Elect Her

Elect Her is an interactive, nonpartisan political leadership program organized and facilitated by Running Start.

The training provides high school and college women the basic skills needed to run for student government and local office. Elect Her facilitators work closely with host campuses, like TWU, to tailor the program to the needs of the students.

The program is based on research: Engaging women at a young age increases the odds that the women see themselves as future political leaders. Studies shows that women are less likely than men to see themselves in politics, and must be told “you should run!” several times before they consider political candidacy. Women’s confidence levels drop further in high school and college, which is why Elect Her focuses on women under 25, colleges, and high schools.

The nonpartisan campaign training serves women on all points on the ideological spectrum by demystifying the skills needed to be an effective candidate. The training covers important topics, such as:

Recognizing and building networks for campaigning and fundraising,
Identifying issues,
Identifying and requesting endorsements, and
Designing campaign and fundraising pitches.

The training is tailored to the needs of a college or university, and host institutions are encouraged to bring in local women officeholders, candidates, and political leadership to provide role models and help expand the students’ campaign networks.

The Center for Women in Government at TWU has offered the Elect Her training four times since 2019, allowing us to reach more than 120 women from colleges and universities across the North Texas area.

Group photo from Elect Her 2023 training sessions including the Hon. Derbha Jones, Mia Price, the Hon. Blanca Oliver, Joy Diaz, and Brittney Verdell

Our 2023 training included the Hon. Derbha Jones (Judge, 467th district court), Ms. Mia Price (President, Denton ISD Board of Trustees), the Hon. Blanca Oliver (Justice of the Peace-Denton County), Ms. Joy Diaz, former Democratic Candidate for Texas Governor, and Ms. Brittney Verdell, former Democratic Nominee for Texas House District 65 and Carrollton city council. The women spoke on their campaign experiences, ways to get started on a campaign, how to build endorsement lists, and balancing campaigns obligations with life.

Want to learn more?

Inquire today by email to cwg@twu.edu about the training that can help you learn how to run for any political office — from president of the Student Government Association to president of the United States.

Page last updated 3:00 PM, January 17, 2024