Campaigns are battles to define public problems and to develop public policy solutions to those problems. A political candidate’s success in winning an election depends largely on his or her effectiveness in campaigning – the process of seeking votes through a wide variety of means. These may range from door-to-door neighborhood visits to gigantic outdoor rallies, from simple lawn signs to elaborate and costly television advertising.

Campaigning takes many forms of electioneering. Campaign workers and volunteers labor tirelessly in developing strategy, financing, advertising, surveys, mailings, planning visits and stump speeches. There is no one sure way to campaign, what works for one candidate may do nothing for another. Negative campaigning, name recognition, campaign promises, and party endorsements are tactics employed to get ahead in the political game.

Changes in election procedures and communications technology since the early twentieth century have allowed candidates to communicate more directly with voters and have reduced their reliance on word-of-mouth support garnered by political party organizations. (Of course, candidates continue to rely on party organizations for fundraising and general support.) Within their own campaigns candidates are able to make a more personal, direct appeal to voters through the use of telephone, radio, television, and the Internet. This has led political hopefuls to pay greater attention to the personal image and physical appearance they present through these media. The sound bite, image, and media consultants have become icons of this new media –savvy campaign era. Although winning an election to public office remains the goal of today’s campaigns just as it was a hundred years ago; the techniques and approaches employed by today’s candidates to achieve this goal have evolved significantly. What will tomorrow’s campaigns be like?

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