Campaign actions

There are ten action types. Each is scheduled on a specific day of the week and resolves in day order.

The ten actions#

advertise — Buy airtime in a state, with dollars committed. Three modes:

• positive — build your own numbers.
• contrast — attack the opponent.
• issue — push a specific issue.

rally — A candidate stop in a state. Costs a candidate-day, which makes it the most rationed action you have.

surrogate — A running-mate or surrogate stop. Covers ground the candidate cannot, without spending the candidate's own time.

fundraise — Convert time into cash. Everything else on this list ultimately depends on it.

ground_game — Field organisation in a state. The one investment that does not decay at the end of the week (see The campaign week).

gotv — Get out the vote. Works on turnout rather than persuasion, which makes its timing different from everything else here.

oppo_research — Opposition research against your opponent.

debate_prep — Raises your debate-related traits. Relaxes 35% per week back toward your candidate's real traits, so it is worth doing one or two weeks before a debate rather than months ahead.

policy_prep — Raises policy knowledge, on the same decay.

issue_pivot — Move your position on an issue to a new value between -1 and +1. This changes how you align with blocs across the whole map, not just one state.

Targeting#

Actions are scoped. Most take a state; some take a bloc within a state, or an issue. The narrower the target, the more concentrated the effect.

Spending is explicit: ads and fundraising venues take a dollar amount, so the same action can be a gesture or a serious commitment.

Traits#

Your candidate has traits — debate prep, policy knowledge, debating skill — with a base value that is who they actually are. Prep actions raise the current value above the base, and the weekly decay pulls it back toward that base rather than to zero. A naturally strong debater stays strong; prep is a temporary edge on top of an underlying reality.

Running mates and staff#

You choose a running mate per ticket, which applies passive bonuses and enables surrogate stops.

You can also hire staffers, who provide passive bonuses at hire and in actions, and who carry weekly salaries and loyalty. Staff are an ongoing cost, not a one-off purchase.

What this means in play#

• Candidate-days are the binding constraint. Rallies compete with each other for the same scarce pool; ads and surrogates do not.
• Ground game compounds, advertising does not. Both move numbers this week; only one is still there next week.
• Prep is tactical. Time it to the debate. Prepping in week one is wasted.
• Issue pivots are strategic and broad. They move your alignment with blocs everywhere at once — powerful, and hard to undo cleanly.
• Fundraising is not optional. Every other action on this list has a price.

See also#

• The campaign week — scheduling, limits and decay
• The vote model — how an action becomes a margin change
• Countries and scenarios — which of these apply where