--- title: Want to Win the White House? Recruit a Candidate for School Board description: Hyper-local candidates can have a positive spill-over on their famous colleagues up-ticket. canonical: https://time.com/6129828/local-elections-midterms/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-12-17T19:17:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:49.363Z article:section: Politics og:title: Want to Win the White House? Recruit a Candidate for School Board og:description: Hyper-local candidates can have a positive spill-over on their famous colleagues up-ticket. og:url: https://time.com/6129828/local-elections-midterms/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaa19ffe83bb8593/698a20da22fb854ddae2cf63/GettyImages-1350928904.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Election Day 2021 Delaware County PA. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Want to Win the White House? Recruit a Candidate for School Board twitter:description: Hyper-local candidates can have a positive spill-over on their famous colleagues up-ticket. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteaa19ffe83bb8593/698a20da22fb854ddae2cf63/GettyImages-1350928904.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Want to Win the White House? Recruit a Candidate for School Board > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cca06334-4671-421f-936e-39effc6f3f45&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: 2021: A Year in Review [Watch (HLS stream): 2021: A Year in Review](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/3EOATB2d.m3u8) (2:08)  _Published 2021-12-10. At the close of 2021, we continue to wrestle with the reality of COVID-19’s impact on everything from the global economy to our holiday traditions, but we have learned that humanity can rise above._  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Dec 17, 2021 7:17 PM UTC  Voters in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 2, 2021. Voters in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 2, 2021. Pete Bannan—MediaNews Group/Daily Times/Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Dec 17, 2021 7:17 PM UTC _This article is part of the The DC Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletter%5Fopt-in?qs=3a19a0aa35903a2d9f214b74f69a37910b58de73cf3f2b89adc123fac024f0478c72f91010ae9d01f08f46c616068cab3e74726837cd2cce70dac3796e46c2b4) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday._ No one really disputes the concept of _political coattails_. The biggest name on a ballot has some dragging fabric that can pull down-ballot contenders across the finish line. The political science on this is fairly undisputed: the bold-faced brand with deep pockets behind the campaign can help the party as a whole, especially in states where voters can look at a ballot, spot a name they recognize and decide to support the entire slate that shares the party label. Such straight-ticket voting is not necessarily the most responsible way of picking candidates, but there’s no disputing that it is efficient, or that [plenty](https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/straight-ticket-voting.aspx) of people do it. Well, it may turn out the favor goes both ways, and hyper-local candidates can have a positive spill-over on their colleagues up-ticket. After all, there’s a reasonable case to be made that the candidate for your local library board of directors has been to your door asking for support more often than, say, Joe Biden. Voters tend to trust their neighbors more than outsiders; it’s why the best national campaigns plug into existing grassroots networks rather than import paid mercenaries from headquarters to organize the must-win precincts. In an analysis of seven must-win states from two Democratic groups that emerged from the ashes of 2016, it turns out that fielding down-ballot races has a statistically significant effect on boosting the headliners. In other words, having someone on the ballot for the parochial races like school boards and county auditors can actually help the contenders for Governor, Senator and even President. How much help they offer varies, from 0.4 percentage points to 2.3 percentage points, according to the BlueLabs analysis funded by Run for Something and For Our Future, two groups focused on local races. A fraction of a percentage point might seem small, and it is. But Biden [won](https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/president/) Pennsylvania and Georgia by 0.2 points, Arizona by 0.3 points, and Wisconsin by 0.7 points. Four years earlier, Hillary Clinton [lost](https://www.nytimes.com/elections/2016/results/president) Michigan by 0.3 percentage points, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by 0.7 points, and Florida by 1.2 points. The power of the presidency is regularly decided on the margins and may well hinge on that state assembly race that no one is paying attention to. “We’re getting a more definitive body of evidence that running people for office, even in places where we know Democrats might not win, has ancillary benefits. It has people out, organizing in communities where maybe those folks haven’t seen a Democrat knocking on their door in a long time,” says Ross Morales Rocketto, a co-founder of Run for Something. Strategic party committees are now starting to look at filling the gaps on existing ballots, not necessarily to win the races but to build capacity, goodwill and potential. The low-cost local races may actually be a better investment for parties than the marquee races. And, as 2020 showed us, the local boards of election actually can put thumbs on the scales of democracy when shame is left at the door. The focus on the local was actually that idea that helped guide one of the sharpest groups to emerge from the Democrats’ disastrous 2016\. Run For Something is based on the idea of converting citizens into candidates to build a pipeline that can work the local angles that national candidates are missing. Its co-founder Amanda Litman knows that the tens of thousands of potential candidates they work with won’t pull the lever and run, but those who do could mean the difference between a Speaker Nancy Pelosi or a Republican holding the gavel in the U.S. House when 2023 begins. “Contesting state legislative races helps the rest of the ticket,” Litman said. “And you never know. Probably are they going to lose? Yeah. But if they don’t and they’re able to win, that can make a real difference for people.” In its first four years, Run for Something has helped get almost 500 progressive candidates elected in 46 states. And that carries with it long-term help for a Democratic Party, whose leadership and donors often focus far too much on the White House at the expense of local races where so much is actually decided, like district borders for state and U.S. House races, school curricula and infrastructure choices. --- ### More from TIME --- There have been hints of this pivot unfolding behind the scenes for some time. Donald Trump in 2016 had the shortest [coattails](https://centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/donald-trumps-short-congressional-coattails/) of any President since Ike ‘56 when he ran the first time. Joe Biden followed up four years later with the [weakest](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/11/11/daily-202-biden-won-with-weakest-coattails-60-years-that-could-make-him-dependent-gop-senators/) since JFK ‘60\. It’s entirely credible to argue that even failed contenders for county sheriff made the difference for both candidates, and the BlueLabs analysis makes it infinitely easier to make the case that the celebrity booked on the Sunday shows may matter less than the hyper-local contender showing up on the doorsteps. That knowledge can help leaders—in both parties—make the case that the often-mocked dog-catcher election is a smarter investment than, say, yard signs and bumper stickers. “You want to put your energy in places where you can win and make a difference,” says Ashley Walker, a veteran strategist who runs the national field program at For Our Future. “All geographies are not numerically possible to win. We are all limited by funds and 24 hours in a day. But a rising tide lifts all boats, and we need to adjust our plans to have the biggest lift.” Even if that lift is happening on a county commission. _Finally, a note on our publishing the schedule: The D.C. Brief is going to take some time away from the templates as the calendar moves from 2021 to 2022\. We’ll still have some arguments to make, but we’ll be doing it less frequently until returning on Jan. 4\. Thanks to all of our loyal readers, and have a joyous end of the year._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6129828/local-elections-midterms/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6129828/local-elections-midterms/"},"headline":"Want to Win the White House? Recruit a Candidate for School Board","datePublished":"2021-12-17T19:17:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:51:49.363Z","description":"Hyper-local candidates can have a positive spill-over on their famous colleagues up-ticket.","url":"https://time.com/6129828/local-elections-midterms/","keywords":["The D.C. 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