Political Campaign Tips and Strategies

Practical guides for candidates running local and state campaigns. Find advice on starting a campaign, building your online presence, fundraising, messaging, voter outreach, and more.

Essential Articles

How to Prepare for a Run for Local Office
Learn the basics of preparing for a local campaign, including qualifications,
budgeting, fundraising, building a campaign team, filing requirements, and
getting voters to the polls.
Read the guide

Setting Up Your Political Campaign Timeline
See what needs to happen before, during, and after a campaign launch, from early planning and filing through fundraising, voter outreach, and Election Day.
View the timeline

How to Build a Political Campaign Website
A practical guide to planning, building, and launching a campaign website that gives voters the information they need and supports your campaign goals.
Read the website guide

Campaign Website Pages: What Every Candidate Needs to Include
Find out which pages and content your campaign website should include to inform voters, collect support, accept donations, and keep your campaign active.
See the essential pages

Comparing Political Donation Platforms
Compare common political fundraising platforms and the factors campaigns should consider when choosing a service for accepting online contributions.
Compare donation platforms

Differences Between a Campaign Slogan, Message and Platform
Understand how your campaign slogan, core message, and issue platform work together—and the different role each plays in communicating with voters.
Learn the differences

Need a Campaign Website?

Online Candidate has helped political candidates build their online presence since 2004. See our custom campaign website packages and campaign-specific features.

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Pros and Cons of Running a Slate of Candidates Online

A multiple-candidate website is a way of promoting multiple candidates running on the same platform all in one place. The candidates are usually all from the same party or all side together on a major campaign issue. In essence, they become a ‘slate’ of candidates, hoping to win an election together.

A List of Our Best Election Slogans

A good slogan enhances visibility and resonance with your electorate. Below is a list of election slogans for political candidates and campaigns. These focus on the theme of electing or voting for a specific candidate. These can be used for local, state, and federal...

Political Campaign Tip: Use A Consistent Ballot Name

When selecting a name to use on the ballot, go with the name that people know best. A consistent ballot name helps build name brand identification, avoid voter confusion, and in the case of write-in ballots, voters are more likely to use the correct version of your name.

Do Write-in Candidates Ever Win?

A write-in campaign is a type of election in which people who are not on the ballot can nevertheless make themselves eligible to win by receiving enough valid write-in votes. Write-in campaigns are usually low-budget, grassroots efforts that take place in cases where...

Making Your Campaign’s FAQs Work Harder for You

One problem with many local campaign websites has nothing to do with design. It’s a lack of content. We see this all the time. A candidate is ready to launch, but the campaign only has a short bio, a few lines about why they are running, and not much else. There may...

10 Things That Separate Winning Candidates From Losing Candidates

What separates winning political candidates from those who lose elections? It's more than just the number of votes. There's no such thing as a perfect campaign. Regardless of how hard a candidate may work, there are many factors that can contribute to an Election Day...

Political Campaign Slogan Ideas for Candidates

Your campaign slogan must connect to voter concerns and issues. Here are political campaign slogans for mayor, sheriff, school board, city council, state legislature and more.