Organizing to Win: The Art & Science of Running for Office
Organizing to Win is the audio version of a top-selling book that teaches how to enter the political arena, manage a campaign, and run for public office. It covers messaging, fundraising, voter contact, scheduling, and public speaking. The podcast is written and narrated by Jimmy Tickey, a trusted political voice in Connecticut who serves as Vice Chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party and a member of the Democratic National Committee. It blends political strategy with public service, drawing on Tickey's experience as a campaign manager, elected official, and party leader.
Episodes
About the Author
Jimmy Tickey is a trusted political voice, providing guidance to local, state, and federal campaigns and political parties. An elected At-Large Member of the Democratic National Committee, Tickey has been elected as the Connecticut Democratic Party Vice Chair since 2022, leading training and mentoring efforts, and appears regularly on television on behalf of the Democratic Party. Tickey has run su
Lessons: A Note From the Author
In this Note from the Author, Jimmy Tickey explains the idea behind Organizing to Win and the process he took for nearly two-years to research, write, and develop this how-to book, which responds to the idea: Imagine what our democracy could look like with a more engaged citizenry. Further, the author thanks those who helped to make this book - and audiobook - happen with personal acknowledgements
Citizen Government
Our government was first constituted with the words: We the people. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was one of the most influential citizens in our history, Benjamin Franklin. When he was asked what type of government the Constitutional Convention adopted, he said, “A republic, if you can keep it.” Our democracy needs care; it thrives when citizens participate, and it weakens
Give Them Hope
Running for public office is a lesson in listening and understanding those kitchen table conversations: voters’ fears, frustrations, needs and wants, and hopes for their future. Succeeding in public office means you can weave all that together and make government actually work for people, and improve working people’s livelihoods—increasing freedoms and economic opportunity—by making life better. I
Year Round Organizing
You’ve been on a journey of running for, and winning, public office. The truth is, voters have been on a journey, too. From awareness about the election, to considerations for the candidates, and processing their beliefs, they made the decision to vote and participate in our democracy. Especially when most are elected for only two years, you’ll find that once you move through your first hundred da
Once a Staffer, Always a Staffer
Whether you are a volunteer, intern, campaign manager, or a senior employee, the public views us all the same: staff. It’s similar to people not knowing what exactly each level of government does—local, county, state, and federal; official office or the campaign side. It’s as if anyone who does anything with politics works in one large building that has GOVERNMENT written on it, and everyone the
Govern in Prose
Campaigning and governing are codependent, and while one needs the other, they are very different efforts. Some people are excellent at campaigning—building coalitions, connecting with voters, and showing a vision for the future—but discover governing is not easy. Others would make a very able elected official but have not found their way out of a campaign successfully. Once that campaign conclud
Election Day
We’ve come a long way from that first kitchen table conversation and those summer days of door knocking, securing your party nomination, and managing the chaos through the fall. All of your hard work and months of planning have culminated in this moment: Election Day. In this episode we will review how your team should design election day for the candidate and volunteers, as well as how to hold an
Get Out The Vote
It’s time to Get Out The Vote (GOTV), the final mission of your campaign to bring your voters to the polls. Nowadays, you are not building for Election Day, but rather peaking just as early voting begins. Early voting is defined differently in each state, but the goal is to be ready in those final days of the campaign when people start early voting, mail-in voting, submitting overseas military bal
Scheduling 101
The most precious resource we have in a campaign is time. With each passing day, there is less time to do the work we need to win this election. There are a lot of demands on our time as we juggle schedules for the candidate, campaign manager, and staff. A schedule will show your priorities, and so it’s critical you are making the right decisions as to how you are spending your time, what events y
Surprises, Setbacks, and Spin
With a fractured media environment, people believe whatever they see while scrolling on their phones must be true as they are surrounded by an ecosystem of messages that match their already held beliefs; an agreeable algorithm. Your online ecosystem will tell you just what you want to hear. How do political campaigns handle this? In this episode, we will talk in-depth about getting ahead of surpri
Welcome to Headquarters
Your campaign headquarters is your home, and you have guests—volunteers—coming over every day, so you need an inviting place where people want to be. Secure a campaign headquarters as a gathering place for staff and volunteers, as well as a visible location to gather in your community. In this episode, we will cover headquarters management, and how to have a volunteer and intern program while matc
Campaign Management
Chaos is defined as disorder, but a good campaign manager will manage political chaos into organization, where everything has a place, everyone has a role, and every day is maximized with the plans for mobilization, money, and message. In this episode, you will learn how to manage the candidate, staff, volunteers, consultants, stakeholders, and projects for a local or state political campaign. A c
Please Say a Few Words
Public speaking tells a story with a beginning, middle, and an end, ultimately asking for action. Good remarks will emphasize what you stand for and remind people who you are as you are running for office. Since you are an authentic candidate running to make things better, you want listeners to conclude that you would be the right person for this position. In this episode we will discuss speech wr
Communications 24/7
You will be discussing your candidacy in various ways every day, whether it’s seeing someone in the market, knocking on a door, or speaking at a forum, and you should bring these conversations back to your central theme, or top-line message. In this episode we will teach you basic communications and cover all the ways a political candidate can talk with voters: TV, radio, online advertising, socia
Plan and Budget
Raising dollars for your campaign is important, but whats more important is how you are spending each dollar, and at what frequency. You don’t need to be a financial expert to realize that every week you will have money flowing into your campaign, and expenditures going out. All expenses and funds raised should be tracked closely to see how you are doing compared to your goals. In this episode we
Asking for Money
You think you can’t ask someone for money, yet you can ask someone for advice, a favor, even for a vote. The truth is you are starting an enterprise with this political campaign, and you need to have funds to make it operate. Fundraising should start on the day you announce your campaign. Through this entrepreneurial venture of running for office, shift your thinking from asking someone for money
Comfortable Shoes
Door knocking is an opportunity for you to look a voter in their eyes and welcome their participation in public policy, and there is no better way than it coming from the candidate at the voter’s doorstep. Once you start door knocking, you will see why this community-building effort can make all the difference in a political campaign. Voters will remember a connection with a candidate, and more th
Reaching Voters
Meeting people where they are means speaking to them physically where they are: on a doorstep, at an event, online; and emotionally where they are: their perceptions, feelings, and frustrations. In fact, good campaigning is more listening, and less talking. Before we go out there and meet voters, remember we are in a fast-paced society, and people seem to be getting busier, don’t they? Placing a c
Universe of Data
Investments in technology by national parties have allowed campaigns to access voter databases that provide valuable information. What you do with that data is the science behind your campaign, and it will make all the difference as you keep it up to date. We'll cover what you need to know about forming your universe of voters, and how you can really learn about your district. Don’t assume yo
Hello, Candidate
Running for office is an entrepreneurial effort as you are building an organization from scratch. This requires a vision, human capital, resources, and a goal-oriented plan to meet benchmarks with a timeline. Being a candidate demands being creative, resourceful, disciplined, and motivated to lead through pressures and setbacks. Making your announcement official and establishing your campaign with
Visibility is Viability
Representative democracy is a bedrock American principle that, when fulfilled, guarantees every person a voice in this citizen government. When you have a diverse array of individuals making decisions about policy impacting families, you create a full view of the community and the needs of its people. Taken together, elected officials from different ideologies and backgrounds will generate more pe
Decision to Win
At this point in your political campaign, you’ve taken inventory of what drives you in this authentic journey to make a positive difference in your district. You have thought about what office you may run for, and know what kind of race it will be. You’ve met the local political party and are thinking about how you will get on the ballot. When you make that decision to run, you’re also making the
Life of the Party
One does not decide to just run for office and suddenly they are on the ballot. There are a few ways to get onto the ballot, and we will discuss the importance of getting involved in your local political party just as you got involved in your community. One thing is certain: the major political party you belong to has something you need, and that’s access to the ballot. Let's talk political p
What's Your Why?
Authenticity is derived from feeling a passion for your purpose; that you are enthusiastic about your purpose! As a political candidate, you don’t need to come out on your first day of campaigning with every policy position, but you need to have a sense of who you are, why you want to run, and why you’re the right person for the role. In this episode we will review types of campaigns, levels of go
Two Ears and One Mouth
In thinking about running for office, it helps to be rooted in your community. Being born and raised in the town comes with advantages like a known network, but if you are not from the town, then get involved first – don’t just parachute into town and run. Make it a goal to show up and accomplish something before you run for office. Approach this with an interest in learning about your community w
Introduction
Our democracy hangs in the balance with a billionaire-class making decisions to give tax breaks to the richest corporations; while the programs working families count on are slashed. Prices for essential items rise, as everyday people work harder and harder to make ends meet. This leads people to grow cynical about government, and their elected representatives. Our Democracy was created with the e
