Considering running for office as a Republican; A Primer.
1. The first thing you will need to do is find someone willing to be your campaign treasurer. Needs to be someone with accounting training with the time to deal with the reams of paperwork involved.
2. Next you will need to get your name on the ballot. There are two ways this can be done. Submit a petition with the required number of registered voter’s signatures along with the required filing documents which require the naming of the person who is selected for the role mentioned in item 1. or pay the required filing fee (currently $2500.00 for a congressional seat I think).
3. Hire a Campaign consultant to help you define the issues you intend to run on, guide and direct where you should be and when you should be there, help you with fundraising, etc., etc.
Things you should expect to happen shortly after you have successfully filed.
1. Expect to get a LOT of phone calls from various members of the lobby requesting a meeting with you WRT a possible campaign donation. (These folks may or may not tell you that they are lobbyist but they all are regardless)
2. Once you have met with a few of these people and answered their questions one of two things is going to happen. Either the checks will begin to roll in or they won’t. (If you are running against an incumbent, in most cases you can count on that being the latter in which case you will be entirely on your own WRT raising money. Good luck with that!
3. The media is a minefield! BE CAREFUL in talking to them or providing them with information about yourself.
4. In short order the above-mentioned lobby will have decided who the candidate is going to be and that will be that whether or not YOU know it.