So you made it through the Primary Election, now what? Fundraising Edition

Congratulations, you advanced to the General Election! With all of the excitement, I’m sure there are a million things running through your head about all the work you have to do to prepare for the General. 

If you are strategic about your fundraising priorities post-Primary, your recent success should serve as momentum to kick off your fundraising efforts for the General Election and allow you to capitalize on your win.

Luckily, we have some fundraising tips to get you back on track for fundraising after the adrenaline and chaos of Election Night. 

1. Enjoy the moment 
   You made it through the Primary Election and you are now one step closer to being an elected official! Celebrate tonight and start fundraising again in the following days.
   
   

2. Update your messaging
   Review your call time scripts, follow-up emails, and any other fundraising materials and update accordingly. Now that there are only two candidates in the race, you should be able to draw an even clearer distinction between you and your opponent. When up against a Republican, you should emphasize that you are the only Democrat in the race and use contrasting goals and messages to your advantage.
   
   

3. Call ALL of your donors
   Your top priority for fundraising after the Primary Election is to call all of your $100+ donors back and re-solicit them for contributions. These are your tried-and-true supporters and they will want to hear from you after your win. More likely than not, previous donors will be happy to continue supporting you through the General Election. During these calls, it is easiest to ask your donors to match their contribution from the Primary. 
   
   You may think a donor cannot give any more money, but you won’t know until you call them and ask. At the very least, your supporters will be excited you took the time to call them, even if they cannot contribute to you again.
   
   

4. Integrate new prospects into your call time
   After calling ALL of your Primary donors to re-up their contribution for the General, you should integrate any donors of the Democrats from the Primary who did not advance to the General Election. There are a few ways to go about this:

   • If you were endorsed by any candidates who are not in the race any longer, be sure to make the ask for their donor list. This is a standard ask for endorsers and usually happens shortly after Election Night results are finalized, so it should not come as a surprise. However, if they say no, make a secondary ask for them to make introductions to some of their higher-dollar donors so you can still capture some of their donors from the Primary Election. Be sure to specify higher-dollar donors to get the most bang for your buck with the endorser ask.

   • If former candidates do not endorse you or remain neutral in your race, you can find their publically available donor information online. We recommend only using their donor lists if it is worth the time it will take to find contact information for their donors. For example, if they only have 20 donors and they are all under $100, the list probably isn’t worth your time.
     
     

5. Keep focused on fundraising
   Whether you expected to advance through the Primary Election or not, you now have to run a whole other campaign for the General. Although you have infrastructure built, you are typically working with a new budget and new fundraising goals — often with a much shorter runway to fundraise.
   
   Call time and fundraising should still be a top priority. Keep in mind the more money you raise, the more voters you can contact.
   
   

If you follow these steps after a successful Primary Election, you should be well on your way to having a strong budget for voter contact in the General Election.

Questions? Need some additional guidance? Set up a free 15-minute consultation with us today.