Campaign Field Plan: Build Your Ground Game to Win

Fieldwork is the heartbeat of grassroots campaigning. It’s how you talk to voters, earn trust, and build the support you need to win, especially if you're running as an Independent or without party infrastructure. A smart campaign field plan keeps your campaign focused, organized, and effective.

This article will walk you through what “field” really means in politics, how to build your own campaign field plan from scratch, and why your ground game might be the deciding factor in a close race. Whether you're texting voters, knocking doors, or making calls, it all starts with a plan.

What Is a Campaign Field Plan?

A campaign field plan or ground plan is a guide for voter outreach during your campaign. In campaign lingo, “field” means direct voter contact, like the one-on-one outreach that turns strangers into supporters. Think face-to-face conversations, volunteer-powered events, calls, and text outreach.

While digital advertising and social media are important, grassroots voter outreach through fieldwork is how you build real relationships. It’s personal. It’s powerful. And when done right, it’s one of the most cost-effective strategies in your political toolkit.

Your campaign field plan outlines:

• Who you’re trying to reach

• How you’ll reach them

• When you’ll do it

• What tools and people you’ll need

A campaign field plan is the operational map of your grassroots voter outreach.

Why Every Campaign Needs a Ground Plan

Too many campaigns skip this step. They dive into outreach without a clear strategy, stretch themselves too thin, or rely too heavily on passive tactics like yard signs

Research from the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics found that personal door-to-door canvassing is always positive and can increase vote share in a general election. The best way to ensure your canvassing is effective is to have a plan. Just like a business needs a marketing plan and break-even analysis, your campaign needs a voter contact plan and a clearly calculated win number.

Who Runs the Field Plan?

Every campaign needs a point person for field operations, typically called a campaign field organizer. 

They’re responsible for:

• Recruiting and training volunteers

• Building and assigning walk lists

• Tracking contact data and follow-ups

• Adjusting goals based on progress

If you don’t have staff, you can take on this role yourself. Just remember to dedicate some time to planning your field game and keeping track of your metrics. You can also assign a committed volunteer to lead field activities. The key is to have someone accountable for the ground game.

LEARN MORE: Check out the best ways to recruit volunteers for your campaign. 

How to Make a Campaign Field Plan

A strong field plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be intentional. Follow these simple steps to map out your voter outreach strategy, stay organized, and make every contact count.

Step #1: Calculate Your Win Number

Before planning your outreach, you need to know your goal: how many votes do you need to win?

To find out, you can either run the numbers yourself or take advantage of free tools like GoodParty.org’s, which will do the math for you.

If you choose the DIY route, use this basic formula:

• Look at your district’s total registered voters.

• Find the average turnout from the last two to three similar elections. If you’re running in a presidential election year, use data from previous presidential election years. However, if you’re running in a midterm year or an off year, use data from similar years. Turnout is typically lower when there isn’t a presidential race on the ballot. 

• Calculate 50% of that number plus one vote.

Here’s an example:

• Your district has 20,000 registered voters.

• The average turnout for the past three similar elections is 70%.

• Your election is expected to have around 14,000 voters.

• Your win number is half that expected turnout, plus one. Your win number would be 7,001 votes to win in a two-person race.

You’ll need to adjust if there are more candidates on the ballot. For instance, if there are three or four candidates, you may only need 35% or even 25% of the vote, plus 1. 

This number guides how many contacts you’ll need to make and helps prioritize your outreach.

Step #2: Identify Your Voter Contact Methods

An effective campaign field plan includes multiple touchpoints. The golden rule? Aim to contact each voter three to five times over the course of your campaign.

Here are the most common grassroots voter outreach methods:

Door-Knocking

The most personal and effective form of voter contact. Best for persuasion, supporter identification, and building name recognition. Start early and pace yourself.

LEARN MORE: Learn how to win with door-to-door canvassing.

Texting

Great for volume outreach, follow-up, and reminders. Use peer-to-peer texting platforms to make messages personal, not spammy.

Call Time & Phone Banking

Ideal for persuasion, volunteer recruitment, and donor outreach. Call time with the candidate is also critical for building relationships with community leaders.

Mailers, Flyers & Fairs

Support materials and campaign literature can reinforce your message and ensure voters remember you, especially when paired with face-to-face contact.

House Parties & One-on-Ones

Low-cost, high-impact events. Great for deep engagement, volunteer growth, and expanding your network.

LEARN MORE: See how to plan house parties to boost your campaign. 

Step #3: Set Realistic Weekly Goals

Start by working backward from election day. Once you know how many voters you need to contact, you can break that into weekly outreach goals.

Let’s say you need 2,500 votes to win, and you want at least three conversations per vote. That’s 7,500 conversations. 

If you have 15 weeks before GOTV:

• 7,500 ÷ 15 weeks = 500 conversations/week

Divide that by your team size to assign daily goals.

Set goals for each method. For instance, 100 doors, 300 texts, and 100 calls per week, depending on your resources.

Looking for some guidance? GoodParty.org’s free tools include weekly to-do lists designed to keep your team on track.

When to Start Your Field Program

If you’re preparing for a November election, a general guideline for when you should be doing specific field activities includes:

• June – July: Build your team, set up tech tools, begin volunteer outreach and door-knocking

• August: Ramp up conversations, attend fairs, ID supporters

• September: Shift into persuasion mode to move “maybes” to “yes”

• October: Final persuasion push, prepare for get out the vote (GOTV)

• Late October – Election Day: Execute your GOTV plan with supporters only

Even for local campaigns, field activities should start early. The earlier you plan, the more time you have to adapt.

LEARN MORE: Dive deeper with our recent webinar on campaign field strategy.

Sample Campaign Field Plan Template

Let’s put it all together.

Here’s a simplified version of what your campaign field plan might include:

• Win Number: 2,500 votes

• Turnout Estimate: 70% based on past elections

• Primary Outreach Methods: Door-knocking, texting, call time

• Start Date: July 1

• Weekly Contact Goal: 500 contacts/week

• Core Team: 1 candidate, 2 volunteers, 1 field organizer

• Tools: Canvassing app, texting platform, voter file

• Benchmarks: Supporter ID by August 30, Persuasion by September 30

• GOTV Start: October 25

Your Campaign Field Plan Is Your Roadmap to Victory

In an age of algorithm-driven ads and AI-generated content, what still moves voters? Human connection.

Candidates who show up in person, listen deeply, and organize consistently still have the best shot at winning, especially in local races. A strong field plan is your proof of commitment, your strategy for success, and your most effective weapon against apathy and big money.

Don’t wing it. Start with a plan. With GoodParty.org, you can get the tools, templates, and expert advice you need to make every voter contact count.

Photo by Avi Waxman on Unsplash