HOW DID I GET HERE:  Let the Barrage Begin 

It's mid-March, about two weeks since I filed as Democratic candidate for State House for District #40 in Montana.  I've made the decision not to withdraw but to continue in this experience through the election in November.  It is obvious, however, that official word has gotten out about my candidacy.  This has not yet occurred in my town, however -- it's still quiet here.  But there is now an official listing on the web of political candidates who have filed throughout the State.

How do I know this?  A barrage of emails, snail mail, and surveys have reached my door, but mostly email.  I did not realize how many demands would be made of a candidate the minute they file.

There are instructions from the Secretary of State about reports and deadlines that must be met throughout the campaign.  From the statewide Democratic office, come guidance and ideas which can be helpful.  Suggestions like ten tips for running a campaign I find useful.  Other services, such as learning more about the voters in my District, are available if I'm willing to pay for them.

There are surveys that arrive, one after the other, via either email or snail mail.  Besides the Montana Family Institute, there is a survey from Conservation Voters concerned about the water in Montana, from Planned Parenthood, from a gun-owners and hunters group, from Carol's List which is a group of women in political office who help other women candidates, from National Rifle Assoc., from NARAL which is a grass-roots pro-choice organization dedicated to protecting reproductive rights, from a group that calls itself Montana Campaign for Liberty, and from the Nat'l Assoc for Gun Rights with a return address of Fredericksburg, Virginia.  If I answer the surveys, I will be considered for endorsement as a candidate from those organizations.  The only organizations whose surveys I would even contemplate are Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and possibly Carol's List.  The remainder are all right-wing based.

Invitations arrive.  There is a reception sponsored by Billings Assoc., of Realtors.  There is a request to attend a Legislative Health Policy Discussion sponsored by four healthcare organizations in Billings.  There is a letter from the Montana Historical Society offering a tour of their Museum and Research Center along with a "behind the scenes" at the State Archives and Montana's Museum collections.

Ads appear, mainly through snail mail, for campaign paraphernalia that can be purchased:  yard signs, door hangars, banners, brochures, stickers, buttons, key tags, postcards, business cards, etc., etc.

I am overwhelmed.

I review my campaign strategy.  I understand now what is normally expected from a candidate running for office; it is represented in all that mail.  But I determine to follow my own plan, a suggestion first made to me when it was requested that I put my name on the November ballot.

I put the barrage behind me.  Instead, I focus on my campaign strategy of researching, writing, and answering questions.  I can attack all three by creating a blog on the internet.  But how do I create a blog?  I know what a blog is and, years ago, even had one set up by my husband.  But this time, I must do it myself.

YouTube is my teacher.  I study several different YouTube videos on Friday, begin a blog tentatively on Saturday morning and have a basic blog completed by evening.  Nagging questions about details are answered for me the next day by Sue, an expert in social media, at our UU congregation meeting.  I also make a Tuesday appointment with a local teacher, Megan, who is knowledgeable.  By Monday morning, though, I'm raring to go.  I take the chance it will work, and publish my first post on my blog.  It goes out through Facebook, my Twitter account and Google+.  Megan takes a look and gives me high praise.

What results is another barrage but this time, it is entirely welcome.  Emails/Facebook messages from friends and some family members stream in.  Some remind me of the Rosie the Riveter poster from WWII:  "You can do it!"  I'm off and running.