Sarah Pope runs the Victory Institute’s candidate training program
Victory Institute will be in Plano training LGBTQ candidates how to win political office
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
Have you thought about running for political office, but you just don’t know where to begin? Think you can make a difference, but you’re not sure you have what it takes? Not sure how to raise the money it will take to run for office?
For more than 25 years, Victory Institute has been answering these questions by training LGBTQ candidates across the country how to raise money and run a winning campaign.
LGBTQ Victory Institute will hold its next in-person, four-day candidate and campaign training in Plano on Feb. 9-12. Dallas Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez is the keynote speaker. The comprehensive program is nonpartisan and designed “to train a diverse pipeline of LGBTQ leaders to run for office and win.”
Former Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Chris Luna said the program is a greatway for city council candidates to prepare.
Among those who’ve been trained by Victory Institute are former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who is now president and CEO of the organization, and Danica Roem, the first transgender member of a state legislature in the U.S. Among the trainers over the years have been former Dallas Mayor pro tem Chris Luna and Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
Luna, who first ran for Dallas City Council in 1991, the year Victory Fund was created, acknowledged, “I was a dinosaur,” adding that some of his campaign techniques may be a little bit out-of-date — like “fold, stamp and lick parties.”
Today, candidates need to be savvy in social media. But what remains constant, Luna said, is the importance of candidate messaging. And what remains vital is representation.
“There’s an old saying in politics: If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu,” Luna warned.
In states like Texas, where local elections are non-partisan, a number of current and past Dallas City Council members have gone through the training. Although Victory Institute is non-partisan, it’s been mostly Democrats who’ve taken advantage of the training, and Victory Institute has trained more Democrats than any other organization on how to win elections.
One of the most high-profile openly gay Republicans these days is newly-inaugurated Congressman George Santos from New York. Santos did not go through the Victory Institute training — not surprising since one of the first principles Victory Institute focuses on is being honest and open about who you are.
Sarah Pope runs the candidate training program. She noted that less than 1 percent of all elected officials in the U.S. are LGBTQ. To have equitable representation, 35,000 more LGBTQ folks would have to be elected, she said. So she has her work cut out for her.
The training prioritizes people who are LGBTQ, but allies, especially campaign managers and others involved in campaigns for LGBTQ people, are accepted as well. In addition to four trainings that will be held around the country this year, Pope said three LGBT leadership summits will take place in areas where a lot of anti-LGBT legislation is being proposed. Although Texas has had a record amount of anti-trans legislation, our eight-member LGBT legislative caucus is strong.
Pope described the training as a boot camp-style experience: rough and rigorous but comprehensive.
“We go through all the steps in building a campaign plan,” Pope said, starting with the question, “What is my plan to victory?”
That includes messaging, get out the vote, fundraising and budgeting both time and money.
Pope said planning a campaign is both an art and a science. The art includes the candidate’s charisma and innate charm as well as what they’ve learned through practice and experience. The science, she said, is the part that Victory Institute teaches.
The science includes the techniques that work in dealing with how to use data and how to refine it.
To practice, Victory Institute trainees do role play. Over the years, Victory Institute has learned that voters respond well to candidates who are open and honest about their sexual orientation, believing that if the candidate can be honest about that, they’ll be honest on other issues, too.
And while a certain percentage of voters will simply never vote for an LGBTQ candidate, those voters were probably not going to vote for that candidate based on other issues anyway.
During the training, panels of local elected officials discuss their own campaigns and answer questions about their own experiences. “Professional communications and marketing experts help candidates craft and develop their message, [how to] learn how to run as an out candidate without being a one-issue candidate.”
Participants are divided into groups of 10 to 12 to apply what they’ve learned to build a campaign for a fictional candidate. This helps participants “get into the mindset and understand the skills,” Pope said.
Fundraising is every candidate’s biggest challenge. “Most candidates feel like they’re asking for money for themselves,” Pope said. “We teach them that they’re asking people to support causes that are important to folks.”
Many new candidates have a tendency to talk about issues and what they plan to do and without actually asking for the donation, she said.
“And,” Pope continued, “don’t promise something you can’t deliver.”
Pope said the goal is, by the end of the training, to have provided certain skills while at the same time demystifying the process of running for office.
“Running for office can feel intimidating,” she said. “At times you may feel overwhelmed.” But a candidate can come back to Victory Institute and connect their campaign to resources the organization offers.
Luna said Dallas has city elections this May, and participating in the training would be a great way to prepare. But for someone planning to run for office in a year or two, training now is a good way to get ready. No time like the present, after all.
Applications are available online at VictoryInstitute.org and will be accepted for the Plano training through Feb. 2.
