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How to research local candidates in 15 minutes

School board, city council and county races rarely get news coverage. Here's the quick method we use to size up candidates with no voting record, no party label and barely a website.

By The Decent Ballot  / 

Most local candidates have no voting record, no party label on the ballot and a campaign website with three photos and the word "transparency." Local newspapers that used to cover these races have shrunk or closed. Here's the routine we use for every race in our guides. You can do it yourself in about 15 minutes per race.

1. Get the full list of races

Your county elections office posts a sample ballot before early voting. It's the only complete list of what you'll see, including city, school district and special district races that don't get any coverage. Many counties let you look up the exact ballot for your address.

2. Read what they say, then check it

Read each candidate's website and any local news Q&A. Notice what they spend the most words on. A city council candidate who talks about rents, flooding and bus routes is running a different campaign from one who talks about "woke" or crime waves the police data doesn't show.

3. Look at endorsements

In a nonpartisan race, endorsements are the fastest tell. Teachers' groups, labor unions, local Democratic or Republican clubs, police unions, the chamber of commerce, Moms for Liberty, the NRA, homebuilders: each one tells you who expects the candidate to work for them. Candidates usually list endorsements proudly on their sites.

4. Follow the money

Cities, counties and school districts post campaign finance reports, often as PDFs on the clerk's or elections page. Look at the biggest donors. Developers giving to council candidates, or vendors giving to the people who award their contracts, are worth knowing about.

5. For incumbents, check the votes

If someone is already in office, what they did matters more than what they say. Council and commissioners court agendas and minutes are public. Local news usually covers the few votes that really mattered, such as a budget, a big development or a police contract.

6. Search their name with a few keywords

Search the candidate's name in quotes with words like "lawsuit," "arrest," "January 6," "election," "ethics" or the name of their business. Most searches turn up nothing. When one doesn't, it's usually the most important thing you'll learn.

7. Bring your notes

Write your picks down or print them. Most states, including Texas, let you bring paper notes into the voting booth, but many don't let you use your phone. Texas rules are here.

Or skip the 15 minutes: our guides do this for every contested race in a county, in a sentence or two per candidate, with every claim linked to its source. Here's how we rate.

Counties we've already researched

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