Host
Candidate Events
People are more likely to vote for a candiate they know and like. So it stands to reason the more a candidates mixes publicly, the better his or her chances of winning their race.
A candidate should spend as much time as possible just meeting people, being friendly and inquiring as to what he or she can do for them if elected. The candidate need not make empty promises - just showing concern for people's needs will often suffice. However, if it is something you intend to do anyway, by all means make the promise.
The candidate should also encourgage well-known and popular local people throughout the district to host events that the candidate would attend, allowing constituents an opportunity to meet and greet, ask questions and voice concerns. Such events should be well publicized, with adequate access and parking and include refreshments for the "after party" where the candidate mingles.
In some cases where a constituent has an opposing view on a subject, it may be possible to win them over by pointing out alternatives that would work just as well, or better. As an example, let's say the constituent wants a minimum wage of $15/hour, but you know that would do more harm than good, as many businesses would simply replace workers with robotics. You might then suggest instead of mandating a higher minimum wage, what if tax breaks were provided to businesses that volunteer to pay employees more, which would create a situation where other employers would have to voluntarily raise wages in order to compete for workers. That would benefit everyone by way of increased competition - when competition is introduced, it usually results in more innovation to increase profitability.
The point: in this way the candidate accomplishes two things - first, he or she offers the people what they want, but in a different and better way, and in the process shows them the candidate is a problem solver. That earns their vote.
A candidate for public office simply cannot "kiss too many babies", to coin a phrase.
