A primer on campaigning in ancient Rome that reads like a strategy memo from a modern political consultant How to Win an Election is an ancient Roman guide for campaigning that is as up-to-date as tomorrow's headlines. In 64 BC when idealist Marcus Cicero, Rome's greatest orator, ran for consul (the highest office in the Republic), his practical brother Quintus decided he needed some no-nonsense advice on running a successful campaign. What follows in his short letter are timeless bits of political wisdom, from the importance of promising everything to everybody and reminding voters about the sexual scandals of your opponents to being a chameleon, putting on a good show for the masses, and constantly surrounding yourself with rabid supporters. Presented here in a lively and colorful new translation, with the Latin text on facing pages, this unashamedly pragmatic primer on the humble art of personal politicking is dead-on (Cicero won)—and as relevant today as when it was written. A little-known classic in the spirit of Machiavelli's Prince, How to Win an Election is required reading for politicians and everyone who enjoys watching them try to manipulate their way into office.

“I wasn’t lucky. I deserved it.” - Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher The Political Campaign “How-to” Guide is a book that offers step-by-step guidelines on how to win an election as well as providing answers to questions a candidate may have about campaign planning. Whether running for Chief, mayor, reeve, councillor, MLA, MP or trustee in an indigenous, provincial, federal, municipal or school board election, this detailed book will provide candidates with the knowledge they need to run a successful campaign. Nolan Crouse, MBA, CCMP(TM) served as councillor and mayor in Canada for 13 years. In this book, he shares the secrets to his success in winning four consecutive election campaigns. From making the initial decision to run for office, to putting together an effective campaign team and brand, to fundraising, door knocking, message delivery and advertising – all the way to election day and beyond – this book offers valuable tips, insights, knowledge and tactics that have been proven to be useful and effective. Complete with checklists, great stories, images and examples, The Political Campaign “How-to” Guide is a must-read for anyone with an interest in running for public office for the first time or running for re-election in Canada. Most of the key principles also apply to all orders of elected office in the United States and many other democracies around the world.

In politics there are no prizes For second place. Luckily, seasoned campaign professionals Mark Pack and Edward Maxfield have distilled successful electoral tactics from around the globe into 101 bite-sized lessons to help steer you on the course to power. Learn how to pass the three-seconds test, why you should actually embrace online trolls, and why you must never, ever, forget the law of the left nostril. Packed with advice and practical tips, this new, fully updated third edition of the classic political guide reveals the insider secrets and skills you need to make sure you're in pole position on election day.

Written for the new campaigner and the experienced communicator alike, this is a comprehensive and systematic exploration of what works in campaigning, and a practical how-to guide for using principles and strategy in campaigning as a new form of public politics. Applicable to any issue and from any point of view, the book's 100 key steps and tools provide models of motivation, analysis and communication structure. Content includes how to begin a campaign, motivating people, research and development, issue mapping, planning using the campaign planning star, organizing communications including visual language, constructing campaign propositions, insight into news media, how to keep a campaign going, how to use old and new media and what to do and what not to do. The final chapter reviews the bigger picture, examining how campaigns became a form of politics. It also provides new research material on how issues mature and become 'norms', and the consequent problems for campaigning.

A lifetime of activist experience from a civil rights legend informs this playbook for building and conducting nonviolent direct action campaigns In an era of massive worldwide protests for racial and economic justice, it is important to remember that marching is only one way to take to the streets. Protest must be supplemented with the sustained direct action campaigns that are crucial to winning major reforms. Beginning as a trainer in the civil rights movement of the 1960s, George Lakey has spent decades helping direct action tactics flourish and succeed on the front lines of social change. Now, in this timely and down-to-earth guide, he passes the torch to a new generation of activists. Lakey looks to successful campaigns across the world to help us see what has worked, what hasn’t, and why: from choosing the right target to designing a creative campaign; from avoiding burnout within your group to building a movement of movements to achieve real progressive victories. Drawing on the experiences of a diverse set of ambitious change-makers, How We Win shows us the way to justice, peace, and a sustainable economy. This is what democracy looks like.

UPDATED FOR THE 2016 ELECTION The book Politico calls “Moneyball for politics” shows how cutting-edge social science and analytics are reshaping the modern political campaign. Renegade thinkers are crashing the gates of a venerable American institution, shoving aside its so-called wise men and replacing them with a radical new data-driven order. We’ve seen it in sports, and now in The Victory Lab, journalist Sasha Issenberg tells the hidden story of the analytical revolution upending the way political campaigns are run in the 21st century. The Victory Lab follows the academics and maverick operatives rocking the war room and re-engineering a high-stakes industry previously run on little more than gut instinct and outdated assumptions. Armed with research from behavioural psychology and randomized experiments that treat voters as unwitting guinea pigs, the smartest campaigns now believe they know who you will vote for even before you do. Issenberg tracks these fascinating techniques—which include cutting edge persuasion experiments, innovative ways to mobilize voters, heavily researched electioneering methods—and shows how our most important figures, such as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, are putting them to use with surprising skill and alacrity. Provocative, clear-eyed and energetically reported, The Victory Lab offers iconoclastic insights into political marketing, human decision-making, and the increasing power of analytics.

This is an advanced guide to running political campaigns. It provides invaluable, practical advice from the leading pros in the industry.