Thinking about running for office? Don't wing it
You don’t need a million-dollar consultant to run a real campaign. You just need the right starting point
Most first-time candidates waste months spinning their wheels: chasing bad advice, hiring the wrong people, and burning money they don’t have.
Top consultants are expensive, and most down-ballot candidates simply don’t have the budget for them. But that shouldn’t mean running blind or settling for a half-baked campaign. Sure, you can figure it out on your own. But it’ll take a lot of time — and you’ll probably make some costly mistakes along the way.
That’s why Ian Richardson and I built Campaign Starter Kit — and today’s the official launch.
It’s a low-cost way to get your campaign off the ground the right way. Messaging, budget, targeting, stump speech, website — it’s all in there. We'll even help you figure out if your race is winnable before you pull the trigger.
We’ve been through it before. We know what works, what doesn’t, and how to avoid the traps that sink new campaigns. We know what matters and what’s a waste of time.
If you’re thinking about running, check it out.
Quick hits
Huge congratulations to the John Locke Foundation, winner of the Ultimate N.C. Politics Showdown. Thank you to everyone who cast votes. Read more about their victory here.
My newspaper column this week looked at Rep. Allen Chesser’s REINS Act, which would require the General Assembly to sign off on any new regulations that would make a huge financial impact on the state. Read it here: Another NC power grab? This time, Republicans are getting it right
Here’s a great example of the General Assembly noticing a problem and moving to fix it: Mecklenburg County hired a felon at DSS, and now the N.C. House has passed a bill that would require local governments to run background checks on all job applicants who would work with children. It still blows my mind that this wasn’t already a thing, though.
The Justice Project is running more ads calling for Jefferson Griffin to drop his challenge of the Supreme Court race results. This might come across as petty, but I really hate it when people talk about voting being "sacred." Sacred means set apart for God, beyond worldly concerns. Voting is important, yes ... but it's not that.
At a premium
Important reads
Powerful state senator heads back to UNC (Business North Carolina)
We have big changes planned for North Carolina’s troubled DMV (Charlotte Observer)
Healthy Main Streets should be a bipartisan concern (Carolina Journal)
N.C. is exploring a new retirement savings plan (Charlotte Ledger)
Wanted: (Practicing) Christian Leaders (Erick Erickson)
Top spenders on social media
Question of the week
A handful of legislators have put forward a bill that would name Petey Pablo’s “Raise Up” the official state hip-hop song. Which of these is your favorite North Carolina-themed song?
That's a nice initiative, we need more noble people to participate in politics and what you are doing might help with that