Don't Be An Amateur. Hire Professionals.
Monica Biddix, Principal and Founder
There’s an old political proverb that alleges, “In politics, there are no rules.” While the Federal Election Commission and your State Ethics Board would probably disagree, the adage accurately conveys the no-holds-barred, cutthroat, and winning at all costs attitude that has become synonymous with running for elected office.
As I often tell people, as dirty as you think politics is, it is actually much, much worse, and partisan primaries are the murkiest of all the cesspools. Some of the most underhanded and nastiest stunts I’ve ever seen occurred in races among fellow Democrats. It can get ugly. No one is off-limits, and even the smallest mistakes, in the beginning, can turn into enormous headaches in the future. So if Moses had etched the ten commandments of politics on a slab of marble, the first commandment should read, “Don’t Be An Amateur. Hire Professionals.”
Letting a friend or family member run the campaign is by far the biggest mistake I have seen candidates make when they decide to run for office. Politics is one of the few professions where everyone thinks, “Hey, I can do that.”
Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is an expert. But, the fact of the matter is you wouldn’t let your friends do your taxes unless they were accountants. Don’t let your friends run your campaign unless they have at least two or three cycles of experience in every aspect of a political campaign.
This is not to say that friends and family should not be involved and invested in your campaign. You want them to be, and they can be valuable assets as volunteers, emotional supporters, and cheerleaders. But again, unless they are professionals, DO NOT let them run the show. Otherwise, you end up with 5,000 sticks of lip balm with your name on it because Jerry’s mother’s cousin thought it was a good idea.
The two most valuable pieces to a successful political campaign are time and money, and you can ill afford to waste either of those things. This is especially true in local and state legislative races that can be decided by single or double digits. Wasting one afternoon chasing a rabbit down a hole can literally cost you an election. You need someone who is experienced and focused calling the shots, and more importantly, you need to listen to that person.
When I first contact a potential client, I let them know that I don’t just want to help them do things right. I want to keep them from making mistakes. Even exploring a run for office is a lengthy endeavor filled with specific rules and regulations. You cannot wake up one morning, decide you are going to run for office, let your daughter design your logo, and then head out to get t-shirts printed at Wal-Mart. Of course, I am exaggerating . . . a tad.
And don’t get me wrong, I get it. Political operatives often get a bad reputation as users who take candidates for a ride and bleed them out of money with little or nothing to show for it. And believe me, those people exist. There are a ton of charlatans in the business who are ready to pounce and empty your pockets. And there are people who will work a couple of cycles and then choose to glamourize themselves as a “consultant.”
I didn’t feel comfortable opening my own consulting firm until I had been working in politics for over a decade. And I didn’t just work on campaigns. I also did nonpartisan work, led issue campaigns and spent a session on the state legislative side.
Running for office is a HUGE undertaking, and it requires surrounding yourself with people who have the experience to properly guide you. Before you hire someone, always check credentials and references. The biggest professional mistake of my life was failing to properly vet someone, and it ended up costing me dearly.
Be smart. Don’t be an amateur. Hire professionals.
Thank you for your time, and if you are thinking of running for office or just getting started contact us here.
Monica Biddix
Workhorse Strategies, LLC
Principal and Founder
