Welcome to "Charting Your Course," things to consider before and during a challenger campaign for office. In Charting Your Course, Joe Gaylord, senior political consultant to Speaker Newt Gingrich, shares with you his insights learned over twenty years of experience electing challengers to office. These insights - from the very basic "know why you are running" - to the more sophisticated notions of proper language in front of the electorate will lay out a successful framework for a winning campaign.

Win or lose on election day, a hard working challenger will learn from the experience, grow from the experience and consequently gain from the experience. With less than a year to go before the next election, I'd like to focus on the crucial first stage of a campaign and answer some basic questions about a challenger campaign - some who, what, why, where, when and how questions. I'll begin with the very personal and then go on to the political.

First, the why. Why are you running? And are you sure you should? Now that question may seem odd coming from someone who has helped recruit and convince candidates to run. And our party certainly needs good candidates, especially now when so much is at stake; when the direction of our Congress and even the direction of our country will be decided.

But frankly, it's better to know thyself and bow out gracefully, rather than kid thyself, run a poor campaign, lose your nerve, lose at the polls and end up regretting the whole experience. The truth is, you can lose at the polls and still end up a winner. If you run a good campaign, you can be a winner in many ways, not just in the sense of enhancing your reputation. In meeting thousands of people, you can make new friends, learn new things and be enriched by the adventure of it all - the drama, the debate and the challenge.

There are so many factors to consider before deciding to run. I don't think the several weeks Colin Powell took to make his decision was an unreasonable length of time. Let's go through some of the questions every candidate should ask himself or herself before deciding whether to run.

1. Health: Am I healthy enough to take the physical and mental abuse?
 

2. Wealth: What will come out in my personal financial disclosure? Who can I trust with the financial facts? Will I reveal my income taxes? Do I have any investments that will be targeted by special interest groups? How might the opposition put a negative spin on my business?
 

3. Family: Are there family skeletons that could harm my candidacy? Am I prepared to get out front and reveal problems? If elected, where will my family live? What is the specific role my spouse and other family members would play in the campaign? Are those closest to me prepared to deal with it if the contest gets negative and personal?
 

4. Privacy: Am I ready to accept the demands of public life?
 

5. Buisness: If I take a leave of absence is there someone trustworthy to take my place? Am I prepared for increased scrutiny of my business?
 

6. Fund-raising: Am I willing to constantly ask for donations? Can I raise $500,000, $750,000 or $1,000,000? Whatever it takes?
 

7. Issues: Am I ready to fight for the issue positions that I support, but don't really care much about? Where do I stand on the issues in the Republican "Contract With America" and on the Balanced Budget Act now before Congress?
 

8. Loyalties: Do I support a candidate for president? Align myself with certain organizations or try to stay strictly independent? Do I refuse donations from certain groups or interests?
 

9. Personal: Do I have any embarrassing problems in my past - drugs, lawsuits, allegations? Will my religious beliefs become an issue, directly or indirectly?
 

10. Political: Have I voted regularly in local elections? Do I have a voting record in a lower public office or statements in public speeches or in the news media that will be raised by the opposition? If I win, who else wins? Which groups of voters and what support can I count on from political people?

If you get past all of those questions, you are ready - ready to answer still more. Like, why are you running? Are you running to be something or do something? Your motivation is important - I would even say crucial - to success. Because if you're running just to be something, that will eventually be obvious to many people. But if you're running to do something, to be part of the excitement of working to put this country back on track, then that will keep you on track too. And that will be obvious.

OK, now that we've done the heavy lifting - all that introspection to the why question - let's move from the very personal to the political. To the question of "what." What is a challenger campaign all about?

Now a challenger campaign is very different from an incumbent campaign. An incumbent begins with all the necessary assets inherited from the previous campaign. Fund-raising lists, fund-raising people, campaign organization, media contacts, knowledge of the issues and the district.

A challenger campaign starts with nothing. Isn't that exciting? I'm being a little facetious of course. Obviously it's not all that exciting to start out with nothing. But if you look at it as a challenge, it is exciting because you're a political entrepreneur. You're going to build a small communications company - namely a campaign from scratch.

Now how do you do that? Well the foundation is in fact built on understanding correctly what a challenger campaign is all about. And I'll cover it by answering five simple questions, each of them answered simply. The number 1 question has one answer, the number two question has two answers, the number three question has three answers, the number four question has four answers and the number five question has - you guessed it - five answers.

The number one question is: "What is the essence of a campaign?" The answer as I promised, is just one word: Persuasion.

A campaign is all about persuading people to join, to donate, to vote. That's all it is - and then on election day it goes out of business. If the campaign is not persuading people to support and help you, then you are just playing at politics. If you are spending your time impressing people with your knowledge of legislation but not signing them up; if you're asking people what colors your bumper stickers should be but not asking them to help pay for them; if you're calling Republican activists just to touch bases with them instead of asking for their help - you are wasting your time and theirs. A campaign is all about persuasion - or it's about losing.

The number two question is: "What energizes a campaign?"

There are two things that energize a campaign. Belief in the message and belief in the messenger. The best campaign is where those two go together. Where the message reflects the qualifications and character of the messenger. Where the messenger truly champions the message. You can remember it as Einstein's famous equation, E=MC2 . E: (Energy) equals M: (Message), times C: (Candidate), squared - meaning that it is multiplied and magnified through the media.

The number three question is: "How do you figure out message strategy?" And the answer is three fold. You find the message strategy in a triangle of ice - ICE. "I" for incumbent, "C" for challenger, "E" for electorate. To figure out your message strategy, you need to find issues and themes that work within that triangle of reality. The strengths and weaknesses of the incumbent, the strengths and weaknesses of the challenger, the likes and dislikes of the electorate.

Let's start with the "I" of that triangle - the incumbent. Even before you do your opposition research on his record, you should first understand the perception people have of his strengths and weaknesses. You can change that perception, but you should first be realistic in assessing what it is. Understand what makes him vulnerable to defeat. Has he lost touch with most voters? Does he suffer from a scandal? Has he accomplished too little for the district?

Be sure your research is accurate, fair, accurate, thorough, accurate and accurate. Nothing can backfire like an unfair accusation based on inaccurate research. On the other hand, nothing succeeds like accurate criticism, well timed, and persuasively expressed.

The "C" in that triangle is challenger. As I've already emphasized, know thyself. Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a challenger. If you aren't all that articulate for example, don't start by demanding a debate that you really don't want to have.

The "E" is the electorate. You may find a particular issue fascinating. But if it's a turn-off to the voters, you might want to think twice before making it your official campaign theme.

Somewhere within that triangle of ICE - Incumbent, Challenger and Electorate - is your message strategy. If you understand the triangle, you will be able to find the winning issues.

The number four question is: "What resources can you draw on for the campaign?" The answer: There are four resources - time, money, people, ideas.

Let's start with time. First of all you're running out of it. You're not just running against an incumbent, you're running against the clock. The most important thing I can tell you about time is this: when your campaign is over, when the ballots are counted and the result is announced on television, you are going to start thinking back to all the things you could have done differently and more effectively. If only you had had more time in the final days.

Well, guess what, you did have the time. It's right now. It's tomorrow...and the day after that. It's this early period when you aren't going at full tilt. Maybe your mind is, but your hand is not reaching for that phone and making that fund-raising call. You're not treating each hour as a precious resource - the way you will in the final weeks of the campaign when you see each hour as a chance to reach voters, raise money for needed advertising, or motivate volunteers. You have that time right now. Don't waste it.

The next resource is money. Are you doing what most candidates do about fund-raising in the early stage? Procrastinating? Are you aware that every "reason" for not asking for money now will later seem to you like a very lame excuse. Do these excuses sound familiar?

• "I can't raise money right now, our campaign stationery isn't printed."
• "Our campaign finance committee isn't put together."
• "I don't have a poll and someone said they first wanted to see a poll before they'd contribute."

The secret to fund-raising is this: ask, ask, ask for contributions.

Start with (1) people you know, then (2) people they know, then (3) people you've heard about but nobody seems to know. Then go back to people you know and never stop. Take the rejections, smile and move on. It's a numbers game. If you strike out 8 of 10 times, don't worry because that means if you've asked 10,000 people, you'd have 2,000 contributors - plus all of the thousands of other donors that those 2,000 people would help you get.

Are you in shock now? You heard me say 10,000 people and you're probably still stunned, right? Well, I admit there's no magic number, but there is a crucial number: 300. Between now and election day you have about 300 days (ten months) to raise the money you need. That gives you some days off for debate preparation, church, family time, vacation and so on. If you ask 50 people a day to contribute to your campaign, over the next 300 days that would end up as 15,000 people. That's sounds more do-able doesn't it?

But only if you start right away.

The third resource in a campaign is people: volunteers and staff. Let's start with the question of hiring good staff. If you've had any experience in hiring, you know how difficult this can be. For example, let's say you're considering hiring a seasoned political pro. Is that political pro experienced and enthusiastic - or experienced and burned out. Sometimes you don't learn the truth about how someone handles pressure and responsibility until they have tried the job.

A lot of campaigns go through a great many managers and finance directors - and they revolve from month to month. You don't want to go through that, naturally, but it happens and you shouldn't get discouraged when things don't work out. You just have to make the best of it and go on.

There are certain qualities that are crucial in any campaign, whether in hiring staff or working with volunteers: honesty, respect, loyalty, competence, dedication. Before hiring someone, check the references they give you. If you learn they were disliked by everyone who worked under them, that should give you pause. And if they seem offended that you called to check them out, that too should give you pause. Don't be overly eager to hire someone. Take the time to check them out - and you might also have a trusted advisor check them out in an informal interview. This is too important a decision to make in haste.

With volunteers of course, you don't do that, but you can check them out by asking them do a project, seeing how they do, then gradually giving them more responsibility as they prove themselves. When it comes to this crucial third resource, people, you learn a lot about the fun and frustration of politics. People surprise you in unpleasant ways and inspiring ways. After all politics is indeed about ordinary people doing something extraordinary - helping shape their own future.

The fourth resource is ideas. In this first stage of a candidacy you have to begin by asking yourself, "What do I really believe and what issues motivate me?"

A book of humor is coming out, The Conservatives Dictionary, with witty, wicked definitions to drive liberals wild. Here's how it defines core values: For Bill Clinton, his latest poll results. That is so true. Paul Tsongas was right when he called Bill Clinton a "pander-bear." From the beginning of his administration he's been diminished by his obvious eagerness to please, to say almost anything to win favor.

To be a successful leader it is more important to be respected than to be liked. So this fourth and final resource, ideas, can be of tremendous value to you only if you are truly motivated by what you already believe. Then you can motivate others. Then you can constantly ask for donations to advance your cause. Then you can lead and inspire.

Those are the four resources of a campaign. Time, money, people, ideas.

The fifth question is: "What makes for a successful challenger campaign?" If a challenger campaign is very different form an incumbent campaign, what are the basic necessities to succeed?

There are five necessities for a successful challenger campaign: confidence, creativity, controversy, capital, contrast.

You need confidence to do what the so-called experts say is impossible. You need creativity to do more with less. You need controversy to draw attention to your candidacy and your issues. You need capital, of course, and you need to maximize capital by shrewd budgeting, price negotiation, cost effective fund-raising and making the most of human capital, volunteers. Finally you need contrast. You need a message that compares the two candidates in a way that frames for voters what the choice is all about. I'll give you twenty contrasts that have been used in campaigns:

1. Youthful energy versus old and tired.
2. Capable versus incompetent.
3. A fighting taxpayer versus government insider.
4. Conservative versus liberal.
5. Populist versus elitist.
6. Citizen versus career politician.
7. Public interest versus special interest.
8. Frugal versus big spender.
9. Reform versus privileged princes of perks and pork.
10. Time for a change versus more of the same.
11. Will deliver versus will not or cannot deliver.
12. Advocate for local folks versus out of touch in Washington.
13. Honest versus unethical.
14. Problem solver versus ideology.
15. Specific at issues versus suspiciously vague.
16. Visionary versus no ideas.
17. Independent versus stooge of party bosses.
18. Ombudsman for the little guy versus bureaucratic indifference.
19. Mainstream versus extreme.
20. Experienced versus unqualified.

You need a message of contrast that frames what the choice is all about. Otherwise the voters won't be persuaded to fire the incumbent and hire someone new. So those are the five necessities. Confidence, creativity, controversy, capital, contrast. So now we go on to the who question.

Who do you need in the campaign?

In the first stage of a campaign, there's not much reality - because there aren't many people to give the campaign the illusion of reality. That's right the illusion of reality. Let's face it, a campaign doesn't become real and effective until the latter stages of the race. Until then you're usually flying by the seat of your pants trying to convince people to get involved and to make things real. So don't feel discouraged. All successful challengers felt great doubts early in their campaign. Usually later too.

The fact is, almost every successful campaign - and almost every successful revolution for that matter - begins with just a few true believers. And I don't just mean friends and family and volunteers. You can hire a professional who becomes a true believer, a political pro who believes that he or she can help create a winning campaign from scratch as long as you raise scratch.

But it really doesn't take many people to create a campaign that comes alive, picks up support, draws attention, raises money, provokes interest, ignites enthusiasm and ends up winning in an upset. Indeed many incumbent congressmen, looking back at their first bootstrap campaign, realize that they only needed about six good people to organize a district and beat the incumbent.

It's like the Einstein equation I mentioned earlier, E=MC2. Like atomic energy, a successful campaign is an explosion of something invisible, an idea in the mind of a candidate who decides to run. From that single decision a chain reaction is set off. First one's family and friends are caught up in the decision. Then neighbors and associates. Then activists and contributors. Then journalists and opinion leaders. And ultimately everyone who goes to the polls.

A campaign can succeed with very few, working very hard.

That reminds me of another definition from the Conservative Dictionary. The definition of Republican: "A political philosophy, based on the idea that work is therapy, and if you work hard enough anything is possible. Compared to a Democrat - a political philosophy that the harder you work the more you need therapy."

Onto the next question, the "How" question: "How do you rev up the campaign, how do you kick-start a campaign, how do you turn ideas into action?" The answer is, in one word, catalysts. There are certain catalysts that turn talk into action and ideas into reality. I'll give you six examples. Catalysts:

1. Targeted Scheduling. Just by picking an arbitrary date on the calendar and deciding that the candidate will hold an event on that date in a particular community, you see set off a chain reaction. Responsibilities have to be assigned, contacts have to be made, things must happen in preparation for that day.

2. Fund-raising Event. All you have to do is set a time, place and ticket price - then ask or delegate the project to someone. Shazamm! An event is in the making. It's time to stop talking and to start selling tickets. It's time to stop talking and start making the arrangements.

3. Money Goal. Set a clear, achievable objective to raise "x" amount of money by "x" day, or from "x" number of contributors. Make it soon, so that people have to get right down to the work at hand - asking for contributions.

4. Test Mailing. This is a project that can help organize volunteers, raise money, raise awareness and so on. For example, you might try mailing to registered Republicans and asking for a contribution of $19.96. Set the date for when the mailings should be received by the voters - then work backward to determine when it must be written, approved, stuffed, sealed and mailed.

5. Job Title. Just giving someone a campaign title - even if it's only for a short term project - is a catalyst for action. The person who accepts the title, now feels a sense of responsibility, pride, excitement and accountability. They now want to make things happen to prove that they deserve your confidence.

6. Issues. What is more galvanizing than taking a stand on an issue and taking it right to the people. Just hold a news conference or do your own candidate-on-the-street poll. One way or another, bring the issue to life.

But whatever catalyst you choose, the important thing is to make things happen. Planning is easy - execution is hard. And remember to be creative. You're not going to make news if you don't do anything that's new.

In figuring out how to rev up your campaign, kick start your campaign and turn ideas into action, you should understand how the Republican Party actually won control of the congress in the last election. The boys in the media have been busy trying to re-write history. But here are the six main reasons:

1. We learned that you have to be for something. In 1994 a great number of voters were certainly in the mood to be anti-many things - the cost and size and wastefulness of the federal government for one. But that's not enough. Voters also need a credible alternative that they can relate to and understand. That is why the Contract With America was so important.

2. The second reason we won: we used language that relates to people. Selecting the right words, images and examples is crucial to telling any story. And we did this by talking in terms of the values of working, aspiring Americans and what they faced in everyday life.

3. The third reason we won: we communicated through the entire media - not always through the news media - but through all kinds of media, including talk radio, talk television and so on.

4. The fourth reason we won: we had savvy, aggressive candidates. We would not have won many close races if our challengers had not been persistent - yet patient - working through the emotional highs and lows, through fund-raising droughts and media attacks, staying focused on the goal.

5. The fifth reason we won: we had adequate resources. Yes, money was an important part of it. Our candidates made fund-raising a top priority. But Republican campaigns had an even more impressive resource: people power. We had a powerful coalition of activists.

6. The sixth and final reason we won: shrinking incumbency. Democratic incumbents were diminished in stature and image and clout by two things: their own arrogance after forty years in power and by the incompetence of the Clinton administration.

On that note, let's go on to the "Where" question: "Where do you stand on the issues?"

There are three places you can stand when it comes to issues: On the bedrock of your principles, on the quicksand of expediency or on the surfboard of polling. Unless you think you know how to float in quicksand or surf at high tide, you'd better stand on what you truly believe.

But the real question is, how do you reason from principle to specific policy? We often hear the term that Teddy Roosevelt popularized in describing the presidency, "Bully Pulpit." Some new candidates make the mistake of thinking that running for office is mostly a matter of sharing their opinions with everyone. Not hardly. You can pound on your "bully pulpit" all you want - but if no one is sitting in the pews in front of you, and if no reporters show up for the sermon, you're running backwards for office.

Yes, you should determine where you stand based on your principles - not on the polls. But you can't just dwell on what interests you - you need to relate to people about what concerns THEM. To truly lead, you need to serve. To truly serve you need to understand those you are serving.

Newt Gingrich developed the concept of listen, learn, help, lead. You actively listen to people, you learn about their problems and lives, you help them develop solutions, then the fourth part happens naturally - you are asked to lead.

One way you can actively listen is what I call "trolling" - as opposed to polling. If you're not familiar with fishing, Webster's defines trolling this way: "To angle for, with a hook and a line drawn through water, from a moving boat." That sounds to me like a candidate on the move - listening, learning, wanting to discover new, submerged issues.

There are a great many benefits to polling. But having strangers call a random number of other strangers and compiling their random opinions on a number of questions that are read to them, has some very real limits. Trolling on the other hand enables you not only to learn about local problems and personal problems, but also to learn new workable solutions. So in answer to the question "Where do you stand on the issues?" I would advise you to take advantage of this early stage in the campaign to get some of your answers first hand, by trolling.

For example, to learn about the juvenile criminal justice system, you should talk to those on the front line. Those in law enforcement, those in education, those in the judiciary - and the victims. Find out first hand what is working and what is failing. This will enable you to talk about the issue with confidence, the facts, the passion, the anecdotes and the solutions so that you know where you stand - not just in general principle, but in specific real life detail.

But let's think too about general themes. I think the Republicans should teach the three "R's" - Reform, Revitalize, Renew. Reform government, revitalize the economy, renew basic values.

Now that doesn't mean voters want everything reformed. Clearly many elderly voters are more concerned with protecting and preserving Medicare than with restructuring. Yet when they are asked if they would support improvements for the sake of the next generation, most are very supportive indeed.

The same is true with balancing the budget. Voters expressed support for almost every well-intentioned government program to pollsters. But when they hear what a balanced budget can accomplish for everyone - how lower interest rates would cut mortgage payments, the cost of student loans, and so on - they become much more supportive of balancing the budget.

Generally Republicans are better off when voters focus on the big picture. The Democrats do better arguing the details with the media's help demagoging with scare tactics - even if they have to lie to do it, as they did on the so-called cut in the school lunch program that was, in fact, an increase.

Republicans will benefit from being on the side of megatrends. With the threat of the Cold War over, Americans are returning to their anti-bigness attitude - whether it's anti-big government, anti-big business, or anti-big labor. Only in times of crisis do Americans rally around the idea of centralized power. So less government and more individual responsibility is the winning argument.

That is not to say that Republican challengers merely have to say, "I want to get to Congress and help Newt and join the Republican majority." No, people want candidates to be independent, and this you have to prove by stressing not what has already been accomplished - whether it's balancing the budget, welfare reform, congressional reform, cutting taxes, and so on - but that you want to go to Congress to fight for what has NOT yet been accomplished, by offering your agenda for the future.

That's not to say that you can ignore the Republican agenda in Washington. You can't pretend that Republican control of Congress is not the dominant reality and that you are not running to join that majority.

For Republican candidates it's like a wagon train heading west. You can paint your own wagon red to signal you want to stop, you can paint your wagon green to signal you want to go full speed ahead, you can paint it yellow to signal caution, you can paint it pink to be feminine, you can paint it plaid to show you have mixed feelings about it. But the one thing you can't credibly do is to pretend you're not part of it.

I don't think you need a crystal ball for next year. You just need to have a firm grasp on the obvious. Some things about the next election are bigger than life. Bill Clinton and his failings as president is bigger than life. The decline of the Democratic Party is bigger than life. And the Republican majority in Congress is bigger than life.

As for fear tactics used against us by liberals in the media, especially their abuse of polling, I'd like to quote something a Republican consultant said almost a year ago. "What I'm advocating is that we ban all pollsters for two years." The only thing the polls are going to do is to tell us what we can't do.

In 1991 the Engler administration in Michigan cut welfare. They just eliminated general assistance altogether. There was a huge war. Governor Engler cut arts funding. Our fat cat donors didn't like that at all. Engler got his re-elect number down to 19%. Last November he won re-election by a landslide.

Let's face it, we're in for two years of political hell. People in focus groups are always very happy about cutting spending and cutting programs - except programs for themselves. So our success is going to be a function of how much courage we show, because we are going to get no credit for years."

Polls measure the opinions and emotions of today's climate - they cannot measure tomorrow's results. In this history-making/hysteria-making time, you need a pretty clear understanding of who you are and where you came from and who you represent. You need guiding principles - otherwise you're going to be so busy trying to slip-slide away from controversy that you'll end up debating yourself.

When you are in a reform era, as we are right now, people are initially afraid of serious change. They say they want to change, until they hear it might be scary. That's why liberals love the word "frightening" - but what voters ultimately realize, with your help, is that it is more frightening not to change things. What we call issues are not just abstract political arguments. In 1996 voters will decide whether we reform government - or let it continue trying to reform us. We're going to decide whether we renew American civilization, or retreat.

That brings me to the final question: the "When" question: "When do you take a stand?"

Two years ago I had the opportunity to visit Russia and provide basic political training to some of the pro-democracy activists. I went to a town about 120 kilometers north of Moscow, and my host was a man named Vladimir. It's a Russian custom that when you have friendly visitors you present a gift, and the gift that Vladimir gave to me was a book entitled, "Standing the Line." It was a story of the attempted coup in Russia.

When the communists tried to re-impose tyranny, Vladimir told me that he, in fact, had joined the line. When he heard the news from Moscow, he had grabbed what few rubbles he owned and boarded a bus to Moscow so that he could be part of the human line that stood in front of the tanks rolling up to the Russian White House.

I asked him the question I put to you at the beginning. "Why? Why would you take all of your money, get on a bus and risk your life and stand in front of the tanks?"

He looked at his son sitting our table and he said it was the only chance for his son to have a better life than he had.

I wondered how many people I knew would make that stand. Yet in a way, every candidate and activist makes that stand when we are willing to put our name on a ballot and our reputation on the line. When should you take a stand? Let it be this year when you're country needs you. This is Joe Gaylord, thank you and good luck to you.

Hello, this is Joe Gaylord, senior political strategist for GOPAC. If 1993 was any indication, 1994 will be a break-through year for Republican candidates. An off-election is often an historic opportunity for the out party - and clearly with Democratic control of the White House and both houses of Congress, we are the out party...the vehicle for constructive change.

In 1993 we won eight out of eight major races. The senate race in Georgia, the senate race in Texas, the mayoral victories in three democratic cities - New York, Los Angeles and Jersey City. And two gubernatorial victories - New Jersey and Virginia. And even in Bill Clinton’s Arkansas the GOP captured the Lieutenant Governor’s office. Indeed, all across the country at the municipal and county level, Republicans were enormously successful. In Pennsylvania Republicans won all three Supreme Court contests - the first time in a generation.

All of this, of course, is extremely promising, but it especially bodes well for challenger candidates. One of the things we need to re-learn from our successes in 1993 is the importance of thinking through your campaign and husbanding your resources for the end - when voters are finally focusing intently on the election. You need to finish strong - your message needs to penetrate for maximum impact at the very end. Repeated, repeated, repeated, often enough so that voters are truly familiar with it and feel that it is important enough to vote for.

We saw that in the Virginia Governor’s race where George Allen trailed by 29 points in June and went on to win in a landslide. The same was true in New Jersey, where Christy Todd-Whitman had saved enough of her resources to dominate the last week with her anti-tax message. She also came from behind. Will 1994 be that kind of break-through year for you? Chances are it very well could be.

Whenever I visit with candidates who are just starting out, they basically have three questions:

A) What do I say?

B) What do I do?

C) How do I pay for it?

I’d like to try to answer those questions with thirty pieces of advise for a challenger candidate’s first thirty days. The first thirty days in a new candidate’s first campaign can be crucial to the last thirty days of the campaign. So let me return to those three crucial questions: What do I say? ... What do I do? ... How do I pay for it?

In answering that first question - “What do I say?” - candidates must be very careful in thinking through why they are running in the first place. That brings me to my first piece of advise.

1.) Start with some basic self examination. Why am I doing this? And what do I want to accomplish? You have to be very careful when running for public office. You want to be perceived as somebody who wants to DO something, not someone who wants to BE something. You are not running so you can be a congressman. You are running because you want to help change things. The “Why You Are Running” requires some careful thought, because you are going to be required to answer that question over and over again. Do you want to be able to look the questioner in the eye and honestly explain that “why?” It’s an important part of your message. It establishes the credibility of the messenger. So that’s Suggestion #1. Examine thyself before preparing to answer the “why,” as in why you are running.

2.) The second piece of advise answers the question: “How do I talk about my candidacy to friends and associates?” Keep in mind a couple of things when approaching friends and associates about your desire to run for public office. You want to demonstrate the genuineness of your feelings and the commitment that you’re making. But they already know you. They have some knowledge of the inner workings in your heart and mind, of what motivates you and what you care about. Let them know that you want their advice as well as their support. You respect them, you value them. So this is not a one-sided conversation.

You want their candid analysis of your strengths and weaknesses as a candidate. You want their advice for campaigning and their help with the campaign itself. Know what you want to ask them as well as what you want to tell them. Above all, listen - hear them. Your close friends may be critical of your decision to run, but keep in mind if you’re going to be a candidate you need to have confidence in your own ability. Some of the barriers your friends might raise are things you must overcome with the electorate as well, so it’s good to start with friends. Ask them why a particular negative is true and make them a part of the solution if you can.

3.) The third piece of advice tries to answer the question, "How do I talk to party leaders? How do they view you and what do they need to hear?” First understand this: party leaders are not the end all and be all in campaigns. Their influence, of course, has been in steady decline because of the power of television and so on. Still they can have influence. They probably can’t help as much as you’d like - but they can hurt you. So you definitely want to give them the courtesy of letting them know that you are running and ask for their support. Even if they say they cannot give it because there is a primary contest, or whatever, they will certainly respect you for asking them.

Many of them have worked in the political vineyards for the Republican Party for a long, long time. They don’t ask for much, but like anyone, they appreciate being appreciated. So don’t be shy about letting them know that you value what they do and what they’ve accomplished. The greatest praise you can give someone is to ask for advice. Party leaders want to know what you’re planning to do and how you hope to win. They won’t think much of your chances if you don’t have enough sense to ask for advice from experts - namely party leaders like themselves.

Party leaders are looking for a winner. They judge you, even if they’re not judgmental, on that issue. Above all, are you a winner? You need to be able to speak confidentially about your credentials without seeming like a braggart. You need to be able to talk about the differences between your opponent and yourself without seeming overly negative.

Now if you were in a party primary, most party leaders are trying to stay neutral. Don’t despair. Party primaries should not discourage you. Not at all. Generally speaking primaries are a positive thing. They usually get more people involved, create excitement, and as a result of more controversy, there’s more media coverage - free advertising in effect. Naturally you don’t want a primary to become nasty and ugly and personal - but there are usually positive results of a primary that offset the negative. The party is often better for it - and so might you be.

4.) Piece of advice #4. “What do you say to reporters in the early stages of the campaign?” First you need to have your initial answer ready. It doesn’t have to be scripted word-for-word, but you should have the idea in mind. “Yes, I’m seriously considering running” or “Yes, I’ve formed an exploratory committee.” “The reason I’m interested is...” - whatever that might be. And stating the contrast between you and your opponent - how you would frame that for the voters - is important in the early interviews with reporters.

If you are not prepared to speak with reporters, then you shouldn’t. You don’t want to be caught in the position where you haven’t thought through the answers to obvious questions. You don’t want to sound foolish in early statements because that can demoralize your supporters and would-be supporters. Plus you don’t want to make a poor impression on reporters.

The key thing is to anticipate the obvious questions and prepare good answers. Have someone play “twenty questions” with you - or fifty questions - and have your answers tape recorded. Play it all back and get someone politically astute to critique your responses. Was your answer persuasive? Accurate? The right tone? What follow-up questions might your answer generate in a smart reporter? Then prepare those follow-up questions, too.

5.) Piece of advice #5. “What do you say to community leaders?” In those early days especially, you want to meet with as many community leaders as possible, one-on-one. Again it’s important to exude confidence.

It’s also important to let them know you’re there to learn, to benefit from what they’ve learned. Leaders in the community, whether they’re elected officials or leaders of community organizations and charities, want to know about people who are running for public office and the issues they’re raising. They are genuinely interested in what motivates you and what influence you might have through the coverage you draw, the people you get involved, the ideas you raise.

You want to win their support, of course, but there are a variety of ways people can help you. In many cases, community leaders can help you simply by drawing your attention to issues, making suggestions, introducing you to other people. I like the term movers-and-shakers when I think of community leaders. They can be city counselors, business executives, chamber of commerce leaders, school committee members, principals, clergymen... Call them. Talk, listen and learn. Ask for their support - and for their advice.

6.) Piece of advice #6. Instead of polling, try “trolling” to discover the right issues. This is especially useful in the beginning of a campaign. Practice the art of active listening - not listening in the superficial way we often do, with eyes glazing over while we’re trying to think of a way to steer the conversation back to what we want to talk about.

If you ask sincere questions of voters, and if you really seem interested in the responses, you’d be amazed at how much people will open up to you. You’ll hear some very personal heart-felt stories. The most important thing in listening is to remember that everyone is an expert on their own life and experience.

You want to master the art of asking: “And then what happened?” and “And then what did you do?” In that way you’ll learn some very useful things for your new job - the job of representing them. You’ll learn about people’s problems and new solutions. You’ll learn about what voters fear, what they respect, what gives them hope - and often you’ll hear the very words you need to express what you believe. Words that touched you and may touch others.

7.) Piece of advice #7. Try a simulated interview on videotape. Have someone play Larry King or Ted Koppel and then have someone else give you an honest critique. They key is not to lose confidence from a bad performance, but to learn from it.

OK, that’s enough for Segment A - “What do I say?” Let’s go on to B - “What do I do?”

8.) Number 8 is this piece of advice: Understand the responsibilities of being a candidate. That sounds simple enough, but it’s not so black and white. There is no prenuptial agreement spelling out what a candidate is agreeing to accept in advance of the campaign. Let’s start with the obvious.

Campaigns are candidate-driven - and the candidate is the highest power in the campaign. Now, let’s get more specific. The candidate is the chief fundraiser and vote-getter and focal point. With all of that comes enormous responsibility. Not only do you have to go out and campaign, but you have to be able to provide leadership for the rest of the team.

You’re going to be picking and choosing people for the campaign even as you are asking to be chosen by voters. You are sometimes directing while being directed. All the while you are aware or should be aware, that it is your name alone on the ballot. So you want to make sure that what is going on in your name is good.

All of this sounds confusing - and the truth is, campaigns are often in a seemingly confusing state or creative chaos. Call it what you will, but there are a few clarifying points.

First of course, is getting the right people. Not only people who are competent, but people you can trust. You want people who have good judgement, who can motivate others and who have political know-how. Next you want to make sure that you’re not micro-managing. If you try to micro manage things as a candidate, you won’t have time to win support and raise money and all of the things the candidate must do. So understand that of all the responsibilities of the candidate, the greatest is to be the candidate - not to be the campaign manager, or advertising expert - be the candidate.

9.) Which brings us to #9. “Do your homework on the basic issues.”

Understanding the issues is not the same as simply reading the newspaper and forming your own opinions. It is one thing to have an opinion - it is another thing to have an informed, credible opinion that you can defend under fire. And you should also learn the other side of the debate. Don’t think you’re prepared just by picking up a few facts that support your own view. You’d better understand the arguments and facts marshaled by the opponent. You don’t have to agree with any of it, of course, but you should understand it for argument’s sake.

Moreover, you should understand the emotional and personal dimensions to these issues. For example, the issue of health care. In many cases people aren’t interested in hearing you detail a complex detailed policy filled with fiscal projections. What they really want to know is where is your heart on this issue? Do you care about them? Do you share their fear of rising health costs, of people uninsured?

If you do, then they are ready emotionally to hear your facts and figures and logic. If you don’t care; if it’s all academic; then maybe they’ve got better things to do than to listen to you. That’s politics. It’s not always about philosophy; it’s not always about things fiscal and rational. It’s not the business world. It’s about ideas, yes, but also emotion - like fear, like hope.

10.) Analyze your district. It doesn’t hurt to start with maps - unless you happen to be one of those people who prefer the three dimensional, in which case just do windshield research. Drive around the district, look and see, take it in, understand the nature of the district first hand, learn about the communities, learn the population.

What are the main industries, businesses, churches and social groups, sports and entertainment? The people who make up the district cannot be understood in purely political terms, but learn that too. Study past election results, polling, party registration. Read the local news weeklies, listen to talk radio. The district you want to represent must first be understood by you.

11.) Evaluate the incumbent. This is a huge job - and you need to find a capable researcher who can help you. You want to look at their voting record - and there are plenty of sources in Washington D.C. who keep tabs on that.

You will want to analyze whether the incumbent has been effective or not. Has he missed key votes? Taken controversial junkets? Did he break past campaign promises? Does he routinely vote for higher taxes while voting for congressional pay hikes? Has he been involved in any scandal? Is he influenced by special interest campaign money? Has he failed to meet the needs of the district? Does his past rhetoric match up with his actual record?

Research can give you the arguments and evidence you need to make the case for change. But beware. Triple-check your facts before going public. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, the saddest words in politics are not “What might have been,” but rather, “Oops, I guess I should have checked that again.”

Small errors can croak you because the opponent will use your false accusations as proof you should not be trusted. Research the opponent early, thoroughly and accurately.

12.) Figure out the best initial message of contrast. If a challenger does not frame what the choice is all about - the contrast between candidates - voters are not likely to reject the better known, experienced incumbent. As with our system of justice, most voters presume an incumbent is not guilty unless proven guilty - so they re-elect him.

Your challenge is to offer a strong contrast: watch-dog for the tax payer versus wasteful spender, new energy versus tired status quo, new ideas versus failed liberalism, underdog citizen versus entrenched establishment...whatever.

Despite the need for the challenger to be aggressive in drawing a contrast, it’s amazing how many fail to do that. Many Republican challengers are uncomfortable with controversy and criticism. They eagerly believe naive friends who tell them, “Just be positive. Don’t mention the incumbent. People just want to hear about what you would do.”

Too bad that isn’t true. The bottom line is this: Contrast is vital. Otherwise voters see no reason to fire the incumbent and hire someone new.

13.) Write, or ask someone to write, a one-page biography or biographical sketch about you. You want it to demonstrate that you are capable - that you have met problems and dealt with them successfully. You want it to reveal that you are very much a part of the community you aspire to represent. Places and people; organizations and causes; significant awards and achievements should be mentioned.

And certainly you want to include your family. I would just emphasize one crucial point: Every phase of this bio should be 100% accurate. You can bet it will be analyzed with great scrutiny by the opposition. And if there is anything inflated or misstated or misleading, you can have real trouble with reporters. Many campaigns have self-destructed this way. When in doubt about the accuracy of your bio, be modest, be cautious.

14.) When you’re looking for a campaign manager, understand that the job description is not the same as for a corporate manager. Indeed, running a campaign is more of an entrepreneurial job than a management job. You need the instincts of an entrepreneur - creating something out of nothing, rather than simply managing resources that already exist.

Like an entrepreneur you will probably be operating on a shoe-string, making decisions by the seat of your pants. Management is about control. The directing of a challenger campaign is about motivation, judgement, creativity. Can this would-be campaign director motivate people? Can he or she make the campaign interesting, fun? Can this person create a spirit of team work? These are the kinds of questions that should guide you.

15.) Talk to political consultants - but don’t feel pressured to hire immediately. Again, let’s start with some basic premises. First you hire political consultants to do the things you can’t do yourself. Second, with consultants you get professional, outside advise and council. It may be good, it may be bad, but it’s usually more objective. Third, you should understand what you want before you hire.

There are different kinds of political consultants. There are general consultants who help determine overall strategy and plan the campaign. Sometimes they help find a campaign manager and put together the staff. With a general consultant, it’s particularly important to find out exactly what you will get. Who in the consulting firm will actually be assigned to the race? Is it the major partner who is selling you - or once the contract is signed will it be a junior associate? Will the consultant be an active, involved strategist, available for day-to-day advice?

The general consultant is usually the principle strategist; someone you have trust and confidence in; someone you will listen to during the course of the campaign, in bad times as well as good. The general consultant usually coordinates with other consultants - sometimes bringing them in - like the pollster.

They are going to arrange for you to meet with various advertising firms or media consultants so that you can see an array of talent available within your price range. There are a host of specialist consultants - from research to finance to direct mail. Before a race begins, you don’t need a whole flock of consultants. You don’t want to kill your campaign with high consultant costs right off the bat. Proceed as your own budget, timing and common sense dictate.

16.) Consider whether you want a so-called “kitchen cabinet” - a group of unpaid, unofficial advisors to help keep the campaign on course. Campaign directors and political consultants usually don’t want the candidate influenced on strategy or tactics by non-professionals.

But sometimes a candidate benefits from listening to old friends and trusted colleagues - non-political or not - people who know you; people who can say “no” to your face without you trying to wrestle them to the ground; allies who would cut off their right arm for you during the campaign. Candidates often use such a group - three, four, five trusted people - to help make major decisions - decisions about the use of time, money and talent.

If the people are chosen properly and if they are fulfilling their responsibility - they can be very useful to the campaign director, too. Sometimes they can help the campaign director convince the candidate to do something unpleasant but necessary - like spend more time fundraising or dismissing someone on the staff.

Sometimes they are just an advisory board with no real decision-making involved; a sounding board from the community to provide good, solid advice and then to help implement it if asked. There are usually three levels of organization to a campaign - consciously or not: deciders, doers and deliverers.

17.) Figure out your scheduling operation. If you can find the right scheduler early, it certainly makes it a lot easier to plot the first phase of the campaign. In the early days of the campaign, one of the resources that is free is time. How you utilize your time is critical.

We’ve mentioned any number of things needing to be scheduled already - talking to your friends or associates, party leaders, researching the district first hand, trolling for issues by talking to people throughout the district, etc.

And what about the things not mentioned. When are your local fairs, parades, festivals? Where are the media outlets? Which are the targeted precincts where the swing voters will decide the election outcome? What about fundraising calls and fundraising events? All of that requires a good time-management operation and you want to have somebody help you in all of that. Someone who will read the local newspapers to see what events you should attend. Someone who will call community and party leaders to see what events are scheduled.

And you, you need to sit back and honestly figure out how much time you have available to campaign. Sort it through with your family and associates at work. Are you going to be able to clear your schedule for full-time campaigning, weekends, evenings?

One of the bigger problems in a campaign is deciding where to go and where not to go. The where not to go becomes a major migraine when supporters are calling to complain that you missed some event they recommended. There are few easy answers in scheduling. It depends on your situation and your strategy.

If you’re involved in a Republican primary, then you’ll want to spend your time where Republicans go - because if you don’t get through the primary, you don’t have to worry about the general election. On the other hand, if you are not in a primary, you need to have a much higher general visibility in the early stages. You need to go where people generally go.

Let me mention the qualities that come to mind for a good scheduler: Someone who is wonderful on the phone - because it is a lot of phone work. Someone who can be insistent when they have to be, but gentle at the same time so they don’t offend unnecessarily. People who can say “no” nicely. Someone who is meticulous about details - writing down directions on how to get to a location, the exact times, who will be at the event, who will meet you there, who will introduce you? And someone who finds out exactly what is expected of you when you arrive - do you speak? If so, for how long; on what?

18.) Start the search process for a press secretary - but first make sure that you have the right view of the news media. You shouldn’t be paranoid - but neither should you be naive. I would just remind you that, yes, reporters are biased - and their bias is for news...news from whatever source, even a conservative Republican.

Yes, reporters tend to be more liberal than the general electorate. Yes, reporters tend to be more cynical, distrusting of politicians. But they would prefer to have a lively race to cover - and that favors the challenger. The vast majority of them sincerely want to be fair, so don’t lose an advantage by assuming that a reporter is the enemy. If you believe that, your belief will be self-fulfilling. Reporters will pick up on your attitude.

Follow Ronald Reagan’s example. He got his message through the media much better than Carter and Mondale - despite his conservatism. He understood the importance of remaining upbeat and winning at public relations. So, in talking with would-be press secretaries, make sure of one thing: that they respect reporters and would work hard to win the respect of reporters for you and your campaign.

19.) Prepare a list of media outlets in the district and get an idea of advertising costs so you can be realistic in estimating your budget for media. This is where an advertising agency or media placement firm can easily help you. What you spend on advertising will likely be the largest item in your campaign budget. To understand your district, and to understand what the budget should be, you need to understand the media make-up of your area.

20.) Develop a list of people who might volunteer to work for you on the campaign. Look for effective field organizers - but be wary of boastful claims. It is harder these days to get people to donate their time to a campaign - people are busier or more stressed out or watching more T.V.

I’m not sure about all the reasons, but I don’t think it’s as easy to mobilize large numbers of people to canvass every voter household in the district. It’s rarer and rarer that campaigns are successful that way. However, don’t give up on utilizing volunteers. They are especially important to challenger campaigns to make up for the money advantage the incumbent usually enjoys.

21.) Even though it’s early in the campaign, begin to jot down any ideas you have or hear on strategy. Even if the ideas aren’t on target, you at least begin the process of elimination - ideas that don’t work, assumptions that are rejected.

Hopefully you’ll have one principle strategist - perhaps it’s your general consultant or campaign manager, or campaign chairman or whomever - but at some point it’s almost best to have one mind synthesizing the ideas of many different people, from many different sources - polling, research, media coverage, the press secretary, your field organizers and so on. A good strategist will feel accountable. He or she will be able to realize that the strategy must be clear and explainable and not some mish-mash of compromise and half-baked ideas.

There is no set formula for winning. Each campaign is different - the opponent is unique, the district is unique, you are unique, the election climate is unique, the people in your campaign are unique. The strategy must be tailored to fit your unique condition.

A good strategy always evolves - the winning strategy is not apparent right from the start, and it’s going to have to be flexible enough to adjust for the unexpected changes in your opponent’s strategy, the media coverage and new issues that suddenly emerge nationally and locally. But it’s not too early to jot down some of the assumptions that consciously or unconsciously are shaping your decisions about hiring, spending and scheduling.

A cautionary note about strategy. Beware the Washington D.C. syndrome. Don’t look to the national party for your strategy and reality. Your district looks a lot different 600 or 900 miles away from inside a party committee, by someone who might not have ever set foot in your district. So when you are discussing your race with D.C. operatives, be confident in your own grounding - and of course know what you’re talking about. But don’t be discouraged if they are not encouraging, they probably don’t know as much as you presume they know.

22.) Have good photographs taken of you and your family. You want some black and white glossies for the newspaper and for a brochure of your own. The picture of you with your family might also be used, of course, for the campaign brochure. You’ll also probably want to have a horizontal color slide done at the same time so that you can give them to local television stations for possible use in news stories.

23.) Talk to political media consultants and/or advertising agencies about your advertising needs. You might not be advertising for many months, but you’ll want the firm responsible for your message and image to be thinking and planning well in advance. You don’t want them doing catch up research on you and the campaign right before they’re to come up with a T.V. spot. You want them involved early.

A couple of things to keep in mind about your advertising. Experts in corporate advertising are NOT necessarily experts in political advertising. Selling and positioning a candy bar is not the same thing as introducing a new candidate or communicating issues.

Also, keep in mind the difference between production value and persuasive value. Candidates are often impressed by slick commercials. Let’s face it, no one wants his or her image conveyed in a lack-luster or amateurish way. But what impresses voters more is sincerity. If your advertising is too cute, or contrived, or too fake, voters are quickly turned off. Above all, they want candidates they can trust. So don’t rush into hiring an ad agency or a media consultant. Make sure they have the values you want, respect for you and your ideas, and respect for the voters.

24.) Poll several pollsters before hiring. Talking to pollsters about polling can be very useful. Don’t be shy about admitting what you don’t know. They are happy to explain the so-called science of survey research and what it can and can’t do.

At the same time realize that these people are in business. They need customers to exist, so they want you to do as much polling as practical. Yet, to be fair, they’re quite sincere in urging you to poll early and often for reasons other than their making money. They want you to take an early poll, for example, before you announce so that if there is a clearer message that you should be driving home, you can do it right off. I have to admit, I’m very skeptical of early polling for challenger candidates in districts where incumbents are well known and fairly popular because, number one, the poll is going to say that the incumbent is well-known and popular - and that you aren’t. That could be demoralizing to a candidate and campaign. Candidates and their supporters invariably hope that their numbers are going to be surprisingly good. Rarely does that ever happen.

I’m a firm believer in polling - but I believe that you should use polling in the later stages of the campaign, when in fact it’s going to have an impact on how you spend you money and how you craft your advertise message. Talk to more than one pollster before hiring.

Now we go to question C: How do you pay for all this?

25.) Raise money immediately - waiting is a mistake. First set a specific dollar target. In the next sixty days I want to get X number of dollars deposited in the account.

Make a list of those folks you could approach for a sizeable contribution. Start with friends, family, business associates - and ask for as much as they’re capable of giving. And you want to ask for a check, not a pledge. You don’t want to be chasing people for checks they would have given you in the first place if only you’d asked.

Don’t make fundraising more complicated than it has to be. That can be a way of procrastinating. Just get started. Figure out who you need to contact, one-on-one - in person or on the phone - and schedule the time to make the calls. In the early stages of a campaign, you can spend as much as 75% of your time raising money - and that probably goes to 50% in the closing stages. The trick is, just do it. Ask, ask, ask.

26.) Ask a trusted accountant to be your campaign treasurer. Make sure they get the FEC start-up kit immediately. Some legal questions have to be settled in the early stages of a campaign for Congress. When you’ve raised or spent more than $5,000 you have to be filed with the FEC - the Federal Elections Commission. You have to have a campaign treasurer and you need to name the committee - something that sounds good as a disclaimer on radio. “Paid for by Joe Smith for Congress” - as opposed to “Paid for by proud citizens united to elect Joe Wilbur Smith to the United States Congress.” That would be half of your commercial.

27.) Find the right finance chairman and/or finance director. Easier said than done usually, but don’t despair. Someone usually pops up at some point, if not necessarily at the very beginning. Sometimes you have to prove your credibility publicly before a person of great reputation and fundraising ability is willing to sign on.

You want to find someone who knows the movers and shakers - and more importantly, the givers. Someone who’s not afraid to ask for money, perhaps even enjoys twisting an arm to get a contribution. I know that might sound odd, but some people have a very upbeat attitude about fundraising. They enjoy the challenge of convincing a reluctant citizen to join up and contribute.

You certainly don’t want someone shy to lead fundraising. You want someone who is aggressive, who knows how to ask, who understands rejection and will ask again and again. Someone who can organize and motivate other people. Fundraising is really an organizing effort. You want to figure out how to organize fund-raising by profession, or by community, or whatever makes sense in your district.

28.) List prospective members of a Finance Committee. Fundraising is all about prospecting. In the process of prospecting for a Finance Chairman, you will probably enlist members of the Finance Committee - people who say, “No, I don't want to be chairman, but I will help.” Then you say, “Great, you’re going to be on the Finance committee.” You want to think through all the people you know who are capable of raising money for you and determine who is the best person to approach these people. Who can reach these people and persuade them to join up?

When I think of a Finance Committee, I usually think in terms of people who can raise money within their own professions. The doctor who can raise money from doctors. The lawyer who can do the same with lawyers, and so on. And then I like to include people from all the geographic units of the district - someone from city A and city B.

If I’m going to have major events to raise money, the person chairing the events also serve on the committee. I believe in a broad-based Finance Committee - and if there’s a way to get the maximum contribution, then somebody should be able to ask for $1,000. But if there’s a way to get $5.00, there ought to be a program for that as well.

Give people titles. Let them know they have accepted a serious responsibility. And if they don’t work, replace them.

29.) Make a decision about whether to accept PAC money. This is a serious question. Challengers don’t generally raise very much from PACs. You can begin by trying to determine whether you think you’re going to be able to raise much PAC money. The second question is how you feel about it. This is a political issue more than a financial issue. Think through the advantages and disadvantages of taking PAC money.

One thing I would be very careful about is hiring a Washington, D.C. PAC fundraiser - or one in your state capital - who says they will raise PAC money for you. It usually doesn’t work well that way. The way you raise PAC money - if, in fact, you’re going to take it - is to campaign for it as you do for votes. You need to search out the PAC representatives.

Most of the associations, for example - whether realtor, dentists or home-builders - have local chapters and you need to talk with someone in those local chapters. You should also see who heads the state chapter. You don’t start out in Washington D.C. asking for help without even knowing the local people. You need to build locally before going nationally.

The same is true about national businesses and associations generally. They all rely on recommendations from those who are local. If you contact them and get the interested, the first thing they’re going to do is call the folks back home and ask, “What about this candidate?” And if they haven’t heard anything about you, guess what? Those national people aren’t going to feel too good about saying, “Oh, well, we hoped to contribute to that campaign.”

30.) Draw up a budget that is ambitious but realistic. What makes it realistic is to keep the overhead to a minimum and plan on spending money like it’s your own. You also have to be realistic in estimating what your campaign will need to win. It doesn’t do you any good to raise a lot of money - but lose. So get those advertising costs figured out; the cost of staff and consultants - and don’t forget the cost of fundraising. It takes some money to raise money.

As you consider all that you would like to do, you’ll get a better sense of the size and scope of your campaign - and what it’s going to take to win. You need to think carefully about the things you actually have to pay for. This is where some campaigns go awry, because they want to pay for everything up front. If you do that, you get enormous overhead built in, and you never get ahead of the process.

Remember as we learned from the victories in 1993, you want to make sure you have the media dollars needed for advertising in the end - when voters are most interested and persuadable. Think of your campaign as a small communications company. Question each dollar. Is it being spent to help communicate the winning message - directly or indirectly? Could I use this dollar more wisely doing something else?

On that note, I should close with a final thought. Not about the investment of money in your campaign, but the investment of yourself. Elections are a very tough, demanding business. You’re going to have highs and lows - and you need the stamina to get through it. You also need to pace yourself - that’s important.

What’s most important is just do the very best you can - because win or lose you live with yourself afterwards. Win or lose, you return to your family and friends who respect you for having had the courage to enter the arena and fight for your beliefs. So enjoy the adventure of it all - the unpredictability, the unexpected excitement, the applause and the many new friends you will make.

Enjoy it all and good luck to you!