First Campaign Walkthrough

A concrete, week-by-week example of a new US player running their first campaign — a State Senate race in a medium-population state. The specifics differ for UK / DE / JP and for different offices, but the rhythm is identical: build PI, raise money, declare in the primary, sustain through the general, win.

If you're mid-character-creation, read Create a Character first. If you know the rules and want tactics, skim Campaign Strategy.

The Setup

Character — Alex Moreno, home state Pennsylvania (medium population, 8M tier for donor-base income).
Policy positions — Economic −2, Social −1 (centre-left moderate).
Party — Joined the Democratic Party on Day 1 (close alignment to policy positions).
Starting resources — 25 actions (starting grant), $250,000 Campaign Funds, 50 Favorability, 0 Political Influence, Donor Level 1.
Target race — Pennsylvania State Senate, first primary phase in ~6 real days.

Week 1: Foundation

Goal: Build Political Influence to 20+, raise Favorability to 60+, upgrade Donor Base to Level 3.

Day 1 (25 starting actions + 4/turn × 24 turns ≈ 73 actions for the day if you play aggressively):

Join the Democratic Party. Profile now shows Party Standing with Party Influence 0 (it'll accrue passively).
Spend 10 actions on Campaign → +10% Political Influence (now at 10).
Spend 6 actions on Build Donor Network ($75,000 cost) → Donor Level 2.
Spend 5 actions on Run Advertisements ($100,000 cost) → +1–3 Favorability (now ~52–54).
Spend 3 actions on Fundraise → earns $50k + $10k × 2 = $70,000.
Save remaining actions for tomorrow.

End of Day 1: PI 10, Favorability ~53, Campaign Funds ~$145k, Donor Level 2.

Day 2–7:

2–3 Campaign actions per log-in → PI climbs to 20, then 30. The decay (0.75%/turn) nibbles at it but Campaign outpaces decay easily at this stage.
Fundraise once per day → +$70k per action group, steady income.
By Day 4, you have enough for another Build Donor Network to Level 3 ($50k + $75k = $125k) — do it.
By Day 5–6, run 1–2 more ads to push Favorability to 60–65.
Commission a Quick Poll on Day 6 ($25k, 2 actions) → check your standing in Pennsylvania.

End of Week 1: PI ~30, Favorability 62–68, Campaign Funds ~$200–250k, Donor Level 3. Ready to declare.

Week 2: Primary Phase

Goal: Advance to the general election.

The primary window opens. You and any other Democratic candidates declare — including NPPs who will auto-file. The highest primary score advances. Primary score blends:

Alignment to party platform (Democrat default is around economic −3, social −1; you're at −2, −1 — very close, which is ideal).
Favorability (you're at 62+; NPPs often sit at 50 unless they've been around for a cycle).
Political Influence (you're at 30; NPP competitors usually have 10–40 depending on cycle history).

Tactics for the primary:

Sustain PI. Keep spending 2–4 Campaign actions per day. PI at 40 beats PI at 30 in alignment-weighted score.
Request NPP endorsements. Visit the NPP profiles of Democrats in PA with views close to yours. 5 actions + base 40% chance. Each success is a demographic appeal boost.
Don't attack fellow Democrats. You'd raise your own Infamy and push Favorability down. If the field is crowded, just outperform on alignment.
Run one Full Demographic Poll ($75k, 6 actions) early in the primary to understand your weakest groups. Adjust campaigning accordingly.

End of Primary: You're the Democratic nominee. Republican nominee is determined in their own primary. An Independent may also be on the ballot. The general election phase opens.

Week 3: General Election, Opening

Goal: Establish a lead before the late-turn weighting kicks in.

You now have a fixed number of turns until the general resolves. For a State Senate race, that's typically ~6 days = 144 turns. The final ~4 turns land ~25% of the vote pool weight, so the first ~120 turns determine whether you're in a winning position going into the closing sprint.

Daily routine now tighter:

Campaign 4–6 actions/day in-state to sustain PI (you need to keep it at 40+).
Ads every other day to hold Favorability at 65–70. Diminishing returns hit above 70; don't over-spend.
Support allies and accept support — NPP and player endorsements in the general land harder than in the primary. Get them before the Republican does.
Watch for attacks. If your Favorability drops 5+ points, the Republican is probably attacking you. You can counter-attack (costs Infamy and doesn't always recoup), counter-message via ads, or request NPP opposition to the attacker.
If you have a strong lead by Day 4 of the general, stop spending aggressively. Bank actions and money for the final turns.

Week 4: General Election, Closing Sprint

Goal: Land the final 25% of the vote pool in your favor.

The final 4 turns are heavy. Your PI, Favorability, and demographic appeal at the moment each turn's vote accumulates matter disproportionately.

Tactics for the closing 4 turns:

Peak your Favorability right before the final turn. A well-timed Ad run can lift you 2–4 points in the last 12 hours.
Peak your Political Influence right before the final turn. Every Campaign action in the final 24 hours compounds into the heaviest turns.
Log in hourly if you can. Each turn's vote accumulation is based on your stats at that turn's snapshot. A 2% Favorability dip at turn 141 of 144 can cost you the race.
Don't withdraw. Even if you're down 8 points, a determined sprint with NPP endorsements and a last-minute ad buy can close gaps.

Resolution

The election resolves at the configured turn. Vote totals are published, a winner is declared, and the following happens automatically:

Winner takes office. You gain +1 action bonus per turn (State Senate), +$3,000 fund generation, and are added to electedOfficials. Your profile now shows "State Senator, Pennsylvania."
Loser(s) — PI largely preserved (it's in-state and you kept campaigning, so it's at 40+ even after decay). Favorability preserved. Ready to contest next cycle.

A new State Senate cycle spawns immediately. Your term runs for several game years before you're up again.

Week 5+: In Office

You're now a State Senator. New capabilities:

Vote on state legislation. Each vote shifts your policy position ±0.25 in the bill's direction. Stay aware of drift.
Write bills if the state supports player-proposed state legislation.
Office bonuses every turn: +1 action, +$3k funds.
Re-election campaign starts implicitly — your PI and Favorability feed into your next primary score.

Think one race ahead. State Senate is a launching pad: most players use it to build up PI and Favorability before contesting a US House seat or making a long-term play for Governor.

If You Lose

Losing your first race is common and recoverable:

PI is preserved. You campaigned hard for weeks; PI is 40+. That carries into the next cycle.
Favorability is preserved. If you ran clean (no Infamy spikes), you're at 65+.
Money reset. You've probably spent most of your $250k starting fund plus fundraised earnings. Your donor base is at Level 3+ which will fundraise you back to $200k+ in a few days.
Name recognition. Other players saw you. NPP relationships built during the campaign persist.

Enter the next primary in 2–3 weeks real-time. You'll start it ahead of where you started the first one.

Common Mistakes

Declaring without doing a Quick Poll. You walk in blind. Always poll.
Over-campaigning early and under-campaigning in the final turns. PI decays. The final turns matter most. Save actions for the sprint.
Buying ads above Favorability 75. Diminishing returns are severe. Above 75 you're lighting money on fire.
Attacking your own party's primary rivals. Costs Infamy and reduces your general-election appeal.
Ignoring NPP endorsements. A single NPP endorsement is often 2–3% of the relevant demographic's appeal — cheaper than ads for the same effect.

Getting Started — Before your first campaign.
Campaign Strategy — Tactical depth.
Fundraising & Ads — Money optimisation.
Demographics & Targeting — Appeal formulas and targeting.
NPP Opponents — Competing against autonomous candidates.
Election Mechanics — Primary scores and vote accumulation.