Candidate qualifications for "aggressive progressive" candidates
- A record of leadership on progressive issues
- A passionate commitment to bringing our troops safely home from Iraq and to providing the support they need upon return
- A passionate commitment to restoring all constitutional guarantees that were criminally subverted by the Bush-Cheney administration, including Habeus Corpus, wiretapping only with warrants, closing Guantanamo, and ending all torture
- A passionate commitment to grassroots organizing over the Internet
- Organizing skills and political campaign experience as a candidate or volunteer
- A core group of family and friends who will devote time and energy to help you campaign
Researching your opponent: Progressive Punch is an incredible database of Congressional votes that awards every Member of Congress a "progressive score" based on their votes. You can click on the Member's name to learn more about each vote.
Legal requirements
- You must be registered to vote as a Democrat in the Congressional District by primary day
- When you spend over $5,000 on a campaign for federal office, you must register your campaign with the Federal Elections Commission and file all periodic reports
- You must meet each state's rules to get on the ballot as a Democrat (collect petition signatures, pay filing fee, etc.)
- You will need a bank account and a Treasurer who is responsible for all financial reports
Fundraising
- ActBlue hosts free fundraising pages for all Democratic candidates and charges the lowest possible credit card processing fee; you can easily link to your Actblue page from your campaign web site
- All fundraising starts with personal requests to friends and family
- As you meet people (online and offline), ask them to join your email list and send occasional (but not repetitive) fundraising appeals
- When you decide to run, seek the endorsement of progressive PACs.
Internet organizing
Training for candidates, staff, and volunteers (see also PACs)
