How to build a political campaign budget (with sample budgets at $100K, $1M and $10M)

A political campaign budget should put roughly two-thirds of every dollar into reaching voters and no more than about a third into staff, fundraising and overhead. In practice, local races spend most of their voter contact money on field and mail, while congressional and statewide campaigns spend 35% to 60% of the total on paid media, mostly TV and streaming. Whatever the size, half or more of the money usually goes out in the final six to eight weeks, so the budget is really a cash-flow plan.

That two-thirds benchmark is old and still right. Campaign trainer Jim Arnold's widely used rule, republished by Aristotle, is 65% to voter contact and a reassessment if more than 35% goes elsewhere. Below we show how that plays out by race type, give three sample budgets, and walk through the mistakes we see most often.

How do you build a campaign budget?

Build it backward from the vote goal, not forward from what you hope to raise.

1. Set the win number. Estimate turnout and calculate how many votes you need. Our mayor and city council guide has a worked example.
2. Pick the target universes. Your base (turn out), persuadables (convince) and everyone else (ignore). The size of each universe drives cost.
3. Decide contacts per voter. A persuadable voter in a contested race often needs 6 to 10 meaningful contacts across channels. Turnout targets need fewer, timed late.
4. Price each channel. Doors, mail pieces, texts, digital impressions and TV points all have a market cost per contact. Multiply.
5. Add the fixed costs. Staff, consultants, compliance, office, software, polling.
6. Add fundraising costs. It costs money to raise money: platform fees, events, call-time tools and list building.
7. Add a contingency. Arnold's rule is 10% of the total. We recommend at least 5% even in small races, protected from everyone, including the candidate.
8. Stress-test it. Arnold suggests cutting revenue estimates by 15% and raising cost estimates by 15%. Build a "realistic" and a "lean" version and decide now what gets cut first.

Start with the plan you need to win. Then find out if you can raise it. If you cannot, change the plan on purpose instead of running out of money in October.

What percentage of a campaign budget goes to media?

It depends on the office. TV is efficient only when your district roughly matches a media market and you have enough money to run it at real weight. Below that line, paid media is mostly digital, streaming and mail.

These are market ranges from campaigns we have worked on and observed, not a published standard. Use them as a starting point and adjust for your district.

Two notes. First, consultants paid on commission (media buyers often take a percentage of the buy) are buried inside the media line, so your "staff" line can look small while consulting costs are not. Ask for commissions in writing. Second, field gets a lower share in big races not because it matters less but because TV is so expensive. In absolute dollars, a statewide field program is usually far bigger than a local one.

For channel pricing, see our guides on political TV ad costs, political digital advertising, direct mail and texting and canvassing cost and effectiveness.

Sample campaign budget: $100,000 local race

This fits a contested mayor's race in a smaller city, a big-city council district, or a state house seat. No broadcast TV. The plan relies on doors, mail and targeted digital.

Voter contact (field, mail, digital and texting) is 70% of this budget. That is where a local race should be. If you find yourself paying a full-time staffer for a year out of a $100,000 budget, the math will not work.

Sample campaign budget: $1 million congressional race

This fits a competitive congressional primary or a general election in a cheaper media market. It assumes TV and streaming in the final five to six weeks.

Fundraising cost is a real line. The two dominant online platforms charge campaigns roughly 4% per contribution; an FEC enforcement document describes ActBlue's fee as 3.95%. On a $1 million campaign that is mostly online money, that alone is tens of thousands of dollars.

Sample campaign budget: $10 million statewide race

This fits a U.S. Senate race in a small or mid-sized state, or a governor's race in a mid-sized state. In a large battleground, multiply the media lines, not the overhead.

For context on how fast these numbers grow, AdImpact projected a record $11.6 billion in 2026 political ad spending, up from $11.2 billion in 2024 and $8.9 billion in 2022, driven by Senate and governor races (Reuters via GV Wire). The average winning Senate candidate spent about $26.5 million in 2022, according to OpenSecrets, so $10 million is a lean statewide budget in most of the country. Our cost to run for office guide has the benchmarks by office.

When does campaign money get spent? Cash-flow timing

Money raised in month one is not spent evenly. Most campaigns spend the bulk late because that is when voters pay attention and when TV is cheapest for candidates. Under federal law, broadcast stations must sell candidate ads at the lowest unit charge during the 45 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general election (FCC). That rule covers ads paid for by the candidate's own campaign, not outside groups.

Early and mail voting also pulls spending forward. In federal elections, ballots for military and overseas voters must go out at least 45 days before Election Day under federal law (U.S. Department of Justice), and many states start early in-person voting two to three weeks out. Your "Election Day" is really a voting window, and your heaviest contact needs to land as that window opens.

A typical spending curve for a general election campaign looks like this (market ranges, not a rule):

Two cash-flow rules we push on every client. Reserve TV time early even if you pay later, because the best inventory goes first and rates for late bookings rise. And set a cash floor: the minimum balance that must exist on the first day of early voting to fund GOTV. If the campaign falls below it in September, cut something in September.

Campaign budget template: the line items to include

Use this as a checklist when you set up your spreadsheet. Every line should have a monthly column through Election Day.

• Personnel: manager, finance, field, communications, digital, payroll taxes, health stipends.
• Consultants: general, media (and commission rate), mail, digital, polling, compliance, treasurer or accountant.
• Paid media: production, broadcast, cable, streaming/CTV, radio, digital video, search, social.
• Mail and texting: design, printing, postage, list and data costs, text platform fees.
• Field: canvassers, organizers, canvass software, voter file, literature, travel, GOTV rides and food.
• Fundraising: platform fees, event venues, call-time software, donor research, prospecting.
• Research: benchmark poll, tracking, opposition and self research.
• Overhead: office, phones, laptops, website hosting, insurance, legal, bank fees.
• Contingency: 5% to 10%, protected.

Common campaign budget mistakes

• Hiring too much staff too early. Payroll is the line that quietly eats a campaign. Every month of a full staff 12 months out is a month of mail you cannot send in October.
• Building the budget from the fundraising goal. It should be built from the vote goal. Then you raise against it.
• Underfunding production. A $300,000 TV buy behind a weak ad is worse than a $200,000 buy behind a good one.
• Starting the field program too late. Most campaigns start paid canvassing too late. A canvass team needs weeks to recruit, train and reach full speed. If doors start six weeks out, you lose the first two weeks to ramp-up.
• Ignoring fundraising costs. Platform fees, event costs and list building often run 5% to 12% of total spending, and first-time candidates rarely budget for them.
• Spending the contingency on ego items. Billboards, branded merch and launch parties feel good. They rarely move votes.
• No GOTV reserve. The final 72 hours need staff, food, rides, texts and doors. Lock that money in early.
• Treating the budget as fixed. Review it weekly against actual raised and spent. Re-forecast monthly.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of a campaign budget goes to media?

In congressional and statewide races, 35% to 60% of the budget usually goes to TV, cable, streaming and radio, with another 10% to 15% for digital. Local races rarely buy TV and instead put most of their voter-contact money into field and mail. Across all race types, a common benchmark is about 65% of total spending on voter contact.

How much does a campaign cost?

It ranges from under $10,000 for many school board and small-city council races to millions for Congress and tens of millions for the Senate. OpenSecrets data shows the average winning House candidate spent about $2.79 million in 2022 and the average Senate winner about $26.5 million. See our full cost breakdown by office.

What should a campaign budget template include?

At minimum: personnel, consultants, paid media, mail and texting, field, fundraising costs, research, overhead and a contingency, each with a monthly column through Election Day. Track budgeted, committed and actually spent separately.

How much of a campaign budget should go to staff?

For most campaigns, 10% to 18% for staff and consultants combined is healthy, not counting media commissions. If staff and overhead together pass about a third of spending, you are probably underfunding voter contact.

How much should a campaign hold in reserve?

Hold a contingency of 5% to 10% of the total budget, and set a separate cash floor that must be in the bank on the first day of early voting to pay for GOTV. Both should be protected from mid-campaign spending ideas.

When should a campaign start spending on TV?

Most campaigns go up in the final four to six weeks, when voters are paying attention and candidate ads qualify for the lowest unit charge (45 days before a primary, 60 days before a general election). Reserve the time earlier than that so the best slots are still available.

How much does fundraising cost?

Expect fundraising costs of roughly 5% to 12% of total spending once you add platform fees (around 4% per online contribution), events, call-time tools and list building. Prospecting for new donors by mail or digital ads often loses money at first and pays back later.

Should a local campaign buy TV?

Usually not broadcast TV. In most cities a council or state house district is a small slice of the media market, so you pay to reach voters who cannot vote for you. Streaming and connected TV with tight geographic targeting, plus mail and doors, typically reach your voters for less.

How Leo Operations approaches this

Leo Operations is a national field, media and creative firm founded in 2019 by Rodriquez Wright II, who has been building campaign plans since 2012. Our field programs have knocked more than 650,000 doors, and we have worked with 40+ campaigns, officials and causes in 25 states, on candidate races, ballot measures and statewide voter contact programs.

We build budgets from the vote goal backward. That means a win number, target universes, contacts per voter and a monthly cash-flow plan that shows when each dollar goes out and what it buys. Because we run paid canvassing, voter registration and GOTV programs and also produce campaign video, ads, websites and digital, we can price the trade-offs between channels honestly instead of steering the money toward one line.

If you are planning a race, send us your district, your Election Day and your realistic fundraising target, and we will tell you honestly what it takes.