Anyone who has ever ran for office or helped during elections will know just how many different things must be done in order to stand a chance of winning. Christopher Halajian aims to help people who are considering running for office, or who want to run again. Specifically, he helps candidates in Southold and Mattiuck, NY, which is his local area. To ensure people gain a greater understanding of what they must do, he has created a checklist of the various things of greatest importance. That being said, he wants to stress how volatile elections can be and that there is never any guarantee of winning at all. An opinion poll may show strong preference for one candidate on Monday and, by Tuesday, that will have all turned around. Additionally, he wants to make sure people understand that, sometimes, they will never be able to win an election. A primarily Republican town, for instance, is rarely going to vote for a Democratic candidate.
Christopher Halajian on How to Win an Election
The first thing Halajian feels people should do, therefore, is determine whether the election is winnable at all. That does not mean, necessarily, that it will be easy to win it, but rather that it would be possible. This means taking a deep, honest, inward look at what is and isn’t possible. Doing this can save you a lot of frustration, many hours, and a whole lot of money as well. This is something anyone who ran for office before will know.
The demographics to look at in particular are the district’s voting history and their demographics. Furthermore, you must determine who you will be up against, and what it is that they bring to the table. Perhaps one has a regular drink with the chief of police. Perhaps another is born and bread on a deprived estate and promises to pump money into it, for instance, by building a new route into the area. Look at the specific strengths and weaknesses of the opposition, in other words. Next, you must find out whether you have the finances needed to run for the elections and, whether there are any local organizations that will back you. Finally, you must determine whether you have the support of your party, unless you are independent.
Following this due diligence, you should be able to determine whether or not the election is winnable. Should you find that it is not, all hope isn’t lost yet. Perhaps you simply want to run in the wrong town. Now that you have done your research, you will have a better understanding of what it is people look for, so it will be easier to narrow that down to a different area. While a lot of people prefer to vote for local candidates and people they know, the reality is that most vote for the person they have seen the most or the party they are most familiar with.
