Campaign strategy · graduate capstone
2024 U.S. Senate Campaign Plan: Pennsylvania
A complete, 100+ page campaign plan built at American University's Campaign Management Institute — an intensive simulation in which student teams plan a real, upcoming race from announcement to election day.
strategytargeting & budgetpaid + earned mediafield & financeThe assignment: take a real 2024 Senate race (the Pennsylvania contest) and produce the entire strategic apparatus a professional campaign would run on. The exercise is nonpartisan by design — teams are assigned a candidate and must build the strongest possible plan regardless of personal politics. The result proves the whole machine, not just one part of it.
From the Executive Summary
"For this election cycle, our vote goal is 3,510,909, and our fundraising goal is $59,617,212.53. We determined these numbers by analyzing past performance from Republican, Independent, and Democrats' turnout. Assuming that the 2024 election will produce roughly the same turnout percentage as the 2020 election, our vote goal accounts for a 51.16% to 48.84% win. The expense total is $59,616,312.02, and we will end the campaign with $901.00 cash on hand remaining…
"Pennsylvania has consistently voted for the Democratic nominee in past elections. Hence, it is important we spend the majority of our budget on paid media designed to persuade. Our geographical targets will primarily include urban and suburban counties. We aim to contact voters through mailers, phone and text banking, and canvassing…"
What's inside the full plan
- Environment & research — national and state political analysis, candidate SWOT analyses, opposition and self-research, survey and focus group design
- Strategy & message — theme, message box, and audience-by-audience messaging architecture
- Targeting — turnout modeling, geographic and demographic targets, and a vote goal built from precinct-level past performance
- Budget — a ~$59.6M revenue and expense plan with quarterly cash flow
- Communications — earned media strategy, communications calendar, and a full paid media plan across broadcast, cable, radio, streaming, and digital
- Field & finance — voter contact strategy, mail and collateral plans, coalitions, and fundraising structure
Full document available on request.