps run political campaigns in elections. Learning Objectives Describe the organizational structure of a major modern political campaign. Political consultants advise campaigns on virtually all of their activities from research to field strategy. There are different departments created while assembling the staff in order to structure all of the campaign roles.

Key Terms pollster : A professional whose primary job is conducting pre-election polls. Alternatively, a party whose business is to be similarly consulted.

The Modern Political Campaign A modern political campaign informs citizens about a political candidate running for the elected office. Learning Objectives Identify key moments in the history of mass campaigns in the United States. Key Takeaways Key Points A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. Key Terms political action committee : A political action committee PAC is any organization in the United States that campaigns for or against political candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.

The Nomination Campaign In the nomination campaign, Presidential candidates are selected based on the primaries to run in the main election. Learning Objectives Describe the procedure by which the Electoral College indirectly elects the President.

Nominees campaign across the country to explain their views, convince voters and solicit contributions. Much of the modern electoral process is concerned with winning swing states through frequent visits and mass media advertising drives. Key Terms Twentieth Amendment : This amendment establishes the beginning and ending of the terms of the elected federal offices.