Campaign Plan 03 - Vote Goal, District Info, & Research

With a campaign plan summary and your messaging in place, the next step is to create a detailed section compiling your vote goal, district info, and research

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Vote Goal

Using information on the district and data from past elections, set a vote goal for each precinct that will see you successfully over the finish line. If you anticipate stronger turnout from some sections of the district and not from others, set the numbers accordingly. This will help you organize your voter outreach efforts throughout the rest of your campaign plan. As a rule of thumb, the overall vote goal should be based on winning 52% or more of the voter turnout.

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For example, if you were in a district of 80,000 people you would start by tallying the top-line stats.

• Population: 80,000
• Registered Voters: 57,600 (73% of the population)
• Estimated Turnout: 31,622 or 54.9% (Based on past elections)
• Vote Goal: 16,444 (52% of estimated turnout)

Once you have the top-line stats, you can apply these same estimates to the results of each precinct. The final numbers for some of the precincts may look something like this.

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To get these numbers,  start by finding the turnout percentage and total turnout from each precinct in similar past elections. Although the next step will vary based on your district and past Republican performance, add or match the previous turnout results. For instance, if the Democrat won the last election with 51% of the vote to the Republicans 49%, you will need to change the turnout of each precinct toward the Republican by 6%. This will set the Republican to receive 52% of the total vote. If you are familiar with the precincts and neighborhoods, you can adjust to each area according to where you can gain more ground.

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When tallying the data and vote goals, make sure to ask for help from someone who is good with data to help you. Precinct data can be found from your election board, election websites, and some election software.

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District Info

For planning and voter targeting, it is important to have organized data on the district including the census data, demographics, top occupations, top employers, key issues, the culture, and more. The more data you have on the various sections and cultures of your district the better. Using data from past elections and various articles and reports, shape your message around the voter base of the different areas of your district.

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Research

Use quality research to aid your campaign's messaging strategy and to prepare for potential surprises. Research should center around self, the opponent, the district, or the issues. For any damaging information, strategize how to approach your defense and how to engage the opposition. In all things, be ethically upstanding, although be prepared for the opposition to report negative information at the least convenient time.

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Throughout the campaign, be ready to conduct polling and ongoing research on the effectiveness of your voter targeting. Even if you are short on funds, do your best to gauge how people are responding. If a certain message is working, hone in on that message. If the messaging is ineffective, be prepared to pivot your message quickly to a different strategy.

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Summary

To summarize, create a vote goal for every precinct of your district and then utilize research, demographic info, and district info, to organize a strategy for outreach. Don’t waste time with ineffective strategies, but focus on the people, precincts, and areas that make a noticeable difference. Every campaign is going to be different, so use wisdom and data for every step along the way.

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Have any more questions on setting up your political campaign? If interested in learning more and getting involved by running, contact us at:roosevelt.tech

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May 1, 2023

Updated June 14, 2023

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