Player guide
Campaigning
Plan a campaign around rallies and advertisements, then use fundraising, polling, and endorsements to support that core work.
Open CampaigningOn this page
The campaign priority order
After filing for an active race, rallies and advertisements are the actions that directly build campaign points and therefore voter support. Use rallies to work a high-value voter segment in one county. Use advertisements to extend the same kind of message across a media market. Fundraisers supply campaign cash, polls measure the race, and lobbyist outreach is an optional longer-term endorsement path rather than a substitute for campaigning.
Choose an action by reach
A rally concentrates campaign points on one selected voter segment in one county. An advertisement reaches the selected segment across every county in a media market. A fundraiser produces campaign cash rather than voter support. A poll measures the current race.
Messages matter
Rallies and advertisements use the approval score produced for the message and selected voter group. A strong match multiplies the result; a poor or negative match weakens it. Approval changes also affect your character’s voter-group affinities.
Budget and Energy
A rally costs 20 Energy. An advertisement costs 5 Energy plus campaign cash of $100,000, $500,000, or $1,000,000 for levels one through three. A fundraiser costs 50 Energy. A poll costs 10 Energy and $1,000,000.
Mechanics
How results are calculated
These rules come from the game calculation. Live market values and event-specific settings can still change the final result where noted.
Fundraiser
Rule
County base donation × fundraiser market multiplier × the average of Charisma, Networking, Leadership, and Financial Acumen ÷ 100.
- The result is rounded to whole dollars and credited as campaign cash.
- The local fundraiser multiplier drops by 0.25 after the action, to a minimum of zero.
Worked example
Four relevant skills averaging 70 in a $2,000,000 county at a 1.25 multiplier raise $1,750,000.
Rally campaign points
Rule
3 × rally skill score × selected group’s issue priority × message approval.
- Rally skill score: 30% Charisma, 25% Communication, 20% Leadership, and 25% Performance.
- Only the selected voter segment in the selected county receives these points.
- Issue priority and approval are multipliers, so targeting and message fit can matter as much as skills.
Advertisement campaign points
Rule
Ad skill score × message approval × selected group’s issue priority × budget level.
- Ad skill score: 25% Charisma, 25% Communication, 15% Creativity, 10% Analytical Ability, 10% Financial Acumen, and 15% Technical Proficiency.
- Every county in the chosen media market receives the resulting points for the target segment.
- An attack ad applies the effect to the opponent: a positive result hurts the target, while a backfire can help the target.
- The chosen issue gains 0.03 priority with the targeted group.
Want guided next steps?
Tutorials track your progress and guide your first actions.
Open Tutorials →