So You Want to Run for Public Office?

“So You Want to Run for Public Office” is a complete guide on how to become a successful candidate for public office. Learn how to define an election, raise money, conduct a survey, budget a campaign, devise and execute an advertising strategy, make the most of free media, and monitor the pressure points of a political campaign to keep it on track. This book includes real life examples of successes and failures, and valuable instruction on how to negotiate with campaign consultants.

“So You Want to Run for Public Office” is a complete guide on how to become a successful candidate for public office. Learn how to define an election, raise money, conduct a survey, budget a campaign, devise and execute an advertising strategy, make the most of free media, and monitor the pressure points of a political campaign to keep it on track. This book includes real life examples of successes and failures, and valuable instruction on how to negotiate with campaign consultants.

Speechwriter, debate coach, spokesperson, polltaker, television, print and radio advertising strategist, Jay Townsend has worked in four presidential campaigns, scores of U.S. Senate, Gubernatorial and Congressional races, and a myriad of County Executive, Mayoral, legislative and judicial contests. Townsend has scribed speeches and award winning advertising copy for Patrick J. Buchanan, Senators Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Phil Gramm (R-TX), Pete Wilson (R-CA); Governors Mike Hayden (R-KS) and Pete Wilson (R-CA); Lt. Gov Peter Smith (R-VT); Congressmen Bill Lowery (R-CA), Bob Lagomarsino (R-CA), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Sue Kelly (R-NY) and Nan Hayworth (R-NY); Attorneys General Ken Eikenberry (R-WA), Dan Lungren (R-CA) and Robert Stephan (R-KS); San Diego Mayors Maureen O'Connor and Susan Golding. Business clients include the Del Mar Partnership (shopping center in San Diego County), Kansas Consolidated Professional Resources, Circus Circus, San Diego Gas and Electric, Pioneer Advantage Corporation, Falcon Seaboard Resources, The Pyramid Companies and the Palisades Center Mall. He owns JayTownsend.com, a website for public officials and frequently posts communications and writing tips on his blog. His national awards include the nation’s best television commercial aired in a Gubernatorial race (1990), the best persuasion mail piece produced for a Presidential campaign (1996) and the nation’s best newspaper ad (2002). He has lectured on politics and political warfare at the United States Military Academy, the Marketing Research Association, the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, and numerous colleges and universities. He also has served as a guest commentator on FOX News since 2008. In 2010, he handily defeated the choice of the GOP establishment in New York for the right to run on the Republican and Conservative line against entrenched Senator Chuck Schumer. He received 1.5 million votes and forced Schumer to spend $19 million to defend his seat.