A political campaign is the process by which a candidate, or a group of candidates, promotes their vision and platform to voters in order to secure an election. In democratic countries, elections enable citizens to select their leaders and thereby influence public policy and endow elected officials with legitimacy. Political campaigns are often run by political parties or independent candidates who seek to gain the support of a large number of voters in order to win an election.
In addition to traditional fundraising and other forms of raising money, political campaigns may host town hall meetings or public events, make persuasion calls to identified supporters, create social media adverts, use email or digital communications to reach new voters, and distribute voter contact data. The most successful campaigns are those that stay on message and focus on key issues. The background, experiences and personal qualities of a candidate are also important in creating an image for the individual seeking office.
During initial outreach to voters, the campaign team will ask what matters most to them and try to match those concerns with where the candidate stands on those issues. This information is often logged in a database so that subsequent conversations with voters can be more targeted and effective.
In some elections, losing candidates may hire staff from their rivals’ campaigns so that the senior team of a winning candidate will be familiar with their skills and connections. This is especially common with local elections.