If you're considering the possibility of starting a campaign to run for political office, you might think that the first place to start is with researching local election statistics or putting together a donor list. In fact, the first and most important thing you should address in your campaign is your family, which will end up being the most important factor in whether or not you win on election day.

Even if you're running a political campaign for a small local office like city council or school board, your family is going to be your biggest supporters. Many stresses go along with running as a candidate in a political campaign, and your family is going to be the ones who are most affected by the hectic schedule that comes along with it.

Make sure that you include your family in any decision you make about starting a political campaign. Start things off by mentioning your interest in becoming a candidate to your spouse, and ask them for their opinion. After you find out how your spouse feels, mention the possibility to your children if they are old enough to understand. Let them know all of the sacrifices you will have to make to campaign for office, and ask for their genuine opinion.

In addition to the stress that running a campaign can put on your family life, you should also expect additional stresses if you get elected as a public official. Although most local offices are part-time ventures, you will still have to dedicate a lot of time and resources to being an effective elected officeholder.

Regardless of what your campaigning aspirations are, always remember that your family is more important than any elected office. With their support and help, your political career can be much more fruitful and rewarding. But it's always good to analyze past election results to get a hand up on the competition!

If you're a campaign manager who is running the election efforts of a political candidate, then analyzing election statistics from past years can help you get a better grasp on exactly what it will take to win your race.

When you analyze the election statistics, you will know from the beginning how the election is likely to turn out if you do nothing, and if you work like a dog. You will see that you can count on getting 350 votes in good old Democratic Ward 5, Precinct C, easily. You will also realize that you will have to work very hard to get even 150 votes in Republican Ward 5, Precinct A.

So if you are going to win at all, as a campaign manager you have to get your candidate at least 250 votes from the voters in Swing Ward 5, Precinct B.

By using this kind of analysis as a campaign manager, you will already have begun to focus your campaign efforts even though your candidate has not even filed to run for office yet. The whole purpose of reviewing election statistics is to break down an overwhelming task into smaller workable units. It gives you a real advantage to know at the very beginning, I can win this if I get 250 votes in Precinct 5B.

One main purpose to have a competent campaign manager analyze the statistics is so that you will not be intimidated by trying to go after 35,000 people, or 22,000 voters, or even 3,500 votes. Having a workable, attainable target number for each precinct gives a candidate a tremendous psychological edge.