Get Your Job In Order: Preparing to Run for Political Office

You’re considering a run for elected office, and you’ve already started having conversations with your friends, family, and allies about the potential move.

You’re probably really excited, and a bit overwhelmed. Everyone has advice and opinions, and the potential feels limitless. But before you get too ahead of yourself, you need to look hard at an area of your life that is going to be directly and heavily impacted by this new venture:

Your job.

Unless you are wealthy (in which case, please consider whether our democracy really needs another wealthy representative and maybe take a seat) you are very likely to have to continue working throughout the course of the campaign. And, depending on the pay scale of the office you’re running for…perhaps during your term in office as well.

But there’s a problem: We all only have 24 hours in a day. And you’re going to need approximately 8–12 of them to pay your bills.

Running for office can be a full-time job. It also doesn’t have to be. It really depends what you’re running for, when (special election vs general election), and how good you are at delegating.

If you’re running for Congress, and doing it correctly, you’re likely spending 40+ hours per week on the campaign trail. If you’re running for school board, though, it can be a 10 hour per week gig. Either way, you’re taking hours in the day and that is going to come in direct contrast with making a living. You and your family or any others who depend on you for income need to be realistic about the impacts of this.

Failing to prepare properly for this can cause stress and burnout at the very least, and life-altering problems and reactionary decisions at worst. I have seen candidates get divorced, sell their homes, and lose their jobs because they were not properly prepared for all the demands of the campaign trail on their time and capacity.

It is unlikely tragedy will befall you, but it’s going to be stressful. So your aim is to create the best possible balance you can between the 24 hours you have in your day, the money that is coming into your bank account to pay your bills, and the demands of both campaign work and work work.

There is no one right way to do this, because everyone’s lives, flexibility, work-life balance, and financial situation are different. Here are some things to prepare for, think about, and talk about with your job, your dependents, and maybe even an account and/or lawyer:

Your time at work:

• Do you need to continue to work full time? If so, is there any flexibility in what that means, or are you glued to a 9–5 schedule? Is there any support your boss or HR department can provide to adjust your work schedule or deadlines?
• If you can work part time, how? Do you have enough paid time off saved up, or will you have to take unpaid time or a reduction in hours? Is there a sustainable combination?
• Can/should you take a leave of absence or a block of vacation time leading into the election? When would that need to start? Do you need to work ahead to bank the hours or create the capacity on your team to do so?

Your work environment:

• Is your boss supportive or are they going to make your life a living hell for having the audacity to lead? It can be done either way, but preparations are different.
• Are there any previously untapped benefits or resources your boss or HR can help guide you through that will lessen the financial and/or capacity blow of the campaign?
• Are you running to be your coworkers’ boss? If so (as often happens when government staffers run for office) how do they feel about this? Are they supportive and excited to have one of their own leading them? Or are they going to try to sabotage you?
• If you are the boss, how is this going to impact the money coming in the door at the company? Will your company be able to recover? Will someone else need to take over if you win? How will it impact your capacity to manage and support your team? Do you need to hire help to mitigate any of these issues?

Your legal limitations at work:

• Are you a government or nonprofit employee with reportable restrictions on political time and resources? If so, seek guidance from HR and an elections attorney.
• Do your coworkers and bosses have the same or more restrictions?
• How will you schedule your campaign activities around these limitations, and build walls around your political infrastructure to ensure there is no bleed over that could get you in legal trouble.
• Are you preparing to talk to a lawyer about any of the above legal restrictions? If not, perhaps you do not have the judgment for this particular line of work…

Your money:

• How will any and all adjustments made from the above factors affect your take home pay?
• What is your lost income? How can it be supplemented?
• If it cannot be supplemented, what budget cuts can you implement to absorb the hit?
• How much personal money are you willing/able to spend on the campaign? (There will always be something, even if it’s just gas money.)
• Is anyone else responsible for supplementing that income? Have you talked to them about it? Can they do so? Are they willing to without causing relationship-ending resentment?
• What financial lines do you need to draw around your personal life so that your campaign team knows what is and is not on the table? If you’re not willing to go into debt, your consultants/managers need to know. If you can invest in your campaign, your team should know the maximum investment as early on as possible so they budget accordingly.
• Will the position you are running for be paid or unpaid? Full time or part time? What financial adjustments does that mean long term if you are victorious.

These conversations are scary, but having them early, often, and in the most detailed way possible is going to save you way more headache, heartache, and capitol than if you put it off. Besides, if you can’t make hard decisions for yourself and your family, then what makes you think you should be able to make them for the public?

The Get Yourself In Order series aims to help you get ready to run a campaign for public office. Getting yourself, your loved ones, and your life ready is a process. Don’t skip this. Stay tuned for Part 3. Did you miss Part 1? Click here to read Get Your House in Order: Preparing to run for Political Office. Ready to talk it over with a professional? Book a call here.

This piece was written by: Eva Posner, President & Founder of Evinco Strategies