There’s a lot about running for office that never makes it into campaign scripts or how to videos. The things you only learn if you’ve been behind the scenes, or already taken a punch.
Gatekeepers still control the field in American politics. It doesn’t matter how much outsider energy you bring, there are people like party officers, donors and other establishment locals who decide who gets in and who doesn’t. Sometimes it’s a silent phone call, sometimes it’s a quiet cold shoulder. The real test isn’t just your message; it’s whether you can win the invisible primary by proving that you’re not a threat to their power.
Your inner circle will also change. Running for office is a social stress test. Friends go quiet, sometimes jealous, sometimes uncomfortable with your ambition, and sometimes just intimidated. Family will put up with it until the campaign starts touching the dinner table or the heat gets really personal. You find out quickly who is truly in your corner and who was just along for the ride.
Opposition research is fierce. You’re not the only target, sometimes your spouse, kids, business partners, or anyone else your orbit can become collateral damage. If you’re hiding something, or if someone close to you is, expect it to come out. Campaigns are staffed by people whose main job is to dig up anything that can be twisted or leaked. If it can be found, it will be found. If it can be spun, it will be spun.
On one campaign, I did a background check on every donor to look for felons and sex offenders to establish a pattern for a candidate that was rumored to be corrupt. With the info, we had a meeting, showed him what I found, and he quietly stepped out of the race for “family reasons”.
Fundraising is also quite humbling. Every dollar you ask for tests your network, confidence, and tolerance for being ignored. Some people who you thought were your loyal friends will disappear. Some who barely know you will write a check. You have to live with unanswered texts and awkward follow-ups. If that sounds miserable, get used to it. This is the easy part.
The digital arena is never quiet. AI tricks and deepfakes are just the latest tools. You’ll get impersonated online, attacked by anonymous accounts, and sometimes blindsided by people on your own side. I recently found out that there’s some kind of secret facebook group where local activists gather to trade rumors and gossip. This online community organizes people around darkness and unfounded hate, not to achieve but to destroy for its own sake.
These kinds of groups exist in every community, often with little influence, but sometimes they can fuel a negative campaign or even whispers among those who have influence and get nervous about these kinds of things. While the the damage is subtle, and you won’t even see it until the effects start to show up in conversations or supporter behavior.
Nobody is ever fully prepared. Even the most seasoned candidates doubt themselves regularly and wonder, is it worth it? I’ll never forget a congressman telling me, a few days after he’d retired, that he felt like in his 12 years, he hadn’t actually accomplished anything. He described his time in Washington as “a total waste” and that “they’re just so petty. They sit and boil over things that happened 10 years ago, someone slighted them at a fundraiser and they’ve been mad since Bush was President”.
I bet Jim Jordan would feel differently though! And that’s the catch. So don’t be discouraged, be prepared.
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