At Raconteur Media Company, we conducted a nationwide voter research study leading up to the 2026 election cycle. We are calling our research A State-of-the-Art Playbook for Political Campaigns. As a political marketing agency, we serve candidates and issue campaigns. This research aimed to understand voter motivations to better inform our clients, similar to our B2C marketing approach.
Voters Want Authenticity from Candidates. And Candidates Benefit from Early Engagement with Voters.
For the 2026 election cycle, engaged voters seek information to decide. Dependable voters, once committed, will likely stick with their choice unless disillusioned or presented with a more compelling alternative. Since elections are relative choices, research shows voters will anchor on a candidate who shares their mindset.
Early engagement is critical. There’s a substantial time gap between when voters start thinking about elections and when they make final candidate decisions, especially in state and local elections. Candidates have a unique opportunity for early engagement with voters to start building rapport and influencing their voting decisions. Voters want to see candidates in unfiltered, authentic settings, and they’re unlikely to trust campaign materials that lack that real feel.
Recommendations
Campaigns need to start early to build momentum and get voters attention. Messaging should be authentic, clear and practical. It should answer the questions: Who Are You?, What Will You Do in Office?, and Why Are You the Best Candidate?
We recommend that campaigns build their content around these messages and continue to drive it home to the voters. Videos are especially powerful. And given that our research find voters are hungry for authentic, direct messaging from candidates, we recommend campaign invest early in the capability and the practices to develop and distribute video content.
Polling and message development tools will help you shape what you say, but campaigns should begin the content that answers these questions long before polling is complete. By starting early, a campaign can develop messages to test in polling. And some cutting-edge polling will allow you to test different versions of your video and help you determine which version resonates best with voters.