What You’ll Learn
- How to decide whether you want to run for office, what you want to run for, and when
- How to use NDTC’s online candidate trainings to build your skills as a candidate and run a winning campaign
Why This is Important
Running for office is a big decision. Don’t enter into it lightly. In this course, you’ll consider all your options, navigate the conversations that will help you decide, and — if you decide to run — start making a plan to win.
Key Resources
- Research Guide — to prepare your run
- Sample Campaign Timeline
- Syllabus — to guide your online training with NDTC
Related Trainings
- Getting Your Campaign Off the Ground — After you’ve decided to run, your first step should be to take this course to learn how to get your name on the ballot and lay the essential groundwork
Kelly Dietrich
Trainer
Kelly is the Founder and CEO of the National Democratic Training Committee.
He has worked on dozens of campaigns at every level across the country. Kelly's specialty is in new campaign creation, candidate and staff training, and fundraising.
In addition to working for 18+ years in Democratic politics, he teaches a class on political campaigns at DePaul University in Chicago, where he lives with his family and dog, a large hungry blue Weimaraner named Jack Bauer. Kelly started his career in 1998 with Rep. Dennis Moore in KS-03. He's an avid basketball and poker player, though never at the same time. His wife would point out that at no time in this biography was he described as "good" at either hobby. That was a conscious decision.