Crafting a Refined Polling Strategy for Local Races

For political candidates running for any office, strategic and research-driven polling is a must-have tool in the shed. Whether they’re a new face to the political scene or a seasoned veteran of local politics, candidates rely on the insights gleaned through polling as they execute their campaign strategy.

A Quick Overview of Polling
At their core, polls are a type of research that provides invaluable data about how or what people think or feel. Polls can be conducted in various forms, such as digital surveys, phone surveys, or paper questionnaires. Polls are often used to test the popularity of a particular candidate in an election or to measure support for a particular policy at the local or state level. When done correctly, a refined polling strategy can provide insight into which strategy campaign teams should pursue and help guide their decision-making.

Developing an Effective Polling Strategy

So what steps should candidates and campaign teams take in order to develop an effective polling strategy? There are a few key steps to follow:

1. Establish a clear goal. What do you and your team want to learn through the poll? Are you tied to a particular issue and want to gauge local support? Or are you a candidate wanting to gain an edge against opponents? Whether it’s providing key insights into a certain policy or obtaining valuable data on specific local demographics, make sure that your team has a clear goal before you move forward.

2. Put together a robust polling questionnaire. This may require the input of a researcher or strategist with the goal of creating an effective and concise survey that will provide the data you need for informed decisions. Do your best to make sure you don’t overwhelm survey takers and that the questions are relevant and clearly defined.

3. Select the right type of sample. Knowing which type of survey takers to target is critical in order to generate accurate poll results. For example, do you need to target a sample of voters in a certain area such as a particular neighborhood or city? Do you want to target registered voters or all individuals in a specific area regardless of whether they are registered to vote? Your team should crunch the numbers and make sure you’re targeting the right sample for accurate and reliable results.

4. Analyze your results. Once you’ve collected your poll results, it’s important to analyze them for key insights. Don’t just squint at the raw data—take the time to interpret the information and find the relationships and trends with how individuals responded. Ask yourself the big questions: What can you learn from the results? How do they inform the decisions your team needs to make?

Excellent polling requires a data-driven approach, a savvy researcher or strategist at the helm, and a team that is willing to learn and react to the results of the poll. Done right, polling can be an invaluable tool in a campaign’s arsenal, helping provide the necessary insight and momentum to drive candidates to victory. Don’t leave the fate of your political campaign up to chance!