How to Identify and Target Voters for Your Election Campaign


DO NOT SKIP THIS BLOG POST!

Not every voter is "your" voter. The key to winning an election is knowing who the voters are in your district, understanding your natural "base" of supporters, who thew "swing" voters are (and what issues they care about), and the cohort of voters who will likely not support you (for reasons of policy, party, etc.). 

Why is targeting important?

I have consulted on numerous political campaigns over the years.  There are four limited resources on a campaign: time, information, money and people.  The first is time.  Time is a resource that cannot be created.  You know exactly how many seconds there are between this moment and the close of polls on election day.  Throughout all of the campaigns I have managed or consulted, I have met many eager candidates who pledged that they will knock on every door in the district.  

Well, unless the district is very tiny, or you have superhuman powers akin to Santa Claus, the likelihood of you knocking on every door in the district is close to nil.  Furthermore, not every home is probably registered to vote, meaning there may be people living there, but no one is registered to vote.  And if they are registered, which category do they fit (likely supporter, swing or non-supporter)?  Regardless of their support, are they even likely to vote in your election (some people only vote in Presidential elections, most people skip primary elections, fewer people vote in the "off" years of even numbers and even fewer yet in the odd numbered years).  Instead of trying to contact everyone and persuade everyone, the most successful campaigns identify and target the voters most likely to support them or most receptive to their message.

And persuasion and awareness cost money, which is another finite resource of a campaign.  Not only are you limited by time, but you are limited by money.  Delivering a message to a voter costs time and money, and delivering mail or messaging to someone who is not registered to vote, is registered but not likely to vote in your election, or falls into the "non-supporter" category is wasted resources.  

Targeting provides you with the best return on your investment of both time and money.   

Define Your Target Audience

Ask yourself:

  • What are the key demographics of my district? (Age, income, race, party affiliation)
  • Who is registered to vote?
  • Who has voted in past elections? (Frequent voters are the most important to target)
  • Who has voted in past elections like mine?
  • Who would likely benefit most from my policies? (Homeowners? Business owners? Parents? Seniors? Young families?)

This information can be found in the voter database for your district which should be a free download from your local election office web site or Secretary of State web site for your state.  You can find state-by-state election resources and contact information on the Campaignguy.com web site.

Data Sources

There are many paid data sources you can obtain that may also give you more personal information such as the voter's home value, estimated annual income, IP address associated with property, subscriptions, and many other fields that can be appended that could be useful in targeting.

Prioritize Persuadable Voters

Voters generally fall into three groups:

  1. Your Base: People who are likely to support you—focus on turnout.
  2. Persuadable or Swing Voters: People who might support you but need convincing—target these voters.
  3. Opposition Base or non-supporters: People who will never vote for you—don’t waste time here.

Engage Directly

Knock on doors in key neighborhoods on households who are likely to vote and fall into the Supporter or Swing category.

Call or text potential supporters.

Use social media and email to engage with persuadable voters.

Paid advertising such as direct mail, digital advertising, cable, radio, and other methods may be available if you are able to raise funds.  This blog will discuss fundraising in future posts.

Final Thoughts

Elections aren’t won by trying to reach everyone.  In fact, in attempting to do so, you could be hurting your chances.  Winning campaigns succeed by focusing on the right voters. By identifying and targeting, you maximize your impact and increase your chances of winning.


Further Reading:

The Political Campaign Desk Reference by Michael McNamara

WORKBOOK: Companion to the Political Campaign Desk Reference

Audible version of the Political Campaign Desk Reference

Campaignguy web site for services you may need


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