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Let’s stop lying to ourselves about why candidates lose.
Yes, money matters. I have worked on campaigns at every level for over 15 years. I have seen local and state candidates win with very little money, and I have seen candidates running for federal seats hide behind “we didn’t raise enough” as a veil to cover up their poor organizing. Money can help, but it will not save a bad campaign. If we are being honest, I keep seeing the same mistakes over and over again.
There are many reasons people lose, but these are the ones that dominate.
First problem: no infrastructure. Everybody wants to run for office, but nobody wants to run a campaign. Even a small team needs structure, clear roles, real leadership, and accountability. Too many candidates are out here winging it, with no real operation. Then they wonder why nothing connects. No system means no strategy, and no strategy means no shot.
Second, no ground game. Let me say it plainly. Instagram is not a field plan. Twitter is not voter turnout. Too many campaigns chase viral moments instead of actual votes. Midterms are about who shows up, and people show up when someone knocks on their door, calls their phone, or has a real conversation with them. You cannot hashtag your way into office.
Third, the same recycled consultants. The same people, the same strategies, and the same losing results. Yet they keep getting hired. At some point, it is not experience; it is a pattern. Midterms require fresh thinking because voters shift quickly. If your strategy looks like the last cycle, you are already behind.
Fourth, the yes people problem. Candidates surround themselves with people who clap for everything they say. That is how campaigns lose. You do not need cheerleaders; you need people who will challenge you and tell you when something is not working. Strong campaigns have coaches, not fans.
Finally, ego. This is the one that takes campaigns down the fastest. Candidates who think they know everything stop listening to their team, to the data, and to the voters. They walk into races assuming they have already won, and election night proves otherwise. Confidence can win a race, but arrogance will lose it.
This is how it will play out in the midterms. These are tight races with low turnout and very little room for error. The candidates who build real infrastructure, invest in a ground game, bring in smart strategy, and stay open to feedback will outperform expectations. The ones chasing attention, repeating the same mistakes, and ignoring reality will be explaining their losses the next day.
So no, it is not just about money.
It is about discipline.
So if you love your favorite candidate like you say you do, if you truly believe in what they stand for, then do them a favor and push them to be better. It will be up to the public to hold them accountable, because many of the consultants they hire will not. As long as they are getting a check, proven results do not matter.
I’m speaking from real experience in both business and politics. I was a branch manager at two of the largest staffing firms in the world, Adecco and Robert Half International. I have hired thousands of people for some of America’s leading corporations. In every other industry, performance matters. Results matter. Track record matters.
But today’s political industry is one of the only spaces where, if you know the right people, you can keep getting hired over and over again, even with little to no winning record.
And until that changes, campaigns will keep losing races they should have won.
But here is what I know for sure. I believe more in the public than I do in politics. You are needed.
If you are tired of watching the same mistakes play out, then it is time to step in. Sign up for my Push the Line nonpartisan political training to learn how to run, how to work on a campaign, and how to organize around the issues that matter to you.
We need new people. We need a new bench. And it is on us to build it.
Tezlyn Figaro
Founder Push the Line Nonpartisan Political Training Program
