2021-2022 Candidate Recruitment & Training Resources
Information, Deadlines, & Opportunities!
*Running for, or thinking about running for some day, City Council, School Board, District Attorney, State House, or State Senate? Sooner, or later? Not sure yet? Don’t know where to start? Have a friend who's considering making the leap? Want to learn how to manage or volunteer for a campaign?
Here are many Georgia and national resources to help you, from the Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia WIN List, Georgia Working Families Party, Her Term, and Rep GA; Arena Academy, Democratic National Committee, Emerge, Get Her Elected, LGBTQ Victory Institute, National Democratic Training Committee PAC, Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC, and Run for Something. Special resources available for young, BIPOC, LGBTQ, and nontraditional candidates. Stay updated with organizations by following them on their social media channels. All info is current and has been approved by these groups.
2021: Georgia has more than 1,000 municipal races; qualifying week is August 16-20. 2021 State Elections & Voter Registration Calendar (https://bit.ly/2OjCcKs).
2022: Georgia will have county, State Senate, State House of Representative, statewide (Governor and other constitutional roles), U.S. Representative and one U.S. Senator race. The Democratic Party of Georgia encourages candidates to inform their County Party leader and the DPG’s vice chair of candidate recruitment, though the DPG does not endorse in primaries. Dates are TBD; qualifying for these roles is generally in March, primary is May, and general election is November.
Georgia resources:
* Democratic Party of Georgia: Seeking community leaders for elected office in city, county and judicial races in 2021, and county, state, statewide, or Congressional seats in 2022 or beyond. Complete this questionnaire to express your interest (https://bit.ly/382iMk8), and Adrienne White, DPG vice chair of candidate recruitment, will reach out to you about training opportunities/resources. To help recruit candidates, please collaborate with your local County Party leader (https://bit.ly/3rcC7H3) or sign up to collaborate with Adrienne (https://bit.ly/3kHlsZE).
* Georgia WIN List (https://www.gawinlist.com): A grassroots PAC dedicated for the past two decades to changing the face of power in Georgia by recruiting, training, supporting, promoting, electing and re-electing Democratic women for statewide and legislative office who will be effective advocates for the issues most important to women and families, including the preservation of reproductive freedom. Georgia now ranks 18th in the nation for the percentage of women in the state legislature and has the highest number and percentage of Black women legislators for any state in the nation.
* Georgia Working Families Party: Seeking progressive grassroots candidates and building a multiracial, feminist party with a mass base of working-class supporters. Candidate training and other events here (http://www.mobilize.us/ga-wfp), or email Fallon McClure, organizing and elections director (fmcclure@workingfamilies.org).
* Her Term (https://www.herterm.org) is a Georgia-based initiative created to recruit women to run for public office at the state level. Working with local and state partners, community leaders, and activists, we find qualified, progressive women already leading in their communities and recruit them to run for office through an in-depth exploration process. We then connect them with the best resources and provide the support they need to launch an effective campaign. First-time and/or non-traditional candidates and friends of potential candidates are especially encouraged to reach out (info@herterm.org).
* Represent GA, Georgia’s statewide leadership development hub, convenes a table of partners from across Georgia to build a great bench of progressive candidates. Rep Ga will have “Ready to Lead” training classes for potential candidates and campaign staffers, community leaders, and current elected officials throughout the year, starting in March (https://www.repga.org). If you’re not quite sure if you’re ready to run, see www.runforofficega.org for a quick survey and FAQ’s.
National resources:
* Arena Academy: A five-day (next dates: June 10-14) immersive virtual training course for anyone interested in working on campaigns. Participants apply (https://bit.ly/3c2yjBN) for one of seven campaign tracks corresponding to particular campaign roles: campaign management, communications, data, digital, finance, organizer, and organizing director. Arena helps match graduates with job opportunities on campaigns and with other related organizations. Cost is $300; Arena offers scholarships to make sure cost isn't a barrier, so anyone who is interested should apply. Arena Careers (https://app.arena.run) is a free one-stop platform for progressive job seekers and employers to search, connect, and hire. Arena Toolbox (https://arena.run/toolbox) is a suite of free tools for candidates, campaign teams, and staffers to level up their work.
* Democratic National Committee: The DNC’s biggest annual training program, Train the Trainer, is a free six-week, twelve-part virtual course, tried and true basics and new skills and tactics needed for modern grassroots campaigning. Registration deadline: end of day March 14 (https://bit.ly/30bHiuY).
* Emerge: For Democratic self-identified women running in the 2021-2022 election cycle, Emerge will offer Regional BootCamps: Midwest (April 24-May 2), Southwest (June 5-13), Northeast (July 24-Aug. 1), and Southeast (Aug. 7-15). The one-hour Step Forward training was created to help Democratic women answer the questions, “Should I run for office?” and “What does it take to run a successful campaign?” More info (https://bit.ly/3qXtj7x); questions: Ryanne Olsen, training and curriculum director, ryanne@emergeamerica.org.
* Get Her Elected is an initiative where people from all over the world offer their skills pro bono to progressive women candidates running for office at all levels of U.S. government. Skill sets from current volunteers include everything from writing, editing, and graphic design to web design, data analysis, and fundraising strategy. By having people with these backgrounds fill in these gaps for no charge, GHE levels the playing field and allows progressive women candidates to focus on bigger issues within their campaigns. See FAQs for volunteers and candidates at https://www.getherelected.com/about.
* LGBTQ Victory Institute is the only national organization dedicated to elevating openly LGBTQ leaders who can further equality at all levels of government. Through its training and professional development programs, each year Victory Institute assists hundreds of individuals who go on to influential careers in politics, government, business and advocacy. Its three-day signature candidate and campaign trainings will be held virtually in April, and it hopes to resume in-person trainings starting in Boston in July and in San Diego in October. More info (https://bit.ly/2PCZjAp).
* National Democratic Training Committee PAC: Offers free trainings to any Democrat or progressive. Their online courses (https://bit.ly/3sOsM8x) teach candidates how to write and execute a campaign plan focused on winning, and include samples and templates that candidates can use in their own campaigns. Topics include fundraising, digital communications, and field tactics like canvassing and phone banking. One course is specifically to help you decide if running for office is right for you (and your family) and what office you might want to run for. Live event calendar (https://traindemocrats.org/events).
* The Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC (https://www.BoldProgressives.org) offers a series of free 45-minute special online trainings for current and prospective candidates. Upcoming topics include call time, house parties, managing volunteers, and successful media events (https://pccc.me/GATGHR).
* Run for Something helps recruit and support young diverse progressives to run for down-ballot races in order to build a bench for the future. They aim to lower the barriers to entry for first-time candidates by helping them access information, resources and trainings that can help launch a successful campaign. Once their campaign gets started, first-time candidates are also encouraged to apply for RFS’s endorsement, which includes hands-on support from an RFS team member and connections to experts, additional programs, and resources. Learn more (http://gorfs.net/159GATogether).
Please feel free to tell groups that 159 Georgia Together sent you their way – we connect many volunteers and candidates with many groups and love to track the results.
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