Winning Local and State Elections

Rating:
Summary: Solid and Thorough
Review: The authors have put together a very practical book on running for local political office.

All of the topics are covered here and neatly organzied. The prospective candidate and manager will gain insights into campaign planning, campaign organization structures, the use of volunteers, fundraising, media and other topics. I've run for office six times (successfully) and think that the authors have just about covered all the pertinent topics.

There are other campaign books out there that survey the vearious topics related to campainging. This book is probably the best of the five or six I've read. Not only do the authors present good descriptions of how to approach the various campaign issues and problems, they also provide enough of a framework of why issues are addressed they way they suggest to bolster their statements and observations.

If you are looking to run for local office or get involved in local campaigns, "Winning Local and State Elections" would be a good guide.

I'm teaching a course in elective politics at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Center of Government. This is one of the required reading books for the course and is also used by some other teachers in the field at colleges and universities around the country.

Rating:
Summary: Same old stuff.
Review: These books are like Suzie Ormans books, read one and you
have read them all. You would do better to stop reading
and just go do. So get your nose out of the book and talk
to people.

Rating:
Summary: Same old stuff.
Review: These books are like Suzie Ormans books, read one and you
have read them all. You would do better to stop reading
and just go do. So get your nose out of the book and talk
to people.

Rating:
Summary: Great primer for learning ins and outs of local campaigning
Review: This book is my first on the subject of state and local campaigning. I found the advice very well organized and very useful. Beaudry and Schaeffer provide insightful information on organizing a campaign in general, collecting funds, recruiting volunteers, targetting specific voters, and forming an effective staff.

My only criticism of the book is that it seems a bit dated. While it was published in 1998, it literally makes no mention of the Internet and its potential for local campaigning. Perhaps the authors considered it irrelevant, but my little experience with recent local elections suggests otherwise.

As someone who intends to make a first run for local public office in the next few years, I found the book to be a great primer for learning the many intricacies of organizing a campaign. It is a useful tool for pursuing books on the specifics that Beaudry and Schaeffer outline in their work.

Rating:
Summary: Good overview of political scene...
Review: This book presents a good overview of running for office, with all the information you need laid out in a logic, concise format. The only concern I have is that it could use a little more info in some areas - several times I thought to myself, "how?" or "what else should I do?" but the book presented no answer - on the whole, though, this is a good, good book.

You know, when I wrote "25 Fundraising Secrets, Raise More Money, Guaranteed" - a book on fundraising for political campaigns - I intended my book to be used in conjunction with a book that presented good, basic political strategy to local campaigns. This is just such a book.

Rating:
Summary: Good overview of political scene...
Review: This book presents a good overview of running for office, with all the information you need laid out in a logic, concise format. The only concern I have is that it could use a little more info in some areas - several times I thought to myself, "how?" or "what else should I do?" but the book presented no answer - on the whole, though, this is a good, good book.

You know, when I wrote "25 Fundraising Secrets, Raise More Money, Guaranteed" - a book on fundraising for political campaigns - I intended my book to be used in conjunction with a book that presented good, basic political strategy to local campaigns. This is just such a book.

Rating:
Summary: perfect
Review: This exactly what I was looking for- I needed a step by step guide to running a campaign and this book came through!! The section on fundraising was a life saver!