You want to know what some of my favorite campaigns have been? County Commissioner, City Council, and School Board. The smaller races.

Now, I’ve done the big races. President. Senate, Governor. And those have their own interesting dimensions, but we should all learn to love the smaller contests too.

Want to know why?

Because a gifted political operative can win a small race all by themselves by mostly knocking on doors.

If you’re electorate is anywhere from just a few hundred people to a few thousand, then victory is within your reach. You can grab a box of literature and a walkbook, hit the road, and watch the votes fall your way on election night.

This isn’t unusual. I’ve seen candidates with no money win races by themselves. It happens more often than you think.

After a while, you’ll start to examine your own performance on campaigns. And there will be bigger races. On election night, you’ll often search out for the precincts you worked to see how they landed. There have been races I’ve lost, where I’ve won most of the areas I canvassed. It seldom eases the burn because this is a team sport but it provides some reinforcement on your personal approach.

It also works the other ways. The smaller races can be the sweetest victories. This is because you’re probably closer to the candidate. When they’re declared the winner, you’ve got a front row seat to one of the happiest moments of that person’s life.

And you made that happen. Be proud of yourself when that occurs. And always be on the lookout for that smaller race where you can make a real difference.