Eligibility & filing

• Seats: Governor or Senator (per state). Federal seats (President/VP) are planned.
• Home state rule: Governor and Senate filings must match your home state.
• Filing cost: no cash or energy; you must have an active character selected.
• Where: /politics/elections/filing. Pick seat and cycle, then submit.

Election phases

1. Primary: if multiple filings in the same party, the primary decides the nominee.
2. General: primary winners plus independents compete for the seat.
3. Seating: winner starts the new term on the scheduled start date for that cycle.

Campaign actions (costs)

• Rally: 20 Energy; target voters (Conservative/Moderate/Liberal) on a specific issue.
• Fundraiser: 50 Energy; raises cash based on county market and your skills.
• Ad: 5 Energy + budget (100k/500k/1M cash) in a chosen media market.
• Polls/Surrogates: available in actions tray; costs vary by action.

How results are determined

• Opinion shifts: actions adjust approval by voter segment and issue fit.
• Geography: rallies/fundraisers target counties; ads target media markets.
• Turnout: campaigns with higher approval and spend typically capture more vote share.
• Winner: highest vote share in the phase (primary or general).

Where to go next

• Campaigning
• Offices & Districts
• Legislation

Tips & Tricks

• Secure your primary base before broad general outreach.
• Stagger ads across adjacent media markets for spillover effects.
• Review the Wiki to see voter information and which counties are in which media markets. Media markets will often spill over state boundaries, so plan your most efficient strategy when cash/energy limited.
• Time polls before big spends to validate your plan.

FAQ

• Can only candidates campaign? Surrogate actions are encouraged and can be completed on that specific election's Wiki page.
• Can independents run? Yes; they skip party primaries.