There’s a lot more to running for office than knocking on doors and kissing babies.
About 35 people interested in running for office got pointers Wednesday from five officeholders as well as Porter County Clerk Jessica Bailey and Gina Avila, community development educator with Purdue Extension.
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“We have a very big ballot in 2026,” Bailey said. “We had to make the print real small to put everyone up there.” Even then, the list of offices was too big to fit on a single PowerPoint slide.
Bailey walked the class through the flurry of forms and deadlines candidates and political committees must deal with.
The Porter County elections office, which reopened Wednesday at 155 Franklin St. in Valparaiso after having to move out earlier this year because of water damage, will start allowing Republicans and Democrats to formally declare their candidacy for public office, Bailey said. The primary election is only for Republicans and Democrats.
There’s a lot of paperwork to be filed lest candidates face a fine from the county Election Board, she said.
“If you’re the candidate, do not be your own treasurer,” Kenard Taylor urged. “You don’t have the time to keep track of every dollar and nickel coming in and going out.”
Taylor, who helps candidates from any party, helps the Election Board go through candidates’ paperwork to look for errors and will teach a class in campaign finance.
Avila led a discussion on ethics for candidates. Voters will judge candidates’ actions during the campaigns as a way of calculating how they would behave as an officeholder, she said.
On campaign finance reports, consider disclosing donor information even if it’s below the minimum for added transparency, Avila said.
Taylor suggested candidates trying to figure out how to budget campaign expenses look at campaign finance reports from four years ago to determine how much was spent to run for that office. “Add 15% to that because the cost of everything has gone up in four years,” he said.
“Do not use any money for personal use. If you do, you go to jail,” Taylor said.
Don’t use public resources for campaign purposes, either. Taylor gave the example of a candidate being photographed in front of a sheriff’s office. That’s a nebulous issue, but it’s definitely not OK if the photo is taken by a government employee or on the county’s time.
What about in front of a police car? That opens up questions of whether the car had to be moved for the photo or was already parked there, Taylor said.
Using ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools is permissible, but only if you report AI was used. That’s true for both text and pictures, Taylor said.
Porter County Councilman Andy Bozak, Valparaiso City Councilwoman Emilie Hunt, Portage Township School Board Vice President Wilma Vazquez, Porter County Democratic Party Chair Don Craft and his Republican counterpart Nathan Uldricks offered pro tips to the packed classroom at the Porter County Administration Building.
Knock on doors, but you’ll also need money, Bozak said. As an at-large candidate, his campaign had to cover the entire county.
“When you knock on doors, it’s very good to have a kid with you,” he said. That way, if a person is too talkative about issues that don’t pertain to the office you’re seeking, you can say the kid is tired and you need to move on without seeming rude to the resident, Bozak said.
“Knock on as many doors as you want,” Vazquez said. She often takes her son, Ferdinand Alvarez, but she can’t use a tired kid as an excuse. Alvarez, an attorney, is a Portage councilman.
“He says, ‘Mom, you’re taking too long. You’re talking too much,’” she said. Vazquez disagrees. “If it takes me 20 minutes, it takes me 20 minutes.”
“Later on, you’ll see people out and about, and they’ll remember you. ‘You came knocking on my door,’” she said.
“Stick to your message and focus on that message. People will respond every time,” Hunt said. “Trusting in yourself and knowing you’re doing it for the right reasons takes a lot of fear and anxiety out of it.”
Uldricks suggested practicing your elevator pitch beforehand to become more comfortable interacting with people. “What is the thing you want to say in 30 seconds and have their attention? Practice it,” he urged.
Don’t use ChatGPT, either. “It has to come from you,” he said.
That advice applies when asking for money, too. “Make a direct ask, and then you sit back and shut up,” he said.
Craft recommended giving residents an opportunity to speak to you. Ask them what they’re interested in.
Often, residents will want to talk about national issues. Be prepared to answer questions, including about national issues, but try to steer the conversation to local issues, Bozak suggested. “Normally when I’m knocking on doors, I educate people on what the job is first,” he said.
But do listen to what the community needs and cares about, Vazquez said.
That includes checking in periodically on Facebook to see what’s discussed in groups like Portage 411, Bozak said. But don’t spend your whole day on Facebook.
Hunt said between working full-time and raising two kids, she didn’t have much time to knock on doors. “My time frame was after work, and most people don’t want to be bothered after work.” Instead, she waged a social media campaign that won her the election the first time she ran for any public office.
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Mailers are very expensive, Bozak said. “You don’t get the bang for the buck.”
“The lifetime of the mailer is from the mailbox to the trash can,” Craft added.
Bozak recommended enlisting friends and family to help you campaign and raise money.
Uldricks told of spending 50 minutes each day to place a few campaign signs in Hebron. “Asking for help is not natural for me,” he said. “I really should have asked friends.”
“Getting comfortable with that, I think, is definitely important,” Uldricks said.
Supporters can offer skills that are useful in a variety of ways, including knocking on doors, phoning registered voters, soliciting donations and more, elected officials said.
Vazquez told of having friends over to go canvassing. One of her friends cooked for them.
“If people find out you’re interested in serving, and they believe in you, they’ll reach out to you,” Vazquez said.
Convince friends and family to wear your T-shirts when they go out in public, whether to the grocery store or a public event, Hunt said.
“Make sure your volunteers know exactly what you want them to say,” Vazquez said. Imagine her shock when a campaigner told her, “I told this person if they don’t vote for you, I’m going to beat them up.” Don’t even joke about things like that.
Make sure supporters know where signs are allowed and not allowed, too, Bozak advised.
“If you want to run for county council, start going to the meetings now. Know what’s going on,” Craft suggested.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.