Welcome back to the weekly Nuts & Bolts Guide to small campaigns. Every week I try to tackle issues I’ve been asked about. With the help of other campaign workers and notes, we address how to improve and build better campaigns or explain issues that impact our party. For people who remember in-person Nuts & Bolts panels at Netroots Nation—and trust me, I missed having a fifth and sixth the last two years—we put forward candidates there who talked about their experience so they could go back over their results and discuss what they would do differently, and the campaign moments they were most proud of looking back at their race. A few years ago, I sat in a panel discussing the outcome of elections. On the panel were a few fantastic political scientists, myself, and a few activists. I said at the time, and I still mean it: Political science is often not a science, it’s an art. The ability to understand the electorate and what can motivate them doesn’t come from a data perspective at all times, and some of the most effective campaigners in history have been people who were, well, not exactly steeped in college-level science coursework. Even with that being true, everyone will tell you that we learn something from every election. I’m not talking about “hot takes” or forecasting for the future immediately. I want to talk about the nuts and bolts of campaigning we learn in every single race. Read more