Truths and Tips: Overcoming Overwhelm on the Campaign Trail
There’s a specific type of tired that hits the day after Election Day.
That Wednesday is characterized by an unwillingness to get out of bed for anything I don’t have to. I work from my phone, if at all, and other than the absolute necessities of motherhood and making sure my company doesn’t go under — good luck trying to convince me anything matters. I always intend to do more things. I never do.
My brain totally shuts down. My nervous system relaxes so much that I can feel changes in my shoulders, back, neck, and stomach. The adrenaline rush that has been carrying me through the 60–90 days previous to that is completely gone, and my body and emotions are re-regulating. It’s instant, it’s noticeable, and it’s one of my favorite feelings in the world.
It doesn’t matter the result of the election. Win or lose, this manifestation of relief from the overwhelm I had been feeling prior has been a consistent experience since my first race in June of 2014. That race we got our asses kicked. Earlier this month we came in a commanding first place. My body doesn’t know the difference, it just knows we are done.
The special election primary Team Evinco just finished was one of the most intense experiences of my career to date.
We didn’t know it was coming so we weren’t planning for it. I’d never worked on a special election before and neither had the client. We couldn’t work with all the same people we usually do and had to enlist new teammates we didn’t have established workflows with. We had a new combination of allies and opponents and laws that made the politics less familiar. We had 90 days to produce the same infrastructure and quality work we usually do in 1.5–2 years. The client was governing full time and legally couldn’t campaign as much as her opponents. We have other clients who need our attention too. And EVERYONE in San Diego was watching, making their bets, and spending to back it up.
(Also, my dog died, I was moving across the country, and trying to be a halfway decent mom and boss through it all.)
I am not going to pretend I held it together the whole time.
I got overwhelmed, which led to frustrations with myself and the team around me. I didn’t get enough sleep, exercise, or healthy food. I got so tired or frustrated that I cried. I had to cancel therapy sessions for campaign calls. I missed family time and didn’t spend as much time with my San Diego friends as I wanted prior to leaving.
The members of Team Evinco on this account had similar symptoms, although overwhelm manifests differently for each of us.
There was just SO. MUCH. TO. DO.
And I am not even the candidate! My name wasn’t on the ballot, the ads, or the yard signs. The hit pieces weren’t about me. I am not the symbol of people’s hopes or fears. And no one was predicting the downfall of my political career if we failed. Consultants are allowed to lose. Candidates who are elected officials are held to a higher standard. Plus they have to govern. I truly don’t know how she did it.
We made it to the other side, but not without learning (or re-learning) some lessons about functioning and handling overwhelm on the campaign trail.
We are all human, and we have to live to fight another day. So, fresh off the craziest 90 days of my life, here are some truths and tips that I hope help you deal with the all-too-familiar combination of grind culture and circus performance that characterize the campaign trail:
Remember your why. I harp on this a lot when training new operatives and candidates. That’s because it is absolutely CRITICAL to not losing your mind or your integrity when the campaign gets intense. When you’re sleep deprived and pissed off at your opponents (or your team) and there’s not enough time or money or help and you’re just trying to survive it can be really tempting to get cynical or get shady. Being able to center yourself on your why (the people you’re trying to help, the issue you’re trying to push, etc) can be a saving grace to keep you from giving in to the worst parts of politics.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. You are NEVER going to have the resources you need to do everything you want/need to do. It doesn’t matter if you have 90 days or 4 years. It doesn’t matter if your candidate is a well established elected official with connections to money, or a brand new no-name with a personal rolodex of 10 people. There is no such thing as a perfect campaign or a seamless strategy. Something is always going to pop up and surprise you, and you’re always going to be dealing with more than you anticipated. Win or lose, you will not get through your whole to-do list. The key is to know the difference between what absolutely has to be done to keep the campaign progressing, and the things that would be nice to have. Just keep the must-haves moving and you’ll be okay.
Don’t take it personally. I will admit I slipped on this one a few times in this race. I fully believe that my client is one of the most transformative forces that California (let alone San Diego) has seen in a generation and it was really hard not to get overly emotional about the ups and downs of the race. I’m still working through some negative feelings about the racist hits she took and the people who aimed them at her, and the fact that I couldn’t protect her from them. But at the end of the day it’s not about me. It’s not even about her. It’s about who the power belongs to and what they’re going to do with it. And I can’t blame people for trying to keep their piece of the pie when they know she will take it from them and use it to empower other people. That’s politics, and keeping score leads to abuse of power. So it’s my responsibility to work through those things myself and not take them out on other people, but to use it to fuel my fight against the forces of oppression. It’s a balance, and it’s not an easy one.
Walk away when you need to. Being overly tired, overwhelmed, or burned out leads to sloppy mistakes. Some of that cannot be avoided, and I made my fair share of them on this race. But they were all fairly small and while I am sure they annoyed both my client and the rest of my team, none of them derailed our strategy. Why? Because when there was a threat of derailment, I walked away. When my dog was in her final days I knew that I just didn’t care enough about the campaign in that moment to prioritize it. I sent a text telling my client what was going on and told her I would be less engaged for a few days and would be taking her final day off completely. I communicated to the rest of our team, both inside Evinco and on the campaign, and asked them to step up. And they did. Notice two key factors there: 1) I did not ask for permission and 2) I told people I needed help. Those things are tough for a lot of people, and especially for women. But if we are going to undo the toxic culture of politics, we have to demand space to be human and live our lives outside of work.
Celebrate every win. There are a lot more victories in a campaign than just the one that may or may not come with the end result. There are big endorsements, fundraising goals that get crushed, positive news stories, and a million moments big and small with supporters who are putting themselves out there for your campaign. In our campaign, we have a space called “Daily Positivity” where any member of the team can share positive news and we can all cheer it together. It helps everyone stay motivated and keeps people looking for the good.
Don’t panic over the losses. Just like with wins, there are small losses built into every campaign. Your opponent gets a big endorsement. A donor doesn’t give what they promised they would. Your opposition plants news stories based on bullshit. Someone lies to your face about their support. Whatever. It happens. One of the biggest tricks of a sustainable career in politics is to be able to take those moments in stride. Feel the emotional response and then let it go and get back to work focusing on your must-haves. If you get buried in the negative moments you will fry your nerves, lose more sleep, threaten your relationship with your team, and generally into a self-fulfilling prophecy of overwhelm and burnout.
Have fun. Campaigning is hard, and fun doesn’t just consistently happen out of nowhere. You have to build it in, and your team has to be on the same page about making that effort. Play small games at phone banks and canvasses. Have fundraisers and meet and greets at fun venues and/or with people whose company you and your team genuinely enjoy. Bring your family, friends, and even pets to campaign events when you can. If all else fails, crack (work appropriate) jokes. This is all so much easier when people are smiling and laughing and spending time in good company.
Be grateful. Campaigning is a team sport. It is genuinely actually very literally and whatever other words I can use to emphasize IMPOSSIBLE to run a campaign alone. People you love and strangers you have never met will give of themselves to help you, and you have to see that, center it, and lean into the sense of gratitude it should create. Volunteers give unpaid physical, mental, and emotional labor. Donors give their hard earned money. Advisors give their time and attention. Endorsers give their political capital. Everyone is sharing with you and one of the easiest ways to keep from burning out is to remember that and bask in it.
Keep some perspective. You are not performing brain surgery or getting shot at. Win or lose your life will go on after the election is over. While elections have consequences and policy absolutely has life or death impacts, politics is a long game. Do not give in to a false sense of urgency. If you do, you are destined to burn out, and you will be no good to the movement or the people you are trying to help.
Since the primary win, the candidate and I have given ourselves and our team some room to move slower and rest and gather our strength for the coming fight in the general election. And while I am sure there are moments coming that will make me feel that all-too-familiar sense of overwhelm, I am grateful to work with a client and a team that understands we are all human, gives ourselves and each other grace, and follows the above practices.
One day I hope everyone who works in politics will be so lucky.
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Written by Eva Posner, President and Founder of Evinco Strategies.