Welcome back, Saturday Campaign D-I-Y’ers! For those who tune in, welcome to the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. Each week, we discuss issues that help drive successful campaigns. If you’ve missed prior diaries, please visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide.
One of the questions I get emailed most frequently regards candidate training programs. Many candidates every year get an opportunity to attend a training program that is hosted by either their state party or an outside group like DFA, Wellstone or others. New candidates will also get invited to issue advocacy training programs by organizations like Planned Parenthood and environmental organizations.
These training programs can run a day or a weekend. Some candidates fly to training programs like PCCC or an out of state workshop. This week, let’s talk about the value of training camps.
One of the problems new candidates face is that they feel quickly overwhelmed. It seems as though there are a lot of decisions that need to be made and all appear to be urgent. Taking time away from an upstart campaign to attend a training program is something several shrug off, worried they don’t have time.
Training programs if taken seriously, though, can help a candidate stop feeling overwhelmed and start feeling as though they understand what will happen. Let’s break apart the different types of training programs and how they can benefit you, as well as well as how to personalize the advice you receive.
Issue advocacy training programs
Issue advocacy training programs are often overlooked by new campaigns. These one day programs are put together by advocates of a cause and geared to help you understand their issue and how to talk about it. These programs aren’t just for candidates either, and can teach anyone who is interested how the intricacies of policy issues in a community.
Issue advocacy programs can provide candidates, staff, and party officials in-depth information and means to talk about it with the public. Don’t think of these programs as talking points, if you go into them just wanting to learn about an issue, you can come out pretty well informed about the kind of issues you’d face if you were to be elected.
If you’re a year+ away from your campaign, and there is an opportunity for issue advocacy training, do it. Campaigns that are on message and understand the issues early make fewer mistakes.
Functional Campaign Training
When we talk about training programs, most people think of the big ones—DFA, Wellstone, Pelosi’s Bootcamp, or state-led training. These training programs are considered functional campaign training. That means that they often deal with how a campaign should work and what it should look like. Issues tacked in these programs include: how to manage your finances, how to handle staff, how to raise money, how to address messaging, time management and field work.
Some states may provide DFA or Wellstone opportunities. In other states or areas, they may not be available. States themselves often try to put on their own training programs, often modeled around the same core concepts.
If you are running for office for the first time, it’s often a good idea to have at least one person in your organization—either the candidate or a person on the campaign—who has been through a functional campaign training program.
If functional programs are difficult for you to find in your area, you can check online and look for a lot of functional training programs. In many ways, Nuts & Bolts is a form of a functional training program, but the interactive nature and visual show can often help make programs like DFA and Wellstone effective at getting instruction across.
Third-Party “sell” Training
Now we get into the most tricky of categories: third-party “sell” training. Every election cycle, campaign consultants and outside organizations will also offer their own training programs. These training programs sometimes are put on with an advertising hook: half training, half sell the consultancy that is putting them on. These programs can be very, very good run by groups who just want to make a difference, or they can remind you of hard-sell timeshare programs.
Before you attend a third-party training program put on by a consultancy, ask your state party or county organization about the reputation of the group you would be meeting with and make yourself aware before you go. In my experience, the vast majority of these are quite good and are put on by Democratic members who just want to win; that doesn’t, however, mean there aren’t a few of these just used to hard pitch candidates mail, print, data or other consulting services.
Vote Builder/NGP/PDI
While not a candidate training program, the tools every candidate must have at their fingertips are the ability to manage vote targeting, door knocking, and outreach. For many states, that’s handled through Vote Builder, in California PDI. A few locations still use niche data services for some races.
Attending a session to show you how to use your data service provider can be the best use of time you’ll spend early on. Understanding how data works in your campaign can save you a lot of time later. You can also take Vote Builder/PDI training online, or use inbuilt tutorial programs from both.
Final Thoughts: Boy Scout motto
“Be Prepared.” It’s good advice, not just for scouts but for candidates. Many candidates run for office because they see things in the world they want to fix, so they are the people who pay attention to details. People who pay attention to details are the same people who get quickly frustrated when they don’t see a plan or understand how to proceed. Training programs provide structure and guidance that can help a candidate feel assured they are doing the right things.
Next Week: Good campaigns should be fun. Keeping joy in a campaign
PS: Above you’ll see our US House candidate in Kansas District 4. There is still time to help and you can do so by clicking on this link.
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Nuts & Bolts: Building Democratic Campaigns
Contact the Daily Kos group Nuts and Bolts by kosmail (members of Daily Kos only).
Every Saturday this group will chronicle the ins and outs of campaigns, small and large. Issues to be covered: Campaign Staffing, Fundraising, Canvass, Field Work, Data Services, Earned Media, Spending and Budget Practices, How to Keep Your Mental Health, and on the last Saturday of the month: “Don’t Do This!” a diary on how you can learn from the mistakes of campaigns in the past.
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