Running For Office Book

	Introduction	10
Chapter 1	The Decision to Run: Serious questions you need to answer before you take the plunge	14
Chapter 2	The First 25 Steps Every Smart Candidate Should Take: Putting together the nuts-and-bolts of a campaign--from scratch	20
Chapter 3	The Elements of Campaign Strategy: Just like military operations, political campaigns require the players to think strategically when making every move	46
Chapter 4	Crafting Your Campaign's Message: Every campaign conveys a message; here's how to make sure yours is the right one	64
Chapter 5	Art of the Attack: How to go after your opponent--without having it blow up in your face	89
Chapter 6	How Much Will It Cost? A quick and simple guide to realistically budgeting your campaign	93
Chapter 7	Raising the Money: Seven principles of candidate fundraising	98
Chapter 8	The Guarantee System: A sure-fire technique for any candidate to raise big bucks--fast	107
Chapter 9	Candidate Door-to-Door Canvassing: In local and district races, this may be your key to victory--if it's done right	112
Chapter 10	Hiring Consultants: What to look for when picking your professional campaign team	122
Chapter 11	The Power of Targeting: Whether you do it to conserve resources, or to pinpoint individual voters with appropriate messages, targeting is the key to effective voter contact	140
Chapter 12	Close Encounters: How to Win Debates: Don't go into a debate with your opponent until you understand the unique dynamics of a face-to-face confrontation	155
Chapter 13	The Picture Perfect Image: Every candidate needs five really good photos	171
Chapter 14	Slogans That Sell: Finding catchy, potent phrases to communicate your campaign's message	176
Chapter 15	Controlling the Agenda: What to do when outside advocacy groups and political party committees run their own campaigns while you're trying to run yours	187
Chapter 16	Re-Election Tips for Legislators: Winning the next election begins the day after you won the last one	198
Chapter 17	Handy Tips for the Campaign Trail: How to stay focused, put your best foot forward and survive the day by day grind	204
Appendix A	Sample Volunteer Card for Candidate and Personal Assistant to Carry	217
Appendix B	Sample Candidate Scheduling Format	219
Appendix C	Campaign Budget/Line-Item Work Sheet	221