What should my State House campaign print?

Running for State House means your campaign needs to look serious without spending money on a warehouse full of stuff nobody will ever use. Whether your state calls the office State Representative, Delegate, Assemblymember, or something else, the basic challenge is the same: introduce the candidate, put volunteers in the field, build name recognition, persuade voters, raise money, and make sure your supporters know what to do when voting starts.

So what should a State House campaign actually print?

The short answer is: start with good literature, a reasonable supply of yard signs, and the materials your field program needs. Add direct mail, event signage, fundraising materials, apparel, and Election Day pieces as the campaign grows. You do not need to order everything on filing day, and you definitely do not need 10,000 pieces of something just because another campaign did.

Here's how we'd build the print program for a typical competitive State House campaign.

The State House Campaign Printing Checklist

1. Start With a Great Grip Card

If a State House campaign only prints one piece of traditional campaign literature at the beginning of the race, it should probably be a Grip Card.

Also called palm cards, rack cards, push cards, or simply "lit," these are the basic handout your candidate, staff and volunteers can carry everywhere. They work at doors, festivals, party meetings, fundraisers, community events, endorsement interviews and basically any situation where somebody asks, "So, who is this person?"

A good State House grip card should usually include:

• The candidate's name and office
• One good photograph
• A short biography or introduction
• Three to five major priorities
• Website and social information
• Any legally required disclaimer
• The Union bug when appropriate

Do not try to fit the entire campaign website onto a 4x9 card. Political literature works better when somebody can understand the important part in a few seconds. If you need more room, we also offer larger Grip Card formats.

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2. Give Your Canvassers Something to Leave Behind

Your field team is going to knock on a lot of doors where nobody answers. That doesn't mean the knock should be wasted.

A Door Hanger gives canvassers a substantial piece of literature they can leave behind. They're particularly useful when you want room for a candidate introduction, issue positions, endorsements, voting information, or a strong call to action.

We also make KnockNotes, our removable 4x6 sticky campaign literature. They are designed specifically for door-to-door field programs: peel one off the pad, stick it somewhere appropriate, and let the voter know your campaign stopped by without leaving loose literature to blow around the neighborhood.

Which should you choose?

Door Hangers are better when you have more to say. KnockNotes are great when you want something quick, compact and unmistakably connected to an actual door knock.

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3. Yes, Your State House Campaign Probably Needs Yard Signs

"Yard signs don't vote" is one of those pieces of political wisdom that is both true and deeply unhelpful.

Signs do not replace voter contact. They do build name recognition, reward enthusiastic supporters, create visible momentum, help a new candidate look real, and make your field operation visible throughout the district.

For most State House campaigns, we'd start with 18x24 Coroplast Yard Signs. They're rigid, weather-resistant, easy for volunteers to handle, and simple to install using wire stakes.

Don't order based solely on district population. Base your quantity on supporter demand, the geography of the district, your ability to distribute signs, and the number you'll want to keep in reserve for later in the campaign.

If you haven't already, read our guide: How Many Yard Signs Should My Campaign Order?

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4. Use Bigger Road Signs Where Regular Yard Signs Disappear

A standard yard sign is great in a neighborhood. It is considerably less impressive when somebody is driving 55 miles per hour down a rural highway.

If your State House district includes farms, rural roads, large commercial properties or supporters with high-visibility frontage, add a handful of 4x4 and 4x8 Barn Signs.

They're also commonly called road signs, roadside signs, highway signs, or billboard signs. You don't need hundreds of them. A relatively small number of well-placed large signs can make a campaign look much more visible across a geographically large district.

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5. Build a Direct Mail Program, Not Just a Mail Piece

For most competitive legislative races, direct mail deserves its own plan.

A campaign might use a series of Direct Mail Postcards to introduce the candidate, communicate an endorsement, contrast positions, highlight an issue, remind voters about early voting, or drive GOTV.

When the message needs more room, a Direct Mail Letter can work well for fundraising appeals, longer candidate introductions, endorsements, persuasion, or communications that benefit from a more personal format.

The most important thing is not simply printing postcards. It's deciding who receives each message and why. A State House campaign rarely needs to send the same piece to every registered voter every time.

DemPrinting can handle the printing, mailing data, addressing, presorting and postal entry, which means your campaign staff can spend their time campaigning instead of becoming amateur postal clerks.

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6. Keep Regular Postcards Around Too

Not everything needs to go through a full-service mailing program.

Regular Campaign Postcards are incredibly versatile. Volunteers can hand-address them, campaigns can send donor thank-yous, staff can use them for event follow-ups, and volunteer postcard programs can move through thousands of pieces without requiring a complicated mail plan.

You can also use postcards as oversized handouts when you need something simpler than a full Grip Card.

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7. Give the Candidate Business Cards

Campaign business cards are not exciting, which is exactly why campaigns forget them until the candidate is standing at an event writing a phone number on the back of somebody else's flyer.

Order a few hundred Business Cards early.

They are useful for donor meetings, endorsement interviews, community events, party functions, media contacts and those countless conversations where somebody says, "Send me your information."

Put the candidate name, office, website, email or campaign phone number, and perhaps a QR code on them. Keep the design consistent with the rest of the campaign.

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8. Print Some Swag People Will Actually Use

A State House campaign does not need to transform headquarters into a novelty store, but a little supporter merchandise goes a long way.

Classic Campaign Buttons are still excellent for events, volunteers, endorsers and supporters. Bumper Stickers turn enthusiastic supporters into moving campaign advertising.

And once your volunteer program gets moving, Campaign T-Shirts make canvassers easy to recognize while putting your logo everywhere your field team goes. DemPrinting offers budget imported, USA-made and fully Union-made shirt options, all Union printed.

For something that survives well beyond Election Day, consider embroidered campaign hats too.

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9. Make Events Look Like Campaign Events

If your campaign is holding a kickoff, fundraiser, press conference, election-night party, rally or volunteer event, give the room some branding.

A reusable Vinyl Banner is one of the easiest ways to make an ordinary room, fence, stage or folding table look like campaign property.

For rallies and public events, Rally Signs give supporters something visible to hold while making photographs and television coverage look much better.

If the campaign will be doing repeated press events, candidate appearances, livestreams or photo opportunities, a Step and Repeat Backdrop gives you a portable branded background that can travel with the campaign.

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10. Don't Ignore Fundraising Print

A lot of modern fundraising happens online, but paper still has a useful place in a State House finance program.

Remittance Envelopes, also called donor envelopes, are especially handy at fundraising events, in letter mailings, or anywhere supporters might want an easy way to send a contribution back to the campaign.

They can carry your campaign branding, contribution levels, donor information and the information your campaign needs to properly process the contribution.

Pair them with Campaign Letterhead and printed envelopes if your campaign regularly sends donor correspondence, endorsement requests, thank-you notes or official letters.

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11. Save Some Printing for GOTV and Election Day

Do not spend the entire print budget before voting begins.

Your final weeks may require another run of literature, early-vote reminders, volunteer materials, replacement yard signs, rally signs, polling-place visibility materials, or precinct-specific pieces.

Where permitted and appropriate, Sample Ballots can help voters identify your candidate or a coordinated slate before they enter the polling place. Requirements for sample ballots and electioneering vary substantially by state and locality, so campaigns should always confirm current election-law requirements before producing or distributing them.

It's also smart to keep some yard signs and literature in reserve. Election Day is a terrible time to discover that headquarters successfully distributed every last piece of printed material the previous Tuesday.

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So What Should We Order First?

If you're launching a State House campaign tomorrow, here's the order we'd tackle things:

1. Grip Cards for the candidate, events and early canvassing
2. Business Cards for the candidate and key staff
3. Coroplast Yard Signs once supporter demand begins
4. Door Hangers or KnockNotes when the field program starts knocking seriously
5. Direct Mail according to the campaign's persuasion and voter-contact plan
6. Buttons, stickers and T-shirts as the volunteer and supporter program grows
7. Banners, rally signs and larger road signs as events and visibility needs arise
8. Fundraising materials if they're part of the finance strategy
9. GOTV and Election Day materials as voting approaches

The important part is that every printed item should have a job. Don't order something because campaigns are "supposed" to have it. Order it because your campaign has a plan to put it into a voter's hand, on a supporter's lawn, into a mailbox, around a volunteer's shoulders, or somewhere else where it advances the campaign.

How Much Campaign Literature Should We Print?

Quantity should follow the field plan.

If your campaign expects to knock 20,000 doors, ordering 500 pieces of canvassing literature is obviously not going to work. On the other hand, printing enough literature for every registered voter in the district when only a fraction will ever be contacted can leave you with boxes of expensive recycling material on November 4.

Talk to your campaign manager or field director about expected doors, events, volunteer shifts and voter-contact goals. Then add a reasonable reserve for growth, damaged material and the unexpected things campaigns inevitably invent at 6:45 PM on a Friday.

Should All of Our Campaign Printing Match?

Yes — within reason.

Voters should be able to glance at your yard sign, palm card, mail piece or T-shirt and immediately recognize that it comes from the same campaign. Stick with a consistent logo, colors, typography and overall visual identity.

That doesn't mean every piece should be identical. A direct mail postcard has a different job than a yard sign. But the family resemblance should be obvious.

If you're building the artwork yourself, DemPrinting also provides free campaign printing templates for many of our products, including Grip Cards, Postcards, Door Hangers, Yard Signs, Buttons, Direct Mail, T-Shirts and more.

Remember the Disclaimer and Union Bug

Political printing comes with requirements that ordinary commercial printing doesn't.

Make sure your campaign understands the disclaimer requirements that apply in your state and jurisdiction. Those rules can vary by office, material and location, and your printer is not a substitute for campaign counsel or your state's election authority.

Also leave room for the Union bug. Everything printed by DemPrinting.com is produced with Union labor, and we can place the appropriate Union bug on your artwork when requested.

Our Preparing Artwork guide covers bleeds, print sizing, color and some of the common issues we see in campaign files before they reach the press.

You Do Not Need to Order Everything at Once

A State House campaign changes quickly.

Your first Grip Card may be designed before the campaign has endorsements. Your first yard-sign order may disappear faster than expected. A late-breaking issue may suddenly require a postcard. Your field director may discover halfway through canvassing that KnockNotes work better than the literature you originally planned.

That's normal.

Build the basics first, keep the artwork organized, and reorder or add products as the campaign grows. A printer who understands campaigns should be able to work with that reality instead of expecting you to predict every printing need six months in advance.

Need Help Building Your State House Campaign Print Plan?

Tell us what you're running for, where the campaign is in the cycle, roughly how large the district is, and what your field, fundraising and communications programs are planning.

We print for campaigns, candidates, PACs, unions and advocacy organizations every day, so if you're not sure whether you need 500 Grip Cards or 5,000, Door Hangers or KnockNotes, Coroplast or Polybag, one giant printing order or several smaller ones, just ask.

DemPrinting.com is powered by Gibson Print, a Union print shop in Richmond, Virginia, serving political campaigns nationwide.

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State House Campaign Printing FAQ

What printed materials does a State House campaign need?

Most State House campaigns should start with Grip Cards or palm cards, yard signs and canvassing literature such as Door Hangers or KnockNotes. As the campaign develops, direct mail, business cards, apparel, stickers, buttons, event signage, fundraising materials and GOTV pieces can be added according to the campaign plan.

What should a political campaign print first?

A good first printing order usually includes Grip Cards for candidate introductions and canvassing, Business Cards for the candidate, and enough campaign literature to support early field activity. Yard Signs can follow once supporter demand and distribution begin.

Do State House campaigns need direct mail?

Most competitive legislative campaigns use some form of direct mail, but the quantity and frequency should follow the campaign's voter-contact strategy. Direct mail can be used for introductions, persuasion, endorsements, fundraising, early-vote information and GOTV.

Are Grip Cards the same as palm cards?

Yes. Grip Cards are also commonly called palm cards, push cards, rack cards or campaign lit. They are compact printed pieces used by candidates, canvassers and volunteers to introduce the campaign and communicate its major messages.

Should a State House campaign order yard signs?

Usually, yes. Yard signs are useful for supporter visibility and candidate name recognition, but they should complement voter contact rather than replace it. Order based on supporter demand, geography and your campaign's ability to distribute them.

What should canvassers leave when nobody answers the door?

Door Hangers work well when the campaign wants to leave a substantial piece of information. KnockNotes are removable sticky campaign literature designed specifically for quick leave-behinds after an unsuccessful door knock.

Does campaign merchandise need to be Union printed?

That depends on the campaign and its commitments, but labor-backed campaigns, Democratic campaigns, unions and values-focused organizations frequently choose Union printing. All products printed through DemPrinting.com are produced with Union labor.

How far ahead should campaigns order printed materials?

Order core materials before the campaign activity that requires them begins, and reorder before inventory reaches zero. Campaign deadlines become increasingly difficult to accommodate as major events, early voting and Election Day approach.