ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY - Available on Amazon.com

"I've Helped Underdogs WIN! This Book Can Help You Too!"

Running for office is a strange process, full of counterintuitive and unforgiving rules and norms. With Jeff’s help, people unfamiliar with campaigning will be in a position to figure out whether they (and their families) are suited to the undertaking, and if so, how to go about doing it effectively and economically.

Kenneth R. Menzel
General Counsel
Illinois State Board of Elections

No! You don’t know how to run a campaign!

There are three things that the average man thinks he can do better than anybody else. Build a fire, run a hotel, and manage a baseball team. – The Great Rocky Bridges Our illustrious Reds utility infielder and third base coach should’ve added “and run a political campaign” to the list because every candidate and…

Campaigning 101: Campaigning ain’t what it used to be! – part three

Social media is an advertisement for the superficial extroverted self. – Hozier EXACTLY! I know our esteemed musician (Hozier) intended that declaration as a social media slam, but when it comes to political campaigning and social media he’s dead on. The next time I hear him sing, “Take me to church” I might just do…

Campaigning 101: Campaigning ain’t what it used to be! – part two

You learn the hard way. That’s the thing with social media. Nobody knows what they’re doing. – Cameron Dallas When we last left off we were discussing the latest political campaign faux pas, specifically how those once prized political endorsements have become ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst. Even newspaper endorsements don’t matter anymore,…

Campaigning 101: Campaigning ain’t what it used to be! – part one

Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. – Confucius Ah yes! It’s late springtime when the Midwestern weather finally rises above freezing and a young man’s (or woman’s) fancy lightly turns to thoughts of winning an even-year election. And one of the few benefits of the social media scourge is, like eyes are…

Campaign Lesson #8 – Campaigns MUST evolve!

I really wanted to title this piece “There’s no excuse for incompetence,” but considering the general demeanor of this always fascinating existence, it wouldn’t have narrowed the subject matter down nearly enough. Rest assured, we will be talking about how an inexplicable conscious incompetence can completely destroy a campaign. Please understand that we’re not talking…

Campaign Lesson #7 – Why provide your opponent with free advertising?

Among the array of always fascinating candidate endeavors, the one that still baffles me the most is an inexplicable capacity to “gift” opponents with all manner of free “advertising.” When you consider that, on a level electoral pitch, the contestant who secures the most “impressions” almost always wins, mentioning the opposition’s name may well be…