Once you have identified your goal, the next step is deciding how to pursue it. Two factors can help guide those decisions:
- Where your organization has influence
- Where the campaign currently sits in its timeline
Influence: Where Your Organization Has Strength
Selecting strategies that align with where your organization already has influence increases the likelihood that your engagement will shape how candidates think about PN-3 priorities.
Ask: Where do we have the most ability to influence candidates and campaigns?
In gubernatorial races, influence typically flows through:
- Public visibility (media, debates, forums)
- Trusted validators and coalition partners
- Policy advisors and campaign staff
- Direct voter engagement moments
- Transition planning processes
Your goal should align with a realistic pathway to influence. For example:
- If you have communications capacity, a Public Narrative Strategy may be your most credible lever.
- If you have strong policy credibility and the ability to reach out to all candidates in the race, a Relationship and Influence Strategy may yield the highest impact.
- If you have an activated base, a visible Public Engagement Strategy can shift campaign attention.
Timeline: Where the Campaign Stands
Campaign opportunities also depend on where the race is in its timeline.
During the primary, the goal is to ensure all candidates for a given office have your materials and you’ve offered to meet with every candidate for informational conversations. During the primary, sharing materials with all of the gubernatorial candidates, and offering to meet with them increases the likelihood candidates talk about your issue. The issues that rise to the top during the primaries are the ones that are most salient to the voters. One important consideration is whether your organization has the capacity to engage during the primary election..
Some organizations choose to engage early to inform candidates during the primary. Others focus their efforts later in the race when the final candidates are honing their agendas for governing.
Campaigns also move through phases — from early announcements to active campaigning and eventually transition planning. Strategies and tactics may shift as the race evolves. A detailed overview of campaign milestones and engagement opportunities is provided in the Appendix: Timeline Milestones for Gubernatorial Engagement.
