Run for Office - 2022
Want to run for office and don’t know where to get started? Have you identified which office you’re interested in running for?
Do you know how you get on the ballot, raise money, get volunteers, tell your story?
Here’s some resources to help get you started!
Fill out our 2022 March Primary Candidate Interest Form. There is also the Texas Democratic Party's signup form. They have special programs to help you out even for local elections.
Not sure which office to run for? National Democratic Training Committee has a solution for you.
Learn more about the Qualifications for Office
How Do I File To Run?
Information about the filing deadlines and other important dates are on this website:
Texas Secretary of State Elections Information
-
First Day to File: Saturday, November 13, 2021
-
Filing deadline for candidates: Monday, December 13, 2021 at 6:00 PM
Please note that these dates are subject to change if there are delays in district boundaries being finalized in the redistricting processes.
Because of the delayed redistricting process that impacts every districted office (e.g., county commissioner, state house, state senate, city council in some places), we recommend that you strongly consider paying the filing fee in lieu of gathering petition signatures, if that is an option available to you. Most district lines — and some district numbers — are very likely to change. Any signature collected before redistricted maps are adopted by the legislature or Commissioner’s Court may be invalid if the voter later is no longer in the district or the district number changes. This does not apply to countywide offices.
Forms and Additional Information for Filing
Find out the differences between filing at TDP vs Calhoun County Democratic Party:
-
If you are running for an office situated in only one county, you file to run for office with your local county Democratic County Chair. (see the listing on this website).
-
If you are running for an office covering more than one county, such as a statewide office, U.S. Congress and many state legislative seats, you should file by mail or in person with the Texas Democratic Party.
Filing Forms:
-
Petition in Lieu of a Filing Fee and/or Petition for Judicial Office (for use in a primary election)
-
Other election forms
Information to get your campaign treasurer filed and all campaign finance rules, forms and dates:
For More Information:
Where Do I File?
Who you file with depends on the office you are running for in Texas:
-
If you are running for an office situated in only one county, you file to run for office with your local County Democratic Party Chair. (see the listing on this website)
-
If you are running for an office covering more than one county, such as a statewide office, U.S. Congress and many state legislative seats, you should file by mail or in-person with the Texas Democratic Party. The appropriate addresses will be available on this page in advance of the opening of the filing period.
Additional Resources
-
The Texas Democratic Party has tons of resources for candidates and if you plan to purchase VAN (Voter Activation Network) you will need to contact them.
-
For Mobilize America, to set up your FREE candidate account, please visit here.
-
For miscellaneous questions, check out the Federal Election Commission’s website.
-
Former Tarrant County Candidates have contributed to a Candidate Resource Guide.
-
You can buy a physical copy and a pdf copy of Texas Election Laws 3rd Edition 2021-2022
Organizations That Offer Candidate Training or Resources
-
Annie's List — Akin to Emily's List but a Texas based group that focuses on pro-choice & pro-women candidates
-
Bluebonnet Data — "We match volunteer data teams with campaigns, nonprofits, unions, legislative causes, and other progressive organizations."
-
Campaign Data 101: How to think about Data if you're not a "Data Person" (Part 1 of 4)
-
Campaign Data 101: Using Data in your Campaign for Field, Messaging, & Policy (Part 2 of 4)
-
Campaign Data 101: Using Data in your Campaign in Finance & Internal Operations (Part 3 of 4)
-
Campaign Data 101: Successful Data Case Studies & Helpful Resources (Part 4 of 4)
-
Blue Horizon Texas — Is focused on helping rural areas elect Democrats. They provide training and so forth. Join here. Events. They have also recently created a PAC to help fund rural candidates. List of resources for candidates and potential candidates.
-
Bold Progressives — "We’ve been helping progressives run and win since 2009 with cutting-edge training, campaign-in-a-box technology, networking opportunities, and strategic support. Join us!" Resources
-
The Collective — The Collective PAC is working to fix the challenge of under-representation of the Black community in elected seats of power throughout our nation.
-
Democracy for America — Holds on-the-ground candidate trainings for progressives across the country and offers a “Night School” focused on online campaign skills. DFA also endorses candidates.
-
Emerge America — Inspires women to run, hones their skills to win.
-
Emily’s List — We elect Democratic pro-choice women to office.
-
Get Her Elected — To provide key campaign services pro bono in order to level the playing field for progressive women candidates. Including website design and other technical skills.
-
Ignite — A movement of young women who are ready and eager to become the next generation of political leaders.
-
MoveOn.Org — The Progressive Power Training series comprises 3 bi-weekly one-hour-long sessions every two weeks. The first session has already passed but you can watch the video here and resources here.
-
National Democratic Training Committee — Free training for all Democrats and Progressives. In-person and online.
-
New American Leaders Project — Offers a program called “Ready to Lead” for potential candidates from immigrant communities.
-
New Politics — Trains military veterans and alumni from the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and other service organizations for campaigns.
-
National Women's Political Caucus — Recruit, Train, Elect Training is for members but member fee is only $80.
-
Progressive Change Campaign Committee — Trains progressive candidates and solicits small-dollar donations from its nearly 1 million members for the candidates it endorses.
-
Run for Something — Provides a safety net for new and exciting progressive candidates — at all stages of their journey — to help them run efficient, grassroots & voter-contact driven campaigns and not feel alone in the process. Compiled a library of campaign resources.
-
Running Start — Nonpartisan nonprofit that trains young women to run for public office.
-
Rural Organizing — "Our mission is to rebuild a rural America that is empowered, thriving, and equitable and our grassroots network of rural organizers, activists, elected officials and candidates for office are the heart and soul of our work." They have compiled resources Running Campaigns in Small Towns and Rural Communities to ensure progressive civic leaders have access to the latest public opinion research and field best practices for engaging voters in small towns and rural communities.
-
She Should Run — Convinces women from all political leanings, ethnicities, sexual identities, and backgrounds to see themselves as future candidates. Starter kit.
-
Swing Left — Has a 10 year plan.
-
Veterans Campaign — Offers weekend workshops for veterans considering a run for office.
-
Victory Fund LGBTQ — Victory Fund works to achieve and sustain equality by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government while ensuring they reflect the diversity of those they serve.
-
Women's Campaign Fund — Goal is 50/50 representation of women throughout the nation by 2028.
Higher Heights For America — Focuses on Black women candidates and may not provide training but seems to focus on networking.
Texas Association of School Boards — Resources and tips for those who want to run for School Board.
Texas Association of Counties — Resources and tips for those who want to be county officials.
Airtable — Crowdsource ideas for candidates.
APPS that activists and candidates are using:
Greenfly — Greenfly empowers organizations to automate the collection, organization and distribution of digital media assets to individuals or groups of any size. The Greenfly platform helps you harness the power of your biggest advocates to increase social media reach and engagement and attract younger audiences.
Hustle — Hustle is a full-suite peer-to-peer text message marketing platform that empowers your organization to have the right conversation with the right people at the right time.
Red vs Blue — Red2Blue Texting is a grassroots, member-led organization of over 2,000 engaged volunteers living and working in 42 states across the U.S. and Washington, DC. Our active members have a wide range of personal and professional backgrounds: small business owners, programmers, writers, editors, social workers, nurses, students, and many others. We’ve built a community that we’re proud of, and we’re continuing to grow. To date, we have served over 550 candidates and organizations across 42 states, reaching over 13,400,000 voters. We look forward to helping your campaign win!
Track to 22 — The Democrats are introducing Track to ’22, an eight-week virtual boot camp, to prepare you and other Democrats with the skills and resources to organize your community and to mobilize voters across the country ahead of the midterms. Sessions will be hosted virtually every Saturday and recordings will be available for those who are unable to attend in real-time. With less than 200 days from Election Day every phone call, text message, online conversation, and voter registered is critical.
For any questions or suggestions email brandelynw.pact@gmail.com or call our office at (361) 238-0335.