7 Questions You Should Answer Before Running for Office

Running for office is often compared to an interview process. Just like interviewing for a new job, you need to have a resume prepared and know how to answer questions before you walk into the interview. If you’re thinking about a run for office, but can’t answer these questions, you might want to reconsider.

1. Have you built a community?

When you tell friends, family, and neighbors you’re running for office, their answer should be “Yeah that makes sense! Finally!” It should be obvious to the people that know you best that this is a good idea. Not because you’ve been plotting and scheming to put yourself in the right position, but because you’re already a pillar of your community.

You’ve already established yourself as a leader at your church, you volunteer at your kid’s school, you’re coaching sports, you volunteer at the soup kitchen, whatever. You’re visible in and around your community before you decide to run for office, not as a ploy to set up your political career, but because that’s just who you are.

2. Is your family ready?

It’s not just your choice, your spouse should be on board and recognize the sacrifices this will require. You will have less time, more work, and your family will likely be working as part of the campaign. Don’t let this scare you off though, you can manage these responsibilities, but you can’t go it alone. Your spouse should be your biggest and first supporter. If they’re not ready for it, take their advice seriously.

3. Are you running for the right position?

It’s pretty unusual for a first time candidate to run for very high office. It takes a unique confluence of factors for such a run to be successful. Don’t try to be Governor or Senator if you’re not ready for that position yet. Run for local office like City Council, School Board or even County office. Not only will these campaigns be much more manageable, but they’re likely to be a better fit for your experience.

It’s usually not a good choice to run for office as your very first job. Get some time in the real world, earn that experience before you leap into the political fray. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

4. Are you prepared for the negativity?

If you’ve been paying attention to the political climate right now, you might have noticed it’s a bit tense. Sadly, this tension isn’t just reserved for federal office holders, but it’s drifting to down to the state and local level too. If you choose to enter the political fray, you should be prepared, because it is often times just that, a fray. Understanding that your opponent and their supporters are just as passionate as you are will help put negative feedback in context.  

You should also examine your personal history and think about the skeletons in your own closet. Opposing campaigns and political hacks might see opportunities to smear you, using messy divorces, juvenile criminal convictions, or ill advised posts on social media to set back your campaign. You can’t wipe your history clean of all mistakes, so ready responses and figure out just how much mud slinging you can handle. Hopefully, it won’t come up, but you should steel yourself for the possibility that it might.

5. What is your vision for this position?

After spending any time in politics you’re sure to have met the ladder climber. The guy (or lady) that’s more interested in climbing to the next position, grabbing the next rung, than they are the current opportunity. They don’t see elected office as a job to perform for the benefit of their community, but as a stepping stone to more money and power. Don’t be that guy.

Come up with a real plan for what you want to do while in office. Listen well. When you are talking to your community, they will tell you what is a priority for them. Understanding what you want to do and merging it with what is a priority for you community will help you craft a winning message.

Make sure that it’s feasible and not a pie in the sky campaign promise. In the 2016 presidential campaign we saw what happens when a candidates primary message is “it’s her turn,” and it didn’t turn out well for that campaign. Run for office because you really want the job and have great ideas and skills that will improve your community.

6. Can you raise the money?

Many candidates I’ve worked with hate this part of the campaign. They find it awkward to ask friends, family, and strangers to give them money for the campaign. Unfortunately, you just can’t get around it, you will need at least some kind of budget to run for office successfully. And that requires asking people for donations.

Our candidate certification course has some excellent techniques you can use to make this process easier, but don’t avoid thinking about it in your planning stages.

7. Will you put in the work?

This isn’t going to be easy. Running for office is a serious commitment, not only to the supporters who canvass neighborhoods for you, the donors that fund your campaign, and ultimately the voters that put you into office. It’s not something to be taken on lightly.

But you can do it. If you can commit to running the race, the long hours and stress, the uncomfortable moments and the exciting ones, you can make it happen and celebrate on election night. And we at American Majority are here to help.

The American Majority Candidate Certification Course is our fully online class that you can take at your own pace to get the nuts and bolts skills you need to win an election. From fundraising to Get-Out-The-Vote, this course covers everything you need to know about running for office.

Check it out today!