Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way: A Comprehensive Guide for Candidates and Campaign Workers

by Jeff Blodgett, Bill Lofy, Ben Goldfarb, Erik Peterson

Overview

Not politics as usual—advanced strategy for running and winning a progressive campaign

As the 2008 presidential race dominates political discussion and media coverage worldwide, thousands of lesser-known local contests are being hard-fought in our neighborhoods, cities, and states. Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way is based on the work of Wellstone Action, a leading-edge progressive training center that has instructed thousands of political activists, campaign managers, and volunteers, of whom more than two hundred have gone on to run for office and win. Jeff Blodgett and Bill Lofy analyze the crucial lessons learned from many successful (and several losing) campaigns and demystify what it takes to run for—and win—a political seat.

This companion guide to Politics the Wellstone Way, the best-selling introduction to political action, features the in-depth knowledge that campaigns need to take energy and engagement to the next level—getting elected. With detailed and informative examples from progressive campaigns at every level throughout the United States, Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way combines grassroots organizing with political strategy, articulating a bold populist agenda.

If you have ever considered volunteering for a political candidate, working for a campaign, or even running for public office yourself, Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way is the key resource you need to devise a sophisticated, progressive, and successful strategy and, ultimately, affect people’s lives for the better.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780816653331
Publisher:	University of Minnesota Press
Publication date:	07/10/2008
Series:	Fesler-Lampert Minnesota Heritage Ser.
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	9.92(w) x 6.90(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Ben Goldfarb is director of training programs at Wellstone Action. In 2006, he was campaign manager for Senator Amy Klobuchar, and most recently he served as strategic research and communications consultant for the main opposition party in the 2007 Irish Parliamentary Elections. In 2004, he was the get-out-the-vote director for the Kerry-Edwards campaign in Minnesota. He also served as executive director of Progressive Minnesota, managed the Benanav for Saint Paul Mayor campaign in 2001, and helped lead a public employee union’s electoral program in 2002.

Editorial Reviews

"Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way provides a refreshing look at how to run an election in a grassroots people-powered way—just as the great Senator Paul Wellstone did—and win." —U.S. Representative Tim Walz (MN-01)



"As a teacher, coach, and neighborhood activist, I didn’t spend my career planning to run for office—but I knew that I had the experience to lead my community in the Arizona Senate. Camp Wellstone gave me valuable skills that helped me run an organized, energizing campaign. Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way makes those skills available to progressive candidates and campaign managers throughout the country." —State Senator Paula Aboud, Tucson, Arizona
 


"Once I made the decision to run for office, I felt like I had pointed my skis down a steep mountain: it was thrilling and challenging, and everything went very fast. Wellstone Action’s expertise and training gave me and my campaign the critical skills and confidence we needed to win. Winning Your Election the Wellstone Way is a must for emerging leaders who have decided to step up for their community and run for office." —Angelique Espinoza, elected to city council in Boulder, Colorado
 

From the Publisher