NO HOLIDAYS FOR CANDIDATE WORRIES

Author and Global Political Consultant Examines Thoughts of Incumbents and Challengers as Races Ignite

Zurich, Switzerland—Global political consultant Louis Perron, author of the forthcoming book, Beat the Incumbent, knows that as soon as New Year's Day has passed, the fight for political office becomes more fierce.

The reality of electoral politics is different and often brutal. Candidates will spend hours every day asking strangers for money like a beggar and spend more time with their campaign staff than their families. Once they are seen as rising in the polls, and become a danger, they will become the target of attacks. Get ready to see stories appear about your love life, private life, your children or business matters from twenty years ago.

Questions candidates need to be asking themselves right now:

• Do I really want to do this to myself?  Challengers and new candidates come to me with honorable ideas on how to save their city, district or constituency.
• Do I need strategic adjustments to manage the chaos? If candidates don't have a plan now, they will likely end up not having one once the campaign starts (again) for real, and their operation will be a shot-gun attack and likely end in complete chaos. 

"I remember when I presented results of a survey to a campaign team a few days before Christmas," said Dr. Perron. "When I started to present, they all grabbed their cigarettes. By the end of my presentation, which I assume was physically painful, one could barely see across the room, that's how smoked filled it was. The team later told me that they spent the worst Christmas ever. But it was the wake-up call they needed."