“Hi great blog, I’m a subscriber and have a question that I hope you don’t think is too strange!  I’m running for City Council in my city and am wondering, when I do my door-to-door campaigning, what is the best kind of clothes to wear.  I mean I don’t want to dress too formally but also I don’t want to under-dress too.  Also do you have suggestions for what is appropriate for a local election candidate to wear at political campaign events, and meetings?  Thanks.”

That’s a good question, Darren, and one that every local election candidate needs to consider before starting their political campaign.  The appropriate campaigning wardrobe is going to differ depending upon what office you are running for, what event you are dressing for, and what kind of audience you will be presenting yourself to.

When I’m doing door-to-door campaigning in  own city (I’m an elected at-large city councilman), I always make sure that I dress on about the same level as the people whose homes I’m visiting.  I prefer to wear jeans and a polo shirt (or my campaign t-shirt) and tennis shoes or comfortable boots.

I steer clear of wearing slacks and a dress shirt when I’m doing door-to-door campaigning for a couple of reasons.  The first is that nicer clothes don’t lend themselves as well to the rigors of neighborhood walking.  If you’re going to be walking and knocking on doors for hours at a time, especially during the warmer months, then dressier clothing just isn’t practical.

The second reason is the level of the office that I’m running for.  City councilman is more of an “everyman” position, and I think that the voters can relate more with a council candidate who comes to their door wearing a pair of jeans rather than a dressy outfit.  Would bluejeans and sneakers be appropriate dress for someone who is running a political campaign for County Prosecutor or Judge?  Probably not, since voters expect more professional-looking candidates in those kind of races.

As for how you should dress when you’re attending meetings, gatherings, fundraisers, campaign events, and other venues, there’s a simple rule that I like to follow: always dress one level above your audience.  If your audience is going to be wearing jeans and t-shirts, make sure that you wear slacks and a dress shirt.  If they will be wearing nicer clothes, make sure that you put on a jacket and tie.  You get the picture.

One last important tip: it’s fine to wear your political campaign t-shirt when you’re at a fundraising event, doing door-to-door campaigning, or at carnivals and fairs . . . but put on something nicer if it’s any other type of meeting or campaign event.  Wearing a campaign t-shirt to more formal events, with your name emblazoned in across your chest and back, is pretty tacky and will probably generate eye-rolling from a lot of attendees.

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Of course, most candidates who are running in smaller local elections will never have to worry about this kind of thing, but it’s still good to practice watching what you say if you want to have any sort of career in politics.  The further you go as a politician, the more your opposition and members of the media will try to catch you saying something politically damaging.

Getting caught saying something you didn’t intend people to hear isn’t always a career-destroyer, but is can lead to a lot of embarrassment, backtracking and apologizing.  It’s better to try and follow the rule that our mothers taught us: if you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything at all.  At least until you are back behind closed doors!

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That’s not to say that it isn’t possible to win a campaign against an incumbent–it is, obviously, and it happens frequently in local, state and national elections.  An incumbent’s electability and popularity often have a lot to do with the political climate, local economy, and other factors that aren’t in anyone’s control.  The current office holder, however, usually starts any campaign with a leg up in name recognition, fund raising and favorability . . . as long as they haven’t run into a scandal or performed their job horribly.

So, why is it that an incumbent politician is the candidate most likely to win most local elections?  There are several important reasons, the first of which is their ability to raise large amounts of campaign money from a large pool of potential donors.  The first time you run for office, it’s usually difficult to get people to donate to your campaign, since you haven’t yet proven that you can win.

An incumbent candidate, though, has already showed supporters that he can win an election, and that he is a good investment.  He has likely made many new contacts over the course of his term in office, and all of them are potential contributors.  And if he has formed alliances with other politicians and officeholders in his own party, he will also have access to other lists of potential donors, invitations to events that can lead to new fundraising opportunities, and compelling endorsements.

Another reason why incumbents are more likely to win a local election is name recognition.  People like to vote for the name they know, and any politician who has held office for a while and been on the ballot in the past is a known entity.  Building candidate name recognition is a vital part of any political campaign, and incumbents already have a huge head start against lesser-known opponents.

Does that mean that a well-financed incumbent with a high approval rating and high name recognition is unbeatable?  Well, no, it doesn’t.  Anything is possible, and there are examples of popular political incumbents who lost their attempts at re-election because of unforeseen developments during campaign season.

Popular incumbents could get embroiled in unexpected scandals or even pass away on the campaign trail.  But a word to the wise: if your whole local election strategy consists of hoping that your opponent gets arrested or dies, then you should probably keep your powder dry for another political campaign in the future.

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“Hi Killer Campaigning, I’m a fan and maybe you can help give me advice with a problem that I have. I was a City Councilman but had some personal problems in my life and made some bad mistakes that ended with me getting arrested (it was my own fault, I admit that).

“I have overcome those problems now, but the local newspapers were not kind in their coverage and I lost my last re-election campaign. I really want to continue serving my community as an elected official, do you have any suggestions for how I could win my seat back?”

Thanks for the question, Dave. Although you don’t give us any details about what actions led to your political scandal and arrest, it’s admirable that you admit that the fault for your problem was yours alone–far too many politicians who get caught up in a scandal try to pass the buck and blame their behavior on other people. Regardless of whether you are successful in getting re-elected or not, taking responsibility for your actions and admitting that you have a problem is the first step toward recovery and building a better life.

In my opinion, though, the nature of your mistakes has great bearing on whether or not you should attempt to run for office again at all. Elected officials are entrusted with very serious responsibilities to serve their constituents and do the best job they can representing them.

If your scandal involved exploiting your office for personal gain, then I’ll be brutally honest with you: the voters should never give you the opportunity to bilk them again, and you should get the idea of running for re-election out of your head. If, on the other hand, your arrest involved illegalities of a more personal nature that didn’t have to do with your office, then the voters might be more justified in forgiving you.

Also, what is your real motivation for wanting to win your seat back? If it’s really out of a desire to serve your neighbors and make your community a better place, then go for it. But if you miss the prestige, power and paycheck that came with being an elected official, then forget about it. You can’t hide those kind of selfish motives from voters, and they’ll quickly see that you’re being disingenuous.

But let’s talk political campaigning: yes, there are several examples of politicians who have gotten booted out of office because of scandals–drunk driving arrests, cheating on their wives, tax evasion, even drug charges–and come back to win a local election again. And there are a few steps that you can take to help resurrect yourself from a political suicide.

An important word to the wise, though: you need to be realistic about your chances of getting elected to local office again. The majority of politicians who lose their seats because of a scandal simply do not get re-elected to office. If you accept the fact that the odds are against you in any future political campaign and you still want to give it a go, you need to be ready for some very tough campaigning.

You should expect plenty of negative campaigning from your opponent–in fact, he would be silly not to remind everyone in your district about the details surrounding your arrest and scandal. Obviously, trying to ignore the situation and hoping that the voters will forget about what happened is the wrong strategy. Instead, I suggest you tackle the problem head-on, and beat your opponent to the punch.

Here’s what I would do: start campaigning many months before your opponent, and make a point of personally apologizing to as many voters in your district as you can. Get out and start knocking on doors in your ward, looking voters in the eye, and talking to them directly. Let them know that you want to serve them again, that you made some personal mistakes, and that you take full responsibility for those mistakes. Tell them that you’ve worked hard to overcome your own weaknesses, and that you want to work even harder to earn their forgiveness and their trust.

You can’t just rely on a mea-culpa to win your campaign, though; you need to make it clear to the voters why it would benefit them to put you back in the office that you were voted out of. Remind them of the good things that you did when you were in office, and tell them about the ambitious plans that you have to make your community better if they return you to your seat. Show them specific details of what you will do for them, and make it clear to them that you’ll work hard for their best interests.

Be very careful about getting into a mud-slinging match with your opponent. You might know a few unsavory details about your opponent and be very eager to share them with the voters, but this is a dangerous tactic for someone who already got booted out of office because of his own scandal.

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, and believe me: you now live in the biggest glass house in the city. Resist any temptation you might have to campaign negatively against your competition, because it will likely backfire and only serve to remind the voters of your own shortcomings.

A well-planned direct mail campaign will also serve to help you, but you need to be prepared to finance much of it from your own pocket; you might discover that many of your previous fundraising sources have dried up since you lost your seat. Obviously, the more financial resources you can invest in your campaign, the more likely you’ll be to convince the voters that they should give you a second chance.

If you have successfully dealt with the personal problems in your own life and you genuinely want to win your seat back because of a desire to help your community and serve your constituents, then I wish you luck in your effort to get re-elected.

Just remember: there are plenty of ways to serve your community without being an elected official, and you shouldn’t judge your ow personal worth by whether or not you hold public office.

As I’ve said before on Killer Campaigning, there are far more important things in the world than political campaigns: your family, your friends, your own personal happiness and satisfaction.  Make sure that make those things your top priority over getting re-elected.

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While women often make unparalleled government officials, they also have a knack for being very competitive political campaign candidates.  As a political consultant, I would have much rather worked for a strong female candidate than a typical male candidate–for many reasons.  While female politicians and candidates are outnumbered by their male counterparts today, I’m encouraged by the growing number of talented women entering political campaign races every year.

So, how do women win such a large percentage of campaigns and elections they enter, and what characteristics make females such effective political candidates?  The reasons why women are often more successful than men in politics are far too numerous to list in one article, but we’re going to take a look at five of the most compelling below.  If you have more to add to the list, please leave a comment at the end of this post.

And if you’re a women thinking about starting a career in politics and elections, I hope you’ll go for it . . . your country and community needs more talented females in government!

Top 5 Reasons Why Women Make Great Local Political Campaign Candidates

1. Natural Communication Skills

While nothing in this post is meant to stereotype men or women, it’s a fact that females are often more talented and comfortable in the realm of effective communication.

Being able to communicate your ideas in a compelling fashion is a vital trait for political candidates, and the person who can do so naturally–without having to be taught how–has an advantage in any campaign.  Many voters find the communication style of women candidates more appealing, which helps in both one-on-one grassroots situations and public forums or debates.

2. Higher Thresholds for Campaign Trail Stress

The rigors of the campaign trail–even in local elections–can be much more demanding and stressful than new candidates expect.  A woman’s innate ability to process and deal with stressful situations calmly is a huge boon in political campaigns.

Not all men are hotheads, but a male political candidate is much more likely to respond to respond to the steady stress of campaigning in a damaging fashion.  Angry outbursts, impulsive comments and bad attitudes just aren’t as common in female candidates.

3. Better Ability Make Supporters & Volunteers Feel Appreciated

One of the most important–and overlooked–things that political candidates can do for their campaigns is making employees, volunteers and supporters feel as though their hard work is appreciated.

I can’t tell you how many male candidates I’ve worked with who treat their staff and volunteers like dirt, which leads to awful productivity.  This kind of arrogance and lack of empathy might be present in some women candidates, as well, but it isn’t as common.  Women are often much better at letting people know how important and needed they are.

4. Lower Likelihood for “Skeletons in the Closet”

Sure, women can have their secrets, too, but they are much less likely than men to have career-destroying skeletons hanging in the closet.  As a campaign manager, one of your greatest fears is that something scandalous is going to be revealed about your candidate in the last few weeks of the election.

Male candidates certainly don’t have a corner on the scandal market, but many of them do seem to have more political baggage.  How often do you see a scandal involving a female politician in the news?

5. Greater Voter Appeal and Demographic Advantages

It’s a well-known fact in political consulting circles that a female candidate will often run a few points ahead of a male challenger just because she is a woman. We’re not going to explore the reasons for this, but in most districts, being a woman is automatically going to give you a head start in the race.

Now, just being female won’t win the election for you–it also takes good planning, hard work and a bit of luck. As a man, though, I would much rather run against another man than go head-to-head with a female candidate at the polls.

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If you’re the type of political candidate who’s working hard and making an effort to actually meet the voters in your district, then personality can play a huge role in how well you do on election day.  The kind of character traits that voters like to see in a candidate for public office–optimism, determination, an outgoing demeanor, intelligence–are well known to everyone.  Actually making sure that voters get a chance to see that you possess this kind of personality, though, is sometimes more difficult than it might seem.

Here’s one of the downsides of working your hardest in a local election: it really wears you out.  Day after day of walking, knocking on doors, making phone calls, writing letters and planning events can take a big toll on a political candidate’s health and temperament.  Even if you are a naturally outgoing and pleasant person, it’s difficult to keep a smile on your face when you’re exhausted.

Making sure that your natural, affable personality is still able to shine through even after hours of tiring work on the campaign trail is vital to anyone who plans on running a rigorous political campaign.  And the stresses of door-to-door campaigning go beyond just the physical: you can expect to get more than a few doors slammed in your face and some harsh words from residents, as well, regardless of how nice you are.

To make sure that your personality and demeanor aren’t affected by the rough conditions on any campaign trail, I suggest that you force yourself to take regularly scheduled breaks from campaigning.  This applies on the small scale as well as the large scale: don’t do more than a few hours of door-to-door campaigning on a given day without taking a breather to regain your composure, and also be sure to take a full day off every now and then during a months-long campaign.

That’s good advice if you already have a personality fit for political campaigning, but what if you just aren’t naturally outgoing and enthusiastic?  How does a person without an electric personality appeal to voters in a face-to-face situation?

First of all, not having the most engaging personality in the world isn’t a death sentence for a local election candidate by any means.  I can’t tell you how many popular incumbent politicians that I’ve met who have the personality of a telephone pole.  Hard work, good fundraising, and pure luck often play a bigger part in winning a campaign than your personality.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t make any effort to seem interesting, engaged and likable to the voters.  A lot of voters aren’t necessarily looking for a candidate who is energetic and intense; some people appreciate a calm, measured, pragmatic candidate instead.

While you should try to put on your best face for voters and treat them with respect and kindness, you should never try to fundamentally change your natural personality on the campaign trail.  If you aren’t an enthusiastic, intense person but you try to come across as one when you meet voters, they’ll be able to tell that you aren’t being genuine.  Likewise, if you are naturally outgoing and funny, don’t try to recast yourself as a serious, calm candidate for the voters.

Above all else, people want to vote for candidates who are genuine–regardless of what their legitimate personality is like.  If you’re not afraid of being who you really are on the campaign trail, then you never have to worry about hiding anything from your constituents.

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In addition to being intelligent and hard-working, however, this candidate also had another memorable characteristic: a mustache.  And while I don’t think his facial hair looked bad, I do think that he would have won the election if he had shaved his mustache off before launching his political campaign.

There’s a simple reason why the vast majority of politicians, elected officials and political candidates don’t have mustaches or beards: because facial hair, for whatever the reason, loses votes for male candidates (and female candidates too, I would imagine).

Yes, there are probably lots of examples of local election candidates who win their campaigns in spite of having mustaches, beards or goatees.  But it’s an unfortunate fact that a lot of voters just can’t bring themselves to cast a vote for any candidate with prominent facial hair.

Maybe it’s because voters have grown accustomed to the cliche image of clean-shaven politicians in suits and ties.  I’m not going to try and guess why you’re less likely to win a political campaign with a mustache; I’m just letting you know that you’re going to get fewer votes on election day if you don’t shave before hitting the campaign trail.

Does that mean that you should get rid of your mustache or beard if you’ve had it for decades and you want to run for office?  No, of course not.  Like I said, there are plenty of examples of local election candidates who win their campaigns with facial hair.  I’m just saying that you’ll probably get a few more votes without the ‘stash.

I for one hope that voters eventually overcome their aversion to facial hair; I’d love to be able to grow a neat, well-groomed beard and still run for office.  There might be a few countries in the world where facial hair helps political candidates get more votes, but the United States isn’t one of them yet.

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If you’re a candidate in a local election race for city council, mayor and even county commissioner, don’t expect to see any polls for your race unless you plan on hiring a professional polling company yourself.  Most local newspapers don’t have the interest or the resources to conduct polling, and well-known political polling firms don’t usually poll races unless they stoke national interest.

The only poll results you are likely to see in your local political campaign will be the results that are tallied by the Board of Elections on voting day.  I’ve been asked by many local candidates about the best way to conduct amateur polling to get a feel for which candidate has momentum, and I’ll share a few pointers with you.

First of all, I suggest that you drop the idea of conducting your own private, unscientific election polling.  Even if there were a way to do it yourself, it would likely take an enormous amount of effort on your part and from volunteers.  As a local candidate, you don’t need to be spending your time doing anything but campaigning.  Ironically, taking the time to conduct your own local election poll could end up losing the race for you.

Secondly, if you have the extra campaign funds to pay for a professional firm to do polling for you, I highly suggest that you use that money for more targeted direct mail, instead.  Election polling done by experienced companies can cost quite a bit of money, and I can’t think of any reason why a candidate in a local race would want to drop so much cash on something that isn’t going to help them get a single vote.

In congressional, statewide and national races, election polling doesn’t just let a campaign know where they stand with the voters; it also supplies them with data that can be spun to showcase their numbers in a good light for the public.  Even if a candidate is behind in the polls, a significant gain over the last results can show growing momentum.  And polls showing that a candidate is ahead can be publicized to rally supporters and discourage contenders.

Even if you could somehow get your hands on accurate polling for your local election, the data simply wouldn’t be as useful to you as it is to a candidate in a larger race.  Putting out a press release bragging about the fact that you are five points ahead of your challenger would probably seem downright strange to voters who aren’t used to seeing those kind of tactics in a small, hometown race.

Having said all of that, though, there are a few methods that you can use to get a general feel for how well your campaign is going without doing actual polling.

The first is your door-to-door neighborhood canvassing efforts.  If you really are getting out into the neighborhoods every day, knocking on doors and meeting voters, then you’re going to get a pretty good feel for how people feel about you.  If you start to realize that every person you meet has heard your name and has a generally good feeling about you, then the odds are that you’re doing pretty well.

Additionally, you’ll be able to do some unscientific polling of your own if you make regular nightly phone calls to your targeted list of likely voter households.  The greeting that you receive from voters who you have never met, and their reaction when they hear your name, will help you get a feel for how your campaign is doing.

I know that these methods are far from exact and will never let you know for sure how you’re going to perform on election night . . . but to tell you the truth, in many ways it’s a good thing that local candidates can’t do scientific polling in their races.

Why?  Because it makes you work harder.  Running a campaign like you’re ten points behind–right up until the end–is a great way to motivate yourself to outwork your opponent.  Seeing an election poll showing that you are a few points ahead of your challenger, while encouraging, can also have a bad side effect: it can make you rest on your laurels and take victory for granted.

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In large campaigns like Congressional, Senatorial, Gubernatorial and other state-wide races, experienced political consultants are a must-have.  There are more efforts involved in large political campaigns than most people realize, and the candidate often doesn’t have the experience–and certainly doesn’t have the time–to worry about details like volunteer recruitment, polling data, marketing, fundraising strategy, message and a hundred other things.  Competent political consulting, while not an exact science or quantifiable service, is vital component of any successful major campaign effort.

That’s not to say, however, that every dollar billed to a candidate by “political consulting” firms, companies, businesses and independent contractors are legit  and necessary.  The term “political consultant” is pretty vague in itself, and it’s often a title chosen by campaign workers who really haven’t had much serious experience in election work.  There are no laws and regulations that say who is allowed to call themselves “political consultants” and who is not.

For this reason, it’s always best to research any political consulting prospects you are considering to hire for your campaign.  If an independent political consultant or a consulting firm is as good and experienced as they claim, then they should be able to easily provide you with references and examples of campaigns they have worked on.  While a winning track record isn’t necessarily indicative of talent–hey, some races are just not winnable, after all–it is important that anyone you are paying money to has at least a modicum of political campaign experience.

People who are interested in building a full-time career as a political consultant almost always have to “pay their dues” by starting out as volunteers and unpaid managers on local campaigns.  Working your way up the ladder is part of the political campaign consultant process, and most consultants worth their salt will have plenty of volunteer experience on their resume.

That’s not to say that you should begrudge a young, ambitious person for taking on the title of “political consultant” and expecting to get paid some sort of compensation for all of the hard work they want to do for your campaign.  Don’t dismiss a youthful campaign applicant who might not have a lot of election experience, but don’t be fooled into handing them a huge monthly paycheck, either.

If you’re running as a candidate in a local political election, do your really need to secure the services of a paid political consultant?  Probably not.  Local campaigns need to conserve as much money as they can, and probably won’t be able to afford the hefty fees of most professional political consulting experts, anyway.  On a local level, the best campaign consultants you will have is your own political kitchen cabinet: friends, family, neighbors and local political party gurus.

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Here’s the problem: a lot of shoo-in candidates with no serious opposition–and unbeatable incumbents–like to spend their campaign cash on purchasing giant billboards to splash their face across their district during election season.

Since most of these candidates go on to win the election, a misconception develops in these districts that the billboards work,  and pretty soon every candidate wants to spend all of their money on them, too.

In reality, the shoo-in candidates would have won their race without buying a single political billboard, anyway.

Working as a campaign manager for a novice candidate in these kinds of districts can be maddening; the candidate thinks he needs to get his name and face on as many expensive billboards as possible, and there’s not much you can do to convince him otherwise.

Remember what I often say about easy stuff not being very effective in political campaigning?  Purchasing political billboards is easy, lazy campaigning, and wastes an incredible amount of money by putting your face in front of thousands of voters who will never even go to the polls on election day.

Billboards, though, make a candidate feel good.  They make him think that he is getting his message and his name out there.  They make him feel important, because his name and face are right there, fifty feet in the air, for everyone who drives by to see.

Now back to reality: forgoing the giant billboards and spending the same amount of money on a focused, well-researched, targeted direct mail campaign is many times more effective at getting your name in front of people who will actually have the opportunity to vote for you.

Here’s what your giant billboard is buying you: the opportunity to get your name in front of thousands of people.  But out of those thousands of people, only a certain percentage actually live in your district.  And out of those people, only a certain percentage are old enough to vote.  And out of those people, only a certain percentage are registered to vote.  Fewer still are likely voters, and fewer still are likely to respond to your campaign message.

So what do you end up with?  You’ve spent thousands of dollars on slapping your face in front a huge number of people who will play absolutely no role in your election.

Will a lot of people recognize your name and face?  Sure.  And those same people will probably never know or care that you were a loser on election day.

With direct mail, however, you can guarantee that every dollar you spend will put your name and message in front of likely voters in your district.

So take my word for it: don’t waste your campaign money on giant political billboards if you are starting at a deficit in your race.  Splashing your name and face on billboards across your district will do two things for you: make you feel very important, and make you lose on election day.

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