A political campaign is an organized effort to elect a candidate to public office or pass ballot initiatives. During election years, thousands of campaigns are organized nationwide and can range in size from small operations consisting of just two paid staffers to large, federal operations with hundreds of volunteers and paid employees. The length of a campaign also varies widely, with some lasting a few months and others spanning more than two years.
A campaign’s goals are to identify, persuade, organize and mobilize supporters of the candidate or cause. Campaigns use a variety of tools to promote the candidate and influence voters, including paid advertising, direct mail, telephone calls, face-to-face meetings with voters, news conferences, and the creation and distribution of fact sheets and other informational materials.
An important goal of a campaign is to create a consistent message, or set of talking points, that summarize the candidate’s ideas and are repeated frequently. Often, campaigns will hire an outside consultant to help develop the message and ensure it is effective.
A successful political campaign requires the involvement of large numbers of people, usually volunteers. Student volunteers and interns often play a critical role on political campaigns, especially during the summer. Students may canvass or make call persuasions to voters, participate in fundraising events, write letters to the editor of local papers and produce draft policy papers. Students might also assist with the operation of a website or social media page, or help organize or support other campaign activities.
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