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I'm the PAC chair for a national organization that gets women elected, but the same advice we give our candidates would apply to you as well. Here's a snippet from our handbook for candidate training I don't think I'll get in trouble for sharing.
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ARE YOU READY FOR ALL THE ATTENTION?
Can you face a crowd and convey your convictions? Can you handle 18 matters or 18 people vying for your attention all at once? How well do you perform if you haven’t had enough sleep? Are you good with people? Can you delegate authority? Can you attract and maintain a strong team? Do you know how to handle criticism without taking it personally?
Those with the best survival rates are usually those with a good sense of humor, high self-esteem and a base of friends and supporters who will help them through the rough and tough times.
Not everyone is born to lead, especially when you consider the public scrutiny associated with candidacy and holding office. Naturally, some women feel more secure than others speaking before a crowd, asking for money and support talking to the press or living the “fishbowl” existence of a candidate or elected official.
Some critical questions to ask yourself before you decide to run:
How do you respond to rejection AND compliments?
How well do you handle self-promotion?
How do you respond to sharing your personal life with the public?
Don’t underestimate the importance of knowing your physical and emotional stamina when deciding to run because a campaign can be 15-hour days and the stress of being under constant scrutiny can take its toll on the hardiest of souls. How you handle the increasing press of people, speaking engagements and other requests for your time and presence, and demands of your staff will determine just how well you survive the election process. Running for office is like starting the most disciplined of diets. You’ll have many new restrictions that you must approach realistically. Can you keep up a neat, attractive appearance? Even though no one you have ever met or seen in the media that holds elective office has been perfectly built, educated and experienced, take some time to consider the image you want to project and the steps needed to accomplish that if you’re not there yet. Give yourself enough time to look and feel your best. And don’t forget that the most important time of the campaign may be the time you spend alone, whether it’s in your office during the day, in you car while driving to campaign events or at home at night at the end of your very long day. Maximize your waking hours but balance that with the time needed to recharge your batteries.
EVERYONE HAS A CLOSET
One of the issues that has taken the forefront especially as the media covers candidates and campaigns is the entire past of the candidate in question. No one is perfect. Everyone has stumbled, consciously or unconsciously into circumstances that they would rather not have in the list of experiences. Because women are generally perceived to be more honest, the public can be more jolted when a woman’s indiscretions or perhaps unsavory past is thrust into the public eye. No one thing may eliminate you as a candidate; it’s how you handle this type of issue that may impact the voters’ response. Just be prepared for the worst case scenario and determine early in your campaign just what your responses to those questions will be. Don’t overlook your professional resume when it comes to being honest about your past. Reporters have a field day when searching out inconsistencies or flat-out falsehoods in a candidate’s own written profile. Having discrepancies in you own resume featured on the front page of your local newspaper may easily destroy your chances of ever holding elective office.
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