How to Run for Office: From School Board to Congress
Key takeaways
- There are roughly half a million elected offices in the United States, most of them local, such as school boards, city councils, and county posts.
- The Constitution sets qualifications for Congress and the presidency, and states set them for state and local offices.
- Getting on the ballot usually requires filing paperwork during a set filing period and paying a fee or collecting voter signatures.
- Federal candidates must register with the FEC once they raise or spend more than 5,000 dollars, while state and local candidates follow their state's campaign finance rules.
- Federal employees face limits on running in partisan elections under the Hatch Act.
- State and local election offices publish candidate guides with deadlines, fees, and forms.
Anyone who meets the qualifications can run for office, and many local races are decided by a few hundred votes or go uncontested. The steps are similar everywhere, but the details, deadlines, and costs vary by state and office.
This guide walks through the general process. It is not legal advice, and candidates should get official requirements from their state or local election office, or from the FEC for federal races, well before filing deadlines.
Candidates file a declaration of candidacy with the state or local election office during a filing period, often months before the primary, and pay a fee or submit petitions signed by registered voters. Most then run in a party primary, while independents and minor-party candidates usually need more signatures. Opponents can challenge petitions, so candidates often collect extra signatures.
The Constitution sets the qualifications for federal office: a House member must be at least 25, a citizen for seven years, and live in the state, a senator at least 30 and a citizen for nine years, and the President at least 35, a natural-born citizen, and a resident for 14 years. States set requirements for state and local offices, often including residency in the district and sometimes term limits. Federal employees are restricted by the Hatch Act from running in partisan elections, and some states require officials to resign to run for another office.
Party organizations, local clubs, unions, business groups, and advocacy organizations can offer endorsements, volunteers, voter lists, and money, and party campaign committees recruit and fund candidates in competitive races. Many organizations on both the left and right train new candidates. Nonpartisan races rely more on personal networks and local groups.
Federal candidates must register with the Federal Election Commission within 15 days of raising or spending more than 5,000 dollars, form a campaign committee with a treasurer, follow contribution limits of 3,500 dollars per person per election in the 2025 to 2026 cycle, and file public reports. State and local candidates register with their state's ethics or campaign finance agency, which sets its own limits and deadlines. Campaign funds cannot be used for personal expenses.
The United States has roughly half a million elected positions, from school boards, city councils, and county commissions to state legislatures, Congress, and the presidency. Most are local and many are nonpartisan, and some draw no candidates at all. First-time candidates often start with local offices, where campaigns cost less and voters can be reached door to door.
Campaigns typically involve talking to voters at their doors and by phone, building a website and social media presence, attending forums, sending mail, and, in larger races, buying ads. After the election, results are certified, winners take an oath of office, and they must follow ethics and disclosure rules. Candidates who lose can often run again, and vacancies may be filled by special elections or appointment.
See how parties work in how the two major parties work, money rules in campaign finance explained, or voting in how Americans vote.