How to Run for Office (or Encourage a Friend To)
Women hold less than 20 percent of all seats in our national legislature, and women of color hold a small percentage of those seats, which means we have some catching up to do in order to reach political parity and to build a reflective democracy. Not everyone is ready or willing to make the substantial sacrifices of running for office. But I firmly believe everyone knows someone who would be great at serving in office—and that everyone can help someone else run and win. Plus, importantly, all of the policies in this book need a team of legislative champions in order to move forward and pass. That’s someone you know. That might be you. That’s us together building that team. So let’s roll up our sleeves and get more women running. Let’s go there!
How to Get a Friend to Run and Win
Ask! This may sound overly simple, but it’s not. When women run for office, studies show it’s typically because they’ve been asked to throw their hats in the ring—usually many, many times. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to decide to run for office on their own.38 To be blunt, more women need to be actively and aggressively recruited to run for public office, just like Pramila was urged to run with text after text blowing up her phone. And that’s where you come in. Here’s how:
Take a moment to reflect on your friends and colleagues and think if any of them would be spectacular elected leaders at the city, county, state, or federal level. Think about women who step up to take the lead in your neighborhood, at your kids’ school, or in your faith community, or in your community as a whole. I bet you know at least one, maybe more.
Have coffee.
Now that you have that person in mind, invite her out to coffee, tea, lemonade, or another fun beverage of your choice, and ask, “Hey, have you ever thought about running for office?” Remind her that she doesn’t have to run for office this very moment, but can start picking which office she wants to run for now and also making a plan to run in the next year or more. Also emphasize that she is qualified, right now as she is, to run for office. Women often think they need a PhD and a career as a lawyer or government official to run for office. That is not true at all.
Look for the sparkle.
Is there a glimmer of excitement in her eye? If so, ask friends to ask her to run, too. If she seems at all interested, even a teeny bit, if a sparkle lights up in her eye as she sips her coffee while you share that you think she’d make a great elected leader, then it’s time for you to get more people on your #TeamAskAWomanToRun. Find five or so other women and tell them that you’re working on a small project to get someone to run for office and need their help. Ask your five friends to ask her to run, too. Sometimes it takes a lot of asking for someone to run. Some research has even found that women have to be asked seven times in order to really think about running for office.39
Build support!
Depending on the person and your relationship, if they really do seem interested in running, then you may want to consider posting a nudge for them to run on social media. It not only helps people decide to run; it can also build the group of people who will support her while she’s running. A simple post like this can work: It’s clearly past time to get more spectacular women in elected office. I’m looking at you, [name]. You’d make an excellent elected leader! Hope you run for office one day.
Celebrate!
Okay, after you stop celebrating that she said yes, now you can help grow the circle of people who are helping with the future campaign. You can start by helping her bring together a “kitchen cabinet” of other women who will support her by volunteering and offering advice while she’s campaigning. It’s never too early to do this, even if she’s not running for a year or more. More on that below.
Find a hot meal and a checkbook.
That sounds silly, but it’s true. Year after year we hear from women candidates that one of the best supports they received from family, friends, or supporters was a hot, pre-made meal for them and their families from time to time. If you recruit someone to run for office, help them get to the finish line by reaching out and asking how you can help with a meal train or childcare. Just as importantly, write a check. It’s not just enough to vote for women candidates; we have to invest in them, too.
Set aside time to help great candidates.
Know that supporting and recruiting women leaders is an important form of leadership. Not everyone is called to or needs to run for office. It takes an entire community to elect anyone. So find someone you support, get on their kitchen cabinet, and be the wind that helps put them in office. This is just as important, if not sometimes more important, than running yourself.
So You Want to Run!
Did the idea of helping someone else run spark your interest? Do you want to run for office? Yes! Here’s how to start:
Have a party for one!
Celebrate that you decided you’re going to throw your hat in the ring to run for office by having a party… alone. Take a moment with a favorite beverage and snack (chocolate, anyone?), a pen, and a piece of paper. Write down the top three things you want to do when elected to office, or the top three reasons why you’re running. Add how your life experience relates to each of those issues, and then after each one list what level of government would be able to get that item done. This list shows you what your goal is in terms of if you want to run for city, county, state, or federal elected office. It also points to what messages you’ll want to talk about the most on the campaign trail. Frame it. Don’t forget it. This is why you’re running for office, and you should use it as a touchstone in the future.
Start a kitchen cabinet.
Now it’s time to grow your party from one to tons. The best (really only) way to win is to have a group of people supporting you. Think for a moment about who you know and who knows you. Gather together a group of ten to twelve people with varied experiences, including your very best friends, who’ll volunteer on your campaign and give advice like only someone who knows you well can. Think about inviting local business owners, regular contributors to other similar campaigns, people involved in your political party, community leaders, and people who hold elected office. Invite a mixture of those folks to be part of your kitchen cabinet team. You can start with a small group and grow it. You’ll want to meet about once a month to begin.
Find training.
Organizations across the country offer affordable (often free) campaign training throughout the year, some exclusively for women or people of color. Training is a powerful way to learn what it means to run for office and connect with local organizations and leaders who can help you along the way.
Make a plan.
Bring together your kitchen cabinet. To start, ask for feedback on if the office you’ve selected to run for is the right one for you. There are a lot of options for running for office. If this is your first race and you’re new to politics, think about running for a local office to start. Just like when you’re at work, it’s critical to get experience before going for the top job. Next, discuss whether you need to hire a campaign staff or not (you probably do even if you think you don’t). Then think about how you will raise the money to pay them. (Don’t let your family volunteer to do it for free. Trust me, you will thank me come Thanksgiving!) Start brainstorming a list of possible contributors and endorsers, including elected leaders, and set up one-on-one coffees with each of these people. Most importantly, make a plan for how to do voter contact and fundraising so you can win your race. You will be asked about this plan at each campaign event you do—be ready to talk about your strategy to win. And ask for people’s feedback and ideas to make the whole plan stronger.
Get your ducks in a row.
Research what you need to do to file to run for office and when, how to report your campaign spending, and other structural items like getting a campaign treasurer, Facebook and other social media presence, and website set up to take online contributions. (If this seems overwhelming, invite a local elected leader out to lunch and ask for advice on how they did this.)
Do some fundraising.
Brainstorm a list of at least fifty people who will likely contribute to your campaign. (You should put your family, friends, and kitchen cabinet on that list of people to ask.) An easy line to ask for funds is: Hello, I’m running for [name the seat] because I want to help lift our community. But I can’t win alone. Can you contribute [amount] to this effort? All amounts are appreciated but the limit is [limit]. Can I count on your support? Set aside a certain number of hours each week for fundraising and then hold yourself to that goal. Set up one-on-one coffees with each of the people on your fundraising list.
Reach out to movers and shakers.
Reach out to your local political party (Democrat, Republican, Green, or other) as well as to other local elected leaders to let them know you’re running and ask for their advice, help, and endorsement. Also reach out to local organizations and unions that support and help candidates (including by providing training) with your profile, such as Emily’s List, Emerge America, Collective PAC, VoteRunLead, National Women’s Political Caucus, Higher Heights, Democracy for America, and more. Also ask the staff at your legislative district organization or state party office if they can give you a list of which organizations are typically involved in local races near you as well as contact information for who to connect with at each of those organizations. When you talk with any organization or leader, be sure to ask for their endorsement and then put those endorsements on your website.
Contact voters.
Work with people who’ve run races in your area and have won them to make your voter contact plan. You may want to hire a consultant for this. In many areas creating a voter contact plan includes purchasing or getting the voter file so you can mail, doorbell, and otherwise reach the right voters to let them know you’re running and that they should vote for you. Targeting is key. You’re going to want to work on turning out people who don’t normally vote and would very likely support you and also on convincing swing voters (who might be convinced to vote for either candidate) that they really want to cast a ballot for you. Get some folks involved who’ve done this before if you never have—and make sure they’re on your kitchen cabinet, too.
Have fun!
Getting to meet new people, learn about new policy issues, and march in new parades is actually super fun. Enjoy your time running for office! And remember, if you lose the first time, be sure to run again. You’ve made an investment in name recognition with voters in your area, and it’s not uncommon to have to run more than once before being elected to an office.
This is about women helping other women. Support other women running for office. Try to avoid splitting the vote in ways that hurt women candidates. Once you have run for office or managed a campaign, you have an incredibly valuable perspective to share with other women candidates. Whether you win or lose, the tools, insights, and knowledge you gained on the campaign trail are powerful and they should be shared. Support other women leaders who are running for office.
Together, we can make a ladder of opportunity for every woman and girl. Our voices are powerful and so very needed. Use yours to build the team of leaders who fight for all of us!