7 Essential Steps to Craft a Political Message That Actually Wins Local Elections

Because saying “I want to make a difference” isn’t a message—it’s a wish

Every winning local campaign has one thing in common: a message so clear and compelling that voters can repeat it to their neighbors. Not a laundry list of policy positions. Not a generic promise to “bring change.” A specific, memorable reason why this candidate, at this moment, deserves their vote.

The difference between candidates who struggle to gain traction and those who build momentum isn’t charisma or name recognition—it’s message clarity. Here are seven essential steps to create a political message that cuts through the noise and connects with voters on issues they actually care about.

1. Root Your Message in Authentic Personal Values (Not What You Think Voters Want to Hear)

Why This Matters: Voters can spot inauthentic messaging from miles away. The candidates who win local elections are those whose messages feel genuine because they stem from real convictions and lived experiences.

How to Do It:

Identify your core motivation for running. What specific experience or frustration led you to consider public service?
Connect personal values to community needs. If you value education because you struggled in underfunded schools, that’s more compelling than generic “education is important” messaging.
Share the origin story of your political engagement. Voters want to understand what drives you beyond ambition.

Example in Action: Weak: “I support better schools because education matters.” Strong: “As a parent who’s seen my daughter’s classroom sizes grow to 32 students, I know our teachers need better support. That’s why I’m running—to ensure every child gets the individual attention they deserve.”

RunTogether’s Platform Builder can help you articulate these authentic connections between your values and community needs, ensuring your message feels genuine rather than manufactured.

2. Research Your Audience Like Your Election Depends on It (Because It Does)

Why This Matters: The best message in the world fails if it doesn’t address what voters actually care about. Local elections are won by candidates who understand their specific community’s priorities, not abstract political principles.

How to Do It:

Attend community meetings before announcing your candidacy. What issues generate the most passionate discussion?
Talk to recent local candidates about what resonated with voters and what fell flat.
Study local media coverage from the past year. What stories generated the most community engagement and comment activity?
Survey neighborhood groups about their top priorities. Different areas within your district may have different concerns.

Pro Tip: Create a simple spreadsheet tracking issue frequency and intensity from various community interactions. The issues that come up most often AND generate the strongest emotional responses should inform your message priorities.

What to Look For:

Issues that affect daily life (traffic, school quality, local business support)
Problems with current representation (accessibility, responsiveness, transparency)
Community changes that create anxiety or excitement (development, demographic shifts, economic changes)

3. Simplify Until Your 10-Year-Old Neighbor Could Explain Your Message

Why This Matters: Complicated messages don’t survive the telephone game of word-of-mouth politics. If supporters can’t easily explain why they’re voting for you, they can’t recruit others to your cause.

How to Do It:

Write your message in 25 words or less. If you can’t, it’s too complicated.
Test it with actual people outside politics. Can they repeat back the main idea after hearing it once?
Eliminate insider language. Words like “stakeholders,” “transparency,” and “accountability” mean nothing to most voters.
Focus on outcomes, not process. Instead of “improving fiscal oversight,” say “ensuring tax dollars go to classroom supplies, not administrative bloat.”

The Elevator Test: Can you explain your candidacy compellingly in the time it takes to ride an elevator? Practice this scenario until your message flows naturally without feeling rehearsed.

Simple Message Framework: “I’m running for [OFFICE] because [SPECIFIC COMMUNITY PROBLEM] affects [WHO IT HURTS], and my [RELEVANT EXPERIENCE/BACKGROUND] means I can [SPECIFIC SOLUTION].”

4. Champion One or Two Issues That Define Your Candidacy

Why This Matters: Voters need a clear reason to choose you over other candidates. Being “generally good on everything” doesn’t create the passionate support necessary to win competitive local races.

How to Do It:

Choose issues where you have credibility. Personal experience, professional background, or community involvement should support your focus areas.
Pick battles you can actually influence. Local candidates can’t fix federal immigration policy, but they can improve traffic safety or school communication.
Own your issues completely. Become the candidate voters think of when these topics arise in community discussions.

Strategic Issue Selection:

High-Impact Issues: Problems that affect many people in your district regularly
Solvable Problems: Challenges that local government can actually address meaningfully
Personal Credibility: Areas where your background gives you authentic expertise or experience
Differentiation Opportunities: Issues where your opponents are weak or uncommitted

Example Focus Areas:

School board candidate: “Transparent budgeting and parent communication”
City council candidate: “Supporting small businesses and walkable neighborhoods”
County commissioner: “Efficient permitting and infrastructure maintenance”

RunTogether’s messaging tools help you develop clear, focused platform positions that voters can easily understand and remember.

5. Use Stories That Make Voters See Themselves in Your Message

Why This Matters: Data and policy positions inform voters, but stories motivate them. The candidates who win local elections are those who help voters understand how abstract issues affect real people’s daily lives.

How to Do It:

Collect community stories during campaign activities. With permission, share examples of how local issues affect real families.
Share your own relevant experiences that led to your candidacy. Voters want to understand your motivation.
Use specific details that make stories feel real rather than manufactured. Names, locations, and concrete details (when appropriate) create authenticity.
Connect stories to solutions rather than just highlighting problems. Show how your leadership approach addresses the challenges you describe.

Story Structure That Works:

Specific situation that illustrates the broader issue
Personal connection to why this matters to you
Clear solution that your candidacy would advance
Call to action for voter support

Example Story Integration: “Last month, I met Sarah, a teacher at Lincoln Elementary who spends $200 of her own money each month on classroom supplies. As a parent of two Lincoln students, I see how this affects my kids’ education daily. That’s why I’m running for school board—to ensure our teachers have the resources they need without sacrificing their family budgets. With your support, we can prioritize classroom funding over administrative expenses.”

6. Include Clear, Specific Calls to Action in Every Message

Why This Matters: Good messages don’t just inform or inspire—they motivate specific actions that advance your campaign. Voters who feel connected to your message should know exactly how to support your candidacy.

How to Do It:

Match actions to audience engagement levels. New supporters might start with social media follows, while committed supporters are ready to volunteer or donate.
Provide multiple engagement options. Not everyone can donate money, but most people can take some supportive action.
Make actions feel meaningful rather than purely transactional. Connect specific actions to campaign goals and community impact.
Follow up on action requests to show that supporter engagement actually matters to your campaign success.

Effective Call-to-Action Examples:

Low commitment: “Follow our campaign on social media for weekly updates on local issues”
Medium commitment: “Attend our town hall next Thursday to share your priorities for our community”
High commitment: “Volunteer for four hours this weekend helping us reach voters in your neighborhood”
Financial support: “Contribute $25 to help us print materials for our community forum series”

Platform-Specific CTAs:

Social media: Share content, tag friends, comment with experiences
Email newsletters: Reply with questions, attend events, forward to neighbors
In-person events: Recruit friends, take campaign materials, sign up for volunteer opportunities

7. Repeat Your Core Message Until You’re Sick of It (Then Keep Going)

Why This Matters: Voters encounter hundreds of messages daily. Your campaign message needs constant repetition across multiple touchpoints before it penetrates voter consciousness and influences decision-making.

How to Do It:

Integrate your message into every campaign communication. Website, social media, emails, speeches, and casual conversations should all reinforce the same core themes.
Train supporters to repeat your message accurately. Provide simple talking points that volunteers and advocates can use in their personal networks.
Adapt message delivery to different audiences while maintaining consistent core content. The same message can be framed differently for parents vs. business owners vs. seniors.
Track message penetration through community feedback. Are voters starting to repeat your key points back to you?

Consistency Across Platforms:

Visual consistency: Same colors, fonts, and design elements across all materials
Verbal consistency: Same key phrases and talking points in all spoken communications
Content consistency: Same priorities and solutions emphasized across all written materials
Tone consistency: Same personality and communication style across all voter interactions

Message Evolution vs. Message Drift:

Evolution: Refining language based on voter feedback while maintaining core themes
Drift: Changing focus areas or priorities based on daily news or opponent attacks

Repetition Strategy: Week 1-2: Introduce core message across all platforms Week 3-4: Deepen message with specific examples and stories Week 5-6: Show message in action through community engagement Week 7-8: Demonstrate message impact through supporter testimonials

Campaign management tools like RunTogether help ensure message consistency across all your communications, keeping your core themes aligned even as your campaign activities expand and evolve.

Your Message Is Your Campaign’s Foundation

A strong political message isn’t just campaign marketing—it’s the foundation that determines everything else about your candidacy. Your message influences which events you attend, which partnerships you pursue, which policies you emphasize, and which voters you prioritize reaching.

The most successful local candidates treat message development as strategy development. When you’re clear about what you stand for and why it matters to your community, every other campaign decision becomes easier and more effective.

Remember that your campaign message is practice for governing. Voters want leaders who can communicate clearly, build coalitions around shared goals, and maintain focus on community priorities despite daily distractions. When your campaign message demonstrates these qualities, you’re showing voters exactly the kind of leadership they can expect if you’re elected.

Strong messages don’t just win elections—they create mandates for effective governance and positive community change.

Ready to develop and refine your campaign message? RunTogether’s Platform Builder helps you articulate your values, organize your priorities, and create consistent messaging across all your campaign communications. Get started for free →

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