The Campaign Plan Template
The document your entire campaign runs on — 36 pages covering district analysis, research, message, communication, staff, field, GOTV and budget. With a real race filled in end to end.
- 36-page template
- Word, Pages and PDF
- 25-page worked example included
Campaigns that win have a plan, and they work it in order.
Most first-time candidates never write a campaign plan. They keep it in their head, and by August the campaign is being run by whatever was loudest that week: the last person who called, the attack that landed on Facebook, the event someone added to the calendar.
The campaigns that win know where they're going before they start. They know how many votes they need and where to find them, what they'll say, who does what, what it costs and how they'll turn their voters out. When something unexpected happens, and it will, they check the plan instead of guessing.
And order matters. You can't write your message until you know who your voters are, and you can't budget for a field program you haven't planned. This template walks you through every part of your campaign in the order you'll need it, each step building on the one before, so you never spend time or money on step six before step one is done.
Find out if the votes are there, and where.
Know your own record and your opponent's.
The three or four issues you'll run on.
Every channel saying the same thing.
Know who does what, and what to ask for.
Doors, phones, events and volunteers.
Turn your supporters out to vote.
Your budget, and how much to raise.
Reviewed every week, so you stay on course.
Every part of the plan ends here.
- District Analysis
Find out if the votes are there, and where.
1 - 2Research
Know your own record and your opponent's.
- Message
The three or four issues you'll run on.
3 - 4Communication
Every channel saying the same thing.
- Staff
Know who does what, and what to ask for.
5 - 6Field
Doors, phones, events and volunteers.
- GOTV
Turn your supporters out to vote.
7 - 8Finance
Your budget, and how much to raise.
- Living Plan
Reviewed every week, so you stay on course.
9 - Election Day
Every part of the plan ends here.
A worksheet for every step.
Find out if the votes are there.
Historic results, registration by party, turnout and a precinct-by-precinct priority list that shows which boxes deliver your margin. Then research: your own record first, then your opponent's positions, votes, endorsements and money.
- Historic election data, registration and targeting
- Vote get goals and benchmarks
- A precinct-by-precinct priority list
- Research on you and your opponent, including their money
Say one thing, everywhere.
Three or four issues, no more, then the strategy behind every channel you'll use to deliver them: website, email, social media, print, advertising, and the editorial calendar that keeps them all saying the same thing.
- Top issues, secondary issues and how to handle changing issues
- A communication plan and editorial calendar
- Website, email, social media, print and advertising
- A filled-in message from a real race to calibrate against
Know who does what.
Eight campaign roles written out, so you know exactly what you're asking for when you ask someone to help. Then the field plan: canvassing, phone banking, events, volunteers, grassroots groups and community outreach, held together by your calendars.
- Eight roles defined, from campaign manager to donor researcher
- A field plan for doors, phones and events
- Volunteers, grassroots groups and community outreach
- Candidate, community and field calendars
Pay for it, and turn it out.
GOTV is what everything else pays off into, with an Election Day itinerary for the candidate. Then finance: the budget, how much you need to raise, the benchmarks that tell you if you're on pace, and the strategies to hit them.
- A GOTV plan and Election Day itinerary
- A full campaign budget template
- How much to raise, with goals and benchmarks
- Implementing your living campaign plan, reviewed weekly
What's included.
This plan has been used to run real, successful races at local, state and federal level.
- 36 pages covering every part of a campaign, from district analysis to Election Day
- Editable .docx and .pages, alongside the PDF
- A 25-page worked example for a real state-house race, filled in end to end
- Precinct-by-precinct vote goals, so you know which boxes deliver your margin
- Research sections for you and your opponent, including their money
- Eight campaign roles defined, so you know what you're asking for when you ask for help
- Field plan, GOTV plan, Election Day itinerary and a full budget
Built for the people who do the work.
First-time candidates
You've never written a campaign plan. The template tells you what goes in each section, and the worked example shows you how much detail is enough.
Campaign managers
One document the whole team runs from, with metrics for every part of the campaign so problems surface in March, not October.
Returning candidates
Stop running your next race from memory. Put the lessons from last time into a plan you review every week.
A note from Craig.
Most first-time candidates never write a campaign plan. I've watched what happens next: by August, the campaign is being run by the last person who called and whatever attack landed on Facebook that week.
This is the plan I've used to run real races at the local, state and federal level. It starts by telling you whether the votes are there, and it ends with the budget and the GOTV plan that turn them out.
You also get the same plan filled in for a real state-house race, because a blank template tells you what to fill in but never how much detail is enough.
Write it once, then keep using it. Review it every week, and you'll always know exactly where your campaign stands.
The Campaign Plan Template
This is the plan that defines your entire campaign. Getting it right can mean the difference between winning and losing. The campaign plan template is your roadmap to success.
Prefer to be walked through it? Campaign Bootcamp walks you through building your whole campaign, with this template included alongside every workbook. Learn about Campaign Bootcamp →