Political campaign staff
Encyclopedia
Political campaign
staff are the people who formulate and implement the strategy
needed to win an election. Many people have made careers out of working full-time for campaigns and groups that support them, but in other campaigns much of the staff might be unpaid volunteers. (Information on political consultants, people who do not work for the campaign full-time but still provide assistance in the form of advice and creative expertise, are discussed in the political consultants article).
This article provides a generic description of a campaign's staff and organization. Different campaigns have different structures.
. The campaign manager coordinates the campaign making sure that the rest of the staff and the campaign's consultants are focused effectively on winning the election. In small local campaigns, the campaign manager will often be the only paid staff member and will be responsible for every aspect of the campaign that is not covered by the candidate or volunteers. In larger campaigns, such as a presidential
campaign, hundreds of staff members will cover the required tasks. While campaign managers are often the lead strategists in local campaigns, in the United States larger campaigns hire consultants to serve as strategists and the campaign manager focuses mostly on coordinating the campaign staff. Campaign managers will often have deputies who oversee various aspects of the campaign at a closer level.
Directly below the campaign manager on the organization chart is the deputy campaign manager and directly below them are department directors who coordinate specific aspects of the campaign. These staff members often have deputies as well.
Below the department level, campaigns vary widely in their structure. On larger campaigns, there will be various coordinators for certain functions within each department. For example, within the fundraising department, there might be a staff member who focuses only on direct mail
fundraising.
At the bottom of the totem pole are the interns and volunteers who perform the least glamorous tasks of the campaign. These can include addressing envelopes, entering data into database
s, and canvassing
voters on behalf of the campaign.
in order to help better target voter persuasion and identify which voters a campaign most wants to bring out on election day. Field is generally also tasked with running local "storefront" campaign offices as well as organizing phone banks and staging locations for canvasses and other campaign events.
On the state-wide level, field departments are generally organized by geography with an overall state-wide field director who oversees the efforts of several regional field directors who in turn manage several local offices. Other field workers below this level include:
In addition to voter persuasion and voter identification, field staff will often provide information for the campaign headquarters as to what is going on in the communities they work in. Field staffers are the primary liaison between the campaign and local influentials such as interest group leaders and prominent community activists. Field departments are also often primarily responsible for the local distribution of "swag
" i.e. lawn sign
s, bumper stickers, buttons, and other such materials.
The communications department oversees both the press relations and advertising involved in promoting the campaign in the media. They are responsible for the campaign's message and image among the electorate. Press releases, advertisements, phone scripts, and other forms of communication must be approved by this department before they can be released to the public. The staffers within this office vary widely from campaign to campaign. However they generally include:
. On smaller campaigns this is often folded into the communications department. Most campaigns for a seat in a legislature will not have a full policy department, as party platforms are worked out by the central campaign office. Other races, such as a presidential or mayoral race will require a wide array of policy positions to be developed in-house.
operation and ensures that the campaign always has the money it needs to operate effectively. The techniques employed by this campaign vary based on the campaign's needs and size. Small campaigns often involve casual fundraising events and phone calls from the candidate to donors asking for money. Larger campaigns will include everything from high-priced sit-down dinners to e-mail messages to donors asking for money.
This department will also be responsible for all financial tracking, including bank reconciliations, loans and backup for in-kind donations. They are generally required to keep both paper and electronic files. Small campaigns will often have one person responsible for financial disclosure while larger campaigns will have dozens of lawyers and treasurers making sure that the campaign's activities are legal. After the election, the compliance and legal department must still respond to audit requests and, when required, debt retirement.
and websites. While small campaigns might have a volunteer or two who know how to use computers, large campaigns will have armies of computer professionals spread across the state or country handling everything from websites to blog
s to databases.
On small campaigns the scheduling coordinator may be responsible for developing and executing events. The scheduling coordinator typically:
a)manages the candidate's personal and campaign schedule
b)manages the field and advance team schedules
c)gathers important information about all events the campaign and candidate will attend
Candidates and other members of the campaign must bear in mind that only one person should oversee the details of scheduling. Fluid scheduling is one of the many keys to making a profound impact on voters.
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
staff are the people who formulate and implement the strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
needed to win an election. Many people have made careers out of working full-time for campaigns and groups that support them, but in other campaigns much of the staff might be unpaid volunteers. (Information on political consultants, people who do not work for the campaign full-time but still provide assistance in the form of advice and creative expertise, are discussed in the political consultants article).
This article provides a generic description of a campaign's staff and organization. Different campaigns have different structures.
Structure of a campaign
Campaigns are usually overseen by a campaign managerCampaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
. The campaign manager coordinates the campaign making sure that the rest of the staff and the campaign's consultants are focused effectively on winning the election. In small local campaigns, the campaign manager will often be the only paid staff member and will be responsible for every aspect of the campaign that is not covered by the candidate or volunteers. In larger campaigns, such as a presidential
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
campaign, hundreds of staff members will cover the required tasks. While campaign managers are often the lead strategists in local campaigns, in the United States larger campaigns hire consultants to serve as strategists and the campaign manager focuses mostly on coordinating the campaign staff. Campaign managers will often have deputies who oversee various aspects of the campaign at a closer level.
Directly below the campaign manager on the organization chart is the deputy campaign manager and directly below them are department directors who coordinate specific aspects of the campaign. These staff members often have deputies as well.
Below the department level, campaigns vary widely in their structure. On larger campaigns, there will be various coordinators for certain functions within each department. For example, within the fundraising department, there might be a staff member who focuses only on direct mail
Direct mail
Advertising mail, also known as direct mail, junk mail, or admail, is the delivery of advertising material to recipients of postal mail. The delivery of advertising mail forms a large and growing service for many postal services, and direct-mail marketing forms a significant portion of the direct...
fundraising.
At the bottom of the totem pole are the interns and volunteers who perform the least glamorous tasks of the campaign. These can include addressing envelopes, entering data into database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
s, and canvassing
Canvassing
Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with a target group of individuals commonly used during political campaigns. A campaign team will knock on doors of private residences within a particular geographic area, engaging in face-to-face personal interaction with voters...
voters on behalf of the campaign.
Field Department
The field department focuses on the "on-the-ground" organizing that is required in order to personally contact voters through canvassing, phone calls, and building local events. Voter contact helps construct and clean the campaign's voter fileVoter File
A voter file is a list of all registered voters in an area. In the US most states compile this list under the organization responsible for elections. It is generally available to candidates for office and political organizations for a fee. This is sometimes also known as a Voter Roll.In the United...
in order to help better target voter persuasion and identify which voters a campaign most wants to bring out on election day. Field is generally also tasked with running local "storefront" campaign offices as well as organizing phone banks and staging locations for canvasses and other campaign events.
On the state-wide level, field departments are generally organized by geography with an overall state-wide field director who oversees the efforts of several regional field directors who in turn manage several local offices. Other field workers below this level include:
- Organizer : generally responsible for the operations of a single office serving a county or several counties, the local organizer works to build a local organization, mostly of volunteers, that will be used to fill out campaign events, contact voters, and ultimately to provide ground troops for election day efforts.
- Volunteer coordinator : tasked full time with recruiting, retaining, and scheduling volunteers
- General Field Staff : the lowest level of field staff, these paid workers generally do direct voter contact full time as well as assisting the organizers
- GOTV ("Get out the vote") coordinator : generally either brought in in the last few months of the campaign or a re-tasked staffer, GOTV coordinators plan the local GOTV efforts.
In addition to voter persuasion and voter identification, field staff will often provide information for the campaign headquarters as to what is going on in the communities they work in. Field staffers are the primary liaison between the campaign and local influentials such as interest group leaders and prominent community activists. Field departments are also often primarily responsible for the local distribution of "swag
Promotional merchandise
Promotional merchandise, promotional items, promotional products, promotional gifts, or advertising gifts, sometimes nicknamed swag or schwag, are articles of merchandise used in marketing and communication programs. They are given away to promote a company, corporate image, brand, or event...
" i.e. lawn sign
Lawn sign
Lawn signs are used for local advertising. They can be used by business such as real estate and are popular in election campaigns in some countries. They are small signs that can be placed on the property of a business or on the lawns of a candidate's supporters...
s, bumper stickers, buttons, and other such materials.
Communications Department
- A press secretary who monitors the media and coordinates the campaign's relations with the press. Press secretaries set up interviews between the candidate and reporters, brief the press at press conferences, and perform other tasks involved in press relations.
- A rapid response director who makes sure that the campaign responds quickly to the attacks of the other campaigns. They and their staff constantly monitor the media and the moves of their opponents, making sure that attacks are rebutted quickly.
Policy Department
Researching and developing a set of policies requires a large team to research and write each plank. Researchers also provide information to the campaign on issues and the backgrounds of candidates (including the candidate they work for) in order to be aware of skeletons in the various candidates' closets. The latter practice is known as opposition researchOpposition research
Opposition research is:# The term used to classify and describe efforts of supporters or paid consultants of a political candidate to legally investigate the biographical, legal or criminal, medical, educational, financial, public and private administrative and or voting records of the opposing...
. On smaller campaigns this is often folded into the communications department. Most campaigns for a seat in a legislature will not have a full policy department, as party platforms are worked out by the central campaign office. Other races, such as a presidential or mayoral race will require a wide array of policy positions to be developed in-house.
Fundraising Department
The finance department coordinates the campaign's fundraisingFundraising
Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies...
operation and ensures that the campaign always has the money it needs to operate effectively. The techniques employed by this campaign vary based on the campaign's needs and size. Small campaigns often involve casual fundraising events and phone calls from the candidate to donors asking for money. Larger campaigns will include everything from high-priced sit-down dinners to e-mail messages to donors asking for money.
Compliance and Legal Departments
The compliance and legal departments makes sure that the campaign is consistent with the law and also makes sure that the campaign files the appropriate forms with government authorities. In Britain and other Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and India, each campaign must have an official agent, who is legally responsible for the campaign and is obligated to make sure the campaign follows all rules and regulations.This department will also be responsible for all financial tracking, including bank reconciliations, loans and backup for in-kind donations. They are generally required to keep both paper and electronic files. Small campaigns will often have one person responsible for financial disclosure while larger campaigns will have dozens of lawyers and treasurers making sure that the campaign's activities are legal. After the election, the compliance and legal department must still respond to audit requests and, when required, debt retirement.
Technology Department
The technology department designs and maintains campaign technology such as Voter FileVoter File
A voter file is a list of all registered voters in an area. In the US most states compile this list under the organization responsible for elections. It is generally available to candidates for office and political organizations for a fee. This is sometimes also known as a Voter Roll.In the United...
and websites. While small campaigns might have a volunteer or two who know how to use computers, large campaigns will have armies of computer professionals spread across the state or country handling everything from websites to blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s to databases.
Scheduling and Advance Department
The scheduling and advance department makes sure that the candidate and campaign surrogates are effectively scheduled so as to maximize their impact on the voters. This department also oversees the advance people who arrive at events before the candidate to make sure everything is in order. Often, this department will be a part of the field department.On small campaigns the scheduling coordinator may be responsible for developing and executing events. The scheduling coordinator typically:
a)manages the candidate's personal and campaign schedule
b)manages the field and advance team schedules
c)gathers important information about all events the campaign and candidate will attend
Candidates and other members of the campaign must bear in mind that only one person should oversee the details of scheduling. Fluid scheduling is one of the many keys to making a profound impact on voters.