The Decision to Run: Principles and the Practice of Campaigning

Harvard HKS

This course is for graduate students considering a run for public office or work on a campaign. It examines how a candidate’s reasons for seeking office shape the choices they make while campaigning and, if elected, while governing. Students will ask whom they hope to serve, what equips them to lead, and how the pressures of a campaign might test or change their original purpose. The course pairs that reflection with the practical work of building a viable campaign. Students will…