The campaign manager’s daily checklist

In short: Every day, a campaign manager should review yesterday’s field activity, run a short briefing, follow up on quiet wards, approve or decline money requests, check the candidate’s schedule against the plan, approve outgoing messages and close the day by recording what was done and what is due tomorrow.

Before 8 a.m.: review

1. Read yesterday’s field reports. Which wards were active? Which were silent?
2. Check new volunteers and supporters registered yesterday.
3. Look at incidents or problems reported from the field.
4. Check today’s schedule for the candidate and the team.
5. Note the three things that must happen today.

Morning briefing (15–20 minutes)

• Yesterday’s results against the plan — numbers, not stories.
• Today’s priorities and who owns each one.
• Any problem that needs a decision, decided in the room or given a deadline.
• Where the candidate is going and who is preparing each stop.

Keep it short and standing if necessary. Long strategy discussions belong in the weekly review.

During the day: follow up

• Call the coordinator of every ward that went quiet yesterday. Ask what happened and what they need.
• Approve or decline pending money requests. Do not let them pile up.
• Review messages and social posts waiting for approval.
• Check that the candidate’s next stops are prepared: venue, local host, turnout plan, message.
• Deal with the one or two issues that only you can resolve.

Evening: close the day

1. Check that the day’s reports came in from the field.
2. Record decisions made and actions agreed, with owners and deadlines.
3. Send the candidate a short summary: what happened, what is next, what needs them.
4. Set tomorrow’s three priorities.

Weekly checklist

• Activity by ward for the week: reports, visits, new supporters and volunteers.
• Coordinators who have not reported, and what you will do about each one.
• Spending against budget, and the cash position for the next two weeks.
• Candidate’s schedule for the next two weeks against priority wards.
• Message plan for the next week.
• Polling-agent recruitment: stations covered and stations still open.
• Risks: anything that could embarrass the campaign or stop work.

The numbers to watch

Pick a small set of numbers and watch them every day. For most campaigns these are enough:

• Wards with field activity in the last 48 hours.
• Field reports submitted per day.
• New supporters and volunteers registered.
• Polling stations with an assigned agent (from about six months before election day).
• Spending this week against the plan.

If you cannot get these numbers without phoning people, that is the first thing to fix.

Common traps

• Spending the day on the candidate’s phone calls instead of the plan.
• Accepting “all is well” from coordinators without evidence.
• Approving money verbally and trying to remember later.
• Letting the loudest ward take all the attention while quiet wards slip.

Frequently asked questions

How long should the daily campaign meeting be?

Fifteen to twenty minutes. Its job is to agree today’s priorities and owners. Longer discussions belong in a weekly review.

What should a campaign manager report to the candidate daily?

A short summary: what happened today, what is planned for tomorrow, and the decisions or appearances that need the candidate.