Commonwealthy

Kristina Keats and I talk about Get Out the Vote (GOTV) ideas for early voting, absentee voting, along with election day strategies. These key phases in the Get Out the Vote process each needed further discussion. Although we touched on them in our previous podcast on Get Out the Vote in a Political Campaign Commonwealthy #42, it is important that the candidate and campaign staff fully realize the details and differences in each type of voting.

I am so excited to finally have Jason A. Hart on the podcast to explain how to use FOIA. Every political activist should understand the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Jason is an Ohio based reporter who will give you the basics. It is essential that activists, candidates and concerned citizens keep tabs on their governing bodies. Both elected, as well as those who are employed by the taxpayers, need to be reminded that those they work for are watching.

Even after spending so much time in politics, I am still reminded of a thing or two! In this podcast, I am going to share with you a couple of political campaign lessons that I have learned (or relearned as the case may be) that will help you in your own local election campaign.

Are you curious about how precinct work fits into field operations and your overall local political campaign strategy? What are you supposed to do with all of those numbers that you collect from previous elections anyway? How could they possibly help you in your current campaign for local office?

If you have listened to the Commonwealthy podcast before, then you know I am passionate about helping people run for local political offices. But why? Today I am going to cover why it is so important for people like yourself to set up and run in local political campaigns.

You have done all of this hard work collecting information in your database about who is voting for you. Now what do you do with it? In today’s podcast, Tina joins me to lay a foundation on Get Out the Vote. If you really want to win your local election, then you need to learn how to have a successful Get Out the Vote plan!

Paul Miller joins me back on the podcast today for a fun look at what many first time candidates do wrong. If you want to make sure that you spend your time wisely and don’t make the mistakes that many first time candidates make, then make sure to listen to Many Local Candidates Have Delusional Ideas! We will cover all the basics of what not to do for you.

In the second part of our two part series on negatives in political campaigns, Tina and I discuss how to respond when you are attacked. Negative political attacks are just a part of politics. If you are going to be running for local office, then you need to be prepared with the knowledge of how to respond in a way that helps your campaign and hurts your candidates.

Tina joins me on the podcast today as we cover an important part of any political campaign: negatives! So many first time candidates are determined to not have a negative campaign. In doing so, they miss out on an opportunity to educate the voters on the relative truths about their opponent. Don’t let this happen to you!

As we wrap up 2015 and look forward to a clean slate in 2016, are you thinking about making New Year’s resolutions? What if you could make seven easy resolutions that would help change your life for the better AND set yourself up to be a candidate in the future? Join me on the podcast today as we cover these easy changes you can make to help prepare yourself for a future political campaign for local office.  Start the year off setting yourself up to be a candidate.

Are you curious about how the Republican Party is structured? Have you heard the names of the various Republican organizations and aren’t sure how it all fits together? Today I am going to do a special podcast to help clear up the confusion! Join me as we take a look at the different organizations that make up the Republican Party.

Do you love a good underdog story? If so, I have a treat for you today. Jason Carini is the county treasurer in Rogers County, Oklahoma . He is joining me on the podcast to talk about how he overcame a twenty-four year incumbent in a local election and is able to help clean up his county government as a result. Jason has a great story to tell and plenty of practical advice to give about how to run for local political office and win a local election.

Money makes the world go round- especially in political campaigns! Join us today as Tina and I discuss how to ask for money in a political campaign. Whether you are nervous about asking people for money or you are just looking for tips on where to start, we’ve got all the information covered for you.

Tina is back on the podcast today as we discuss primary election strategies. A primary election is slightly different than a general election in that you will be running against people from your same party. There will be a lower voter turnout and you will be contending for the vote of a smaller group of people. How can you set yourself up for success in a primary election?

I have a special guest on the podcast today that you are really going to learn a lot from! Brandon Lewis, author of the best selling book How to Raise Money for Political Office, is going to teach us the basic steps to raising the money that you really need to win your race for local office. Follow his simple program, and I know you will be able raise your dream budget!