As a two-term local elected official and a campaign manager with over a decade of experience, I’ve seen firsthand the importance of organizing your campaign team with skilled people.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Craig, I’m just running for city council, not trying to assemble the Avengers!” But trust me, whether you’re aiming for the school board or the Oval Office, having the right squad can make or break your campaign. Of course, larger campaigns are going to have more resources and entire departments of people that local campaigns will never be able to afford. That’s okay.
In this post, I’ll share insights on the key roles you need to fill to run a successful campaign – even at the local levels. I’ll also explain why that particular role matters and if resources are constrained which roles you hire first…or not at all.
Let’s get started!
1. The Campaign Manager: Your Right-Hand Strategist
The campaign manager is the backbone of your campaign. They’re responsible for developing and implementing your overall strategy, managing day-to-day operations, and keeping everything on track. From my experience managing campaigns at every level, campaign managers are the wizards behind the curtain, and a good campaign manager is worth their weight in gold.
Why They’re Important: Your campaign manager ensures that all aspects of your campaign are working in harmony. They’re the ones who will keep you focused on your goals, manage your time effectively, and make sure that every decision aligns with your overall strategy. They’ll be reviewing finances, approving expenses, reviewing voter data, creating your vote get goals, making sure you hit those goals, and managing campaign events. If there are meetings to attend and the candidate can’t be in two (or five) places at a time, the campaign manager acts as a surrogate. Basically, it’s the campaign manager’s job to get everything done and deliver it on-time, on-budget, and with a win on election night!
My Take: Look for someone who is not just organized and strategic, but also able to stay calm under pressure. Politics can be unpredictable, and you need someone who can adapt quickly to changing circumstances. Your campaign manager should also be an excellent communicator, able to coordinate with your team and represent your campaign professionally. When the candidate is busy the campaign managers can’t bring them 100 options to decide on. They need to bring 2 or 3 options and a recommendation so the candidate can make a quick decision and keep the campaign moving.
What You Can Expect to Pay: Like everything else in the world of politics, it depends. On local races where budgets are tight, you can get away with a very organized friend or family member and try to pay them in free pizza or a small stipend. It’s negotiable. If you’ve got resources to hire a pro, you can expect to pay anywhere from $500 – $5,000 a month, depending on the size of the race. Statewide (Governor, Attorney General, etc.) and federal campaigns (Congress, Senate) can get pricier — $10,000 a month or more.
2. The Treasurer: The Financial Gatekeeper
Your campaign treasurer is responsible for managing all financial aspects of your campaign, including tracking donations, managing expenses, and ensuring compliance with campaign finance laws.
Why They’re Important: Proper financial management is crucial in politics. A good treasurer will keep your campaign financially healthy and ensure you’re following all the rules. This role is critical because even small financial missteps can have serious consequences for your campaign. In many cases, local law will require you to name a treasurer for PAC registration. See our associated blog post on Creating a PAC and setting up a political campaign bank account.
My Take: Choose someone who is not only good with numbers but also understands the intricacies of campaign finance laws. In my years as a campaign manager, I’ve seen how complex these regulations can be. Your treasurer should be detail-oriented, trustworthy, and preferably have some background in finance or accounting.
What You Can Expect to Pay: At the local levels, most party committees have people willing to help local candidates do this for free. Use them. As you step up to larger districts, legislative races, etc – the transaction count will increase and the financial reporting becomes more complex. At that point, you’ll hire a treasurer and pay them. Again, it’s negotiable.
3. The Fundraiser: Your Money Maven
The fundraiser’s job is to keep your campaign coffers full and make sure there are funds to pay for all the things the other members of your campaign team say are necessary to win! They identify potential donors, organize fundraising events, and help you make effective donation asks. If a campaign manager is worth their weight in gold, your fundraiser should be worth 5x – as they’re all expected to raise more money than they cost and, hopefully, more money than you need to run your entire campaign.
Why They’re Important: Even in local races, fundraising is critical. Your fundraiser ensures you have the resources you need to get your message out, from advertising to campaign materials.
My Take: Fundraising isn’t just about cold calls and asking for money. It’s about building relationships and conveying your vision in a way that inspires people to invest in your campaign. Look for someone who is personable, persuasive, and has a knack for networking. The best fundraisers are those who can connect your campaign’s goals with donors’ interests. It also helps if that person has a rolodex of important donors in the area and other organizations that typically give to issue-oriented candidates. In some local races where candidates are DIY gurus, I’ve seen the candidate handle the campaign management work and hire just a fundraiser instead of a campaign manager. That way the candidate focuses on electoral work and the fundraiser handles the money.
What You Can Expect to Pay: At the local levels, chances are you’re going to do this work yourself since fundraisers are in-demand staff. You can also look to neighborhood party committees for volunteers who have done this. The next step up is a fundraiser just getting started. Expect to pay them around $1,000 a month to help get you organized, rolodex your contacts, do donor research, and call-time with you. As you step up in race level into legislative campaigns, congressional races, etc – you can expect to pay as much as $5,000 a month or more for a fundraiser’s services. You can also build in bonuses based on thresholds and wins. For example, if they hit a certain threshold in a month or quarter you give a 20% bonus. If you win the primary, they get a 10% bonus, etc.
4. The Communications Director: Crafting Your Public Persona
Your communications director is responsible for shaping and delivering your message to the public. They handle media relations, craft your public statements, manage your social media presence, and ensure all your campaign materials are on-message.
Why They’re Important: In politics, perception is reality. Your communications director ensures that your message is clear, consistent, and compelling across all platforms. They’re crucial in building and maintaining your public image and in getting the word out about… well, everything. On local races, your comms director will probably be handling your website, copyediting your bio, and crafting your emails. They might even be handling fundraising emails too or sending the emails written by your finance team members. They are often digital gurus by nature and often handle a host of technical needs for the campaign.
My Take: The best communications directors are those who can capture your authentic voice while also strategically framing your message for different audiences. They should be excellent writers, quick thinkers, and media-savvy. In my experience, campaigns win when their messaging is sharp, consistent, and resonates with voters on a personal level. Go after the people who are strong writers and who know how to tell a story. You don’t want another writer on your campaign team who’s going to send junk email or who will resort to unethical tactics like making up fake messages just to get that next donation.
What You Can Expect to Pay: If you can find someone local who is tech savvy and has experience with websites, social media, and email – grab ’em quick and offer to pay them their weight in good pizza. If a salary is required, you can expect to pay $500 a month for local races with low content volume needs (1 email or blog post per week and a few social hits). For more volume, that number can go as high as $5,000 per month for legislative races or statewide campaigns.
5. The Volunteer Coordinator: Mobilizing Your Ground Game
The volunteer coordinator recruits, trains, and manages the volunteers who will be the boots on the ground for your campaign. They organize canvassing efforts, phone banks, and other grassroots activities.
Why They’re Important: Volunteers are often the lifeblood of local campaigns. A good volunteer coordinator can turn enthusiasm into action, multiplying your campaign’s reach and effectiveness. Remember, your volunteer needs can often be tied directly to the level of resources you have on your campaign. If you can’t raise funds, you’re going to need more volunteers to help get the word out – and the volunteer coordinator becomes one of the most important roles on your campaign.
My Take: Look for someone who is organized, motivational, and great with people. The best volunteer coordinators I’ve worked with are those who can inspire people to give their time and energy to the campaign. They should be able to match volunteers’ skills and interests with the campaign’s needs, ensuring everyone feels valued and effective. They’re super organized and even better at follow-up. Anyone who’s coordinated volunteers knows that a YES requires several points of follow-up confirmation and communication to make sure that person actually shows up to do the work they said they would do. In my experience, volunteers show up at the rate of about 40%. That means 6 in 10 who say they will attend don’t actually make it. It’s the coordinators job to make sure that number is as high as possible.
What You Can Expect to Pay: On local races, this person is usually a friend or family member of the campaign. You can also turn to the local neighborhood party committee and grab their events person who does this for the committee. They’ll know the local volunteers and the people who do what they say they will. They also know the influencers who are good at convincing people to help. As you get into bigger races, the volunteer coordinate can act like (or even become) your field director (see below). Prices here are negotiable. Sometimes the campaign manager will act as the volunteer coordinator. If you need to hire someone, you’ll be likely to pays a few hundred a month as a part time gig until the campaign raises enough money to make this a full-time gig.
6. The Field Director: Your Ground Operations Leader
The field director oversees all direct voter contact efforts, including door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and community events. They work very closely with the volunteer coordinator and, in some local races, they are one and the same person!
Why They’re Important: Direct voter contact is often the key to winning local races. Period. Your field director ensures these efforts are organized, efficient, and effective. They take the vote goals from your campaign manager and they turn those goals into actual support. You cannot win races with direct voter contact and support and it’s the field director’s job to make that happen.
My Take: A great field director is a master of logistics and people management. They should be able to coordinate large groups of volunteers, track voter interactions, and adjust strategies based on feedback from the ground. In my experience, a strong field operation can often make the difference in close races.
What You Can Expect to Pay: On local races, chances are this will be done by the campaign manager or the volunteer coordinator. Find a volunteer if possible, or pay a few hundred a month on a part-time basis. On larger races, this is a dedicated role with goals and metrics to live up to. Pay will be similar to the volunteer coordinator and it will scale with the size of the race. Expect to pay $3,000 – $5,000 per month on larger statewide or federal races.
Building Your Winning Campaign Team
While this might seem like a lot of roles to fill, remember that in smaller campaigns, some of these roles might be combined or scaled down. The campaign manager usually takes on all these roles until they can be filled, if they ever get filled! The key is to have all these bases covered in some form.
As you build your team, look for people who not only have the necessary skills but also believe in your vision and work well together. A cohesive team that shares your values and goals can overcome many challenges. As a candidate, be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. Sure, you could develop your own website, but is that where your talents really lay? Is it worth $500 to pay someone to do something that would take them 2 hours where it would take you 20? You have to make sure you’re doing the most effective and efficient work possible. Doing busy work because you refuse to fundraise is not the way to win a race. Being penny-wise and pound-foolish is a quick way to bury yourself in busy work that doesn’t advance the campaign.
It’s always a good idea to reach out to your local party structure which often has volunteers ready and willing to step into these roles. Some will do the work for free because they care about how their community is run. They’ll also know who the pros are if you want to go that route and have the resources to do it.
Remember, you don’t have to go it alone. With the right team supporting you, you’ll be well-positioned to run a successful campaign and make a real difference in your community. Good luck!
