A campaign strategist or manager holds one of the most crucial roles for your campaign. They are the backbone of the election endeavor, working behind the scenes to run everything smoothly and ensure a strong campaign.

As a candidate, choosing the right campaign manager could be one of the most important decisions of your election effort. Here are a few important factors to consider.

Qualifications

First and foremost, you want to find someone who is qualified for the position. Do they have prior managerial experience to lead the team and build quality relationships with voters? What about campaign experience? You will want someone who is aware of what the job requires and can bring any skills they acquired in the past to the table. Since elections have the tendency to shift directions quickly, you will also want someone who is a fast learner and can pivot on the turn of a dime.

Personality

Think about who you are as a candidate and the message you want your campaign to convey. You will want to find someone who matches those values and can craft your campaign in a way that fits that particular stance. You also want to think about likability and whether or not you can see yourself working with this individual. Remember, this is the person who you will be working closely with for months while you go through this process. With that in mind, you have to make sure it is someone you can imagine spending a majority of time with day-in and day-out.

Referrals

You also want to get referrals from all your potential candidates. A good campaign manager will have a plethora of people that can verify their ability to get the job done. This can come from past candidates they have worked with, job employers, etc. Be aware of those who only give family and close friends as referrals as those might have a one-sided view of the prospect, and it might not give you the entire story of who they are and their abilities.