Top Ten Tips to Win an Election!

Check out this must-read top ten list of tips to win elections this November.

Wellstone Action's Top Ten Tips for Winning Your Election

from the soon-to-be-released new book, Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way

1. Be an authentic candidate. Communicate authenticity to voters by standing up for what you believe in and sharing with voters what it is that calls you to public service.

2. Election Day is a turnout game, so make sure that you have a robust effort to get your supporters to the polls. Get-Out-the-Vote planning should begin on day one of your campaign.

3. Work with reporters to earn media coverage to help communicate the message of your campaign to a broader audience.

4. Even on a grassroots campaign, don't underestimate the importance of raising money. Start by generating a list of personal contacts and send a letter asking for their support.

5. You won't get what you don't ask for. Ask directly for people's money, time, and, of course, their vote.

6. Convert undecided voters into supporters, and supporters into active volunteers and leaders. Ignore the people you'll never convince!

7. Generate repeated, direct, personal contacts with voters. The more personal the conversation, the more effective it is at persuading voters to support you.

8. Repeat that message over and over and over again. When you are completely tired of repeating your message, voters are just beginning to hear it.

9. Develop a compelling message that connects with voters and conveys the central argument of your campaign-why you are running, and why voters should choose you.

10. Lay out your path to victory in a campaign plan that you refer to often. Your plan is not a plan unless it's written down!

Adapted from Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way by Jeff Blodget and Bill Lofy, with Erik Peterson, Sujata Tejwani and Ben Goldfarb.

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Submitted by elana on July 22, 2008 - 11:38am.

Nat'l healthcare--HR 676, Medicare for All, Rep John Conyers Mi.

Submitted by Robert Recht (not verified) on July 23, 2008 - 11:02am.

Any good ideas- help in how to get this legislation passed in congress???

Medicare for All

Submitted by Warren Hineline (not verified) on August 2, 2008 - 10:10pm.

The Washington Spectator, June 15, 2008 issue, has a three page article. This is a story the American people have never heard. They point out that Taiwan "in 1995 introduced single-payer universal health care, with complete freedom of choice of doctors and no waiting lists - which also offers dental and prescription-drug coverage" and "all for just over a third of the proportion of the GDP that the U.S. 'system' costs." "(T)he designers of the Taiwanese system scoured the globe for a model, and in the end adopted what they thought was the most promising system to emulate -- Medicare in the U.S.A.!" "(T)he U.S. spends 16 percent of GDP on a health-care 'system' that leaves 45 million uninsured and countless millions more underinsured." "What's more, with a system that ties health insurance to increasingly precarious job security, almost any American working- or middle-class person may have to decide whether to pay the mortgage or pay the health insurance premiums. If someone is too ill to work, he can lose his job and mecdical coverage in one fell swoop." This is a story that has to get out. I will see what I can do about it.

Running a local election

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on August 13, 2008 - 9:22pm.

I am going to run on the E911 board of advisors in November how much should I spend on a job that pays nothing. There is no political party affillation mentioned so I am running as an independent. Should I attend all political functions and present myself as a canidate.

Winning an election

Submitted by Barbara Dahl (not verified) on September 5, 2008 - 1:50pm.

There is little Wellstone does not know about campaigning, without a doubt! However, it seems that the most crucial aspect of election victory hasn't been mentioned - election integrity. Without that it is all for naught. Every progressive should watch "Uncounted," one of the most recent documentaries detailing how the elections of 2000 and 2004 were manipulated. Do it now. Then pass it along - now. (See trailers on youtube for a preview.) With fictitious vote tallies no amount of campaigning and voter registration can bring victory, period. It's clear the progressives are the majority party, and have been for years. We must all participate in election oversight in November, spread the word daily, and at last put the duly elected candidates in office.

Yalla Vote Campaign

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 4, 2009 - 9:30pm.

Yalla Vote Campaign organizers and volunteers have been busy this year, collecting petition signatures supporting a national policy agenda for the Arab-American community. These petitions will be sent to the Democratic presidential nominee, once chosen, and Republican nominee John McCain, delivered at each party's national convention by AAI in August and September. All the while, Yalla Vote organizers will be registering unprecedented numbers of new Arab-American voters. The goal of the Yalla Vote Campaign is to demonstrate the power of the Arab-American community to party leaders, and communicate their national and international agendas

Using Social Media To Win Local Elections

Submitted by Curtis L Walker (not verified) on May 26, 2009 - 5:43am.

I have been working on guidance for using social media as one of the key tools for winning local elections (and it does apply on a larger scale to State and National elections). There is earned media, paid for media, and for lack of a better label, controlled-social media. I look forward to reading the new book on winning elections to compare my experience in using media, in large part, for turning a very red county to a strong Blue county in the Presidential election.

If you have similar experience using social media to win elections or elevate causes/issues, please do post it here or I would welcome your thoughts at: curtiswalker@freeflightnewmedia.typepad.com.

WINNING SECRET

Submitted by GODVIN (not verified) on August 16, 2011 - 8:45am.

BALLOT IS A BULLET TO FORM A FAIR LEADERSHIP.THE TIPS MENTIONED ARE VERY USEFUL FOR ME. I TRY TO PRACTICE IT IN MY LIFE.