Choosing Your Political Campaign: Are You Qualified?

You have the desire to serve your community, the drive to work hard, and the ambition to believe that you can succeed.  These are all qualities that can add up to a successful career in politics, but the first choice you have to make is which office you’ll seek.

Make no mistake: this is an important decision, and it’s one that every prospective candidate should spend plenty of time thinking about before jumping into a race.

While this question applies to both longtime officeholders and new candidates, those who’ve been involved in politics for years have the luxury of more roads to success.  If you name has never been on a ballot before, then comparing and contrasting your options for a first-time run becomes even more important.

You might be the type who enjoys a challenge and welcomes a fight against the odds.  If so, feel free to dive headlong into a huge race against a popular, well-funded incumbent.

The rest of us, however, will take a slightly more pragmatic approach.

The first thing you should ask yourself is this: am I qualified for the office? Some will argue that a citizen is qualified to hold any elected office that they can win.

Fair enough.  But if you’re running for school board and you never even graduated the eighth grade, then it’s going to be much more difficult to convince voters to put a check by your name.

That’s not to say that fresh faces with little political experience haven’t ever run for Congress and won.  In the vast majority of these cases, however, the candidates are already well-known in the district, have access to a killer fund-raising network, and identified themselves as community or business leaders.

If you don’t have any of those attributes going for you just yet, set your sights on an office of slightly lower stature.  After all, the experience you’ll gain on the local School Board, City Council or Board of Commissioners will add to your credibility as a qualified candidate for higher office.

Remember: when you receive someone’s vote, they are placing great trust in you to safeguard their community, their tax dollars, and perhaps even more.

Your obligation to your constituents is much more than just running a good campaign.  It’s also making sure that you’re as qualified as possible for the job they hire you to do.

Related Political Campaign & Local Election Strategies:

1. Choosing Your Political Campaign: The Easiest Race to Win