How to Run for Office of the President of the United States

Since 1789 the title of president of the United States has been one of the most coveted political titles in the entire world. It is the highest executive office you can hold in the U.S. and entitles one to command the forces of the United States military. While it may seem difficult to run for United States president, with the right amount of money and supporters, it is completely possible.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Large constituency
• Campaign volunteers
• Campaign contributors
• At least $150 million dollars

Run For Office of the President of the United States

1. Meet all of the following requirements: Must be a natural born citizen of the United States Must be at least 35 years old.Must be a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

2. Gain a name for yourself in the political arena. This can be done by running for smaller offices (commissioner, city council, mayor). Work your way up the political ladder.

3. Gain notoriety and a public following within a certain party. Once you make a name for yourself it is easier to enter the presidential arena. You will have more contributors to your cause.

4. Run in your party's primaries and win a majority of electoral votes to be selected as your party's presidential candidate. If you are looking for a way to run for president that does not involve holding lower offices, continue reading.

5. Get your name on the ballot in all 50 states as an independent candidate. To do this you must have a petition in each state signed by a certain number of people (it varies by state). The number of signatures you need can vary from 2,000 (Minnesota) to 160,000 (California). It is important to get on all 50 states' ballots because of the electoral votes you need to win.

6. Get out there early in the election season. It is imperative to start acquiring signatures and getting your face out into the public eye early. Make sure everyone knows who you are by the time of the elections. You will probably need around 700,000 signatures nationwide, which if done early enough, may only cost you around $2.5 million dollars (for paying circulators).

7. Advertise. Create commercials to inform people of your views and why you're the best candidate. Pay to get the commercials on television. An effective advertising campaign will cost you around $150 million dollars. Following these steps, you can at least get on the presidential ballot of the United States. How you run the campaign will decide if you win or not.

Tips & Warnings

• If working your way up the political ladder, make sure you try to stick to your values. If you don't, it may be brought up in later campaigns to ruin your reputation.
• If you have no experience and run on an independent ticket, make sure people know why you would make a great president.
• Once you are in the political spotlight, you will need protection. High profile candidates get protection from the U.S. Secret Service.