How to Write a Campaign Bio in Wisconsin

Most voters will only give your bio a few seconds. It has to work on a phone screen, on a palm card and out loud at a forum, and it has to sound like you.

Tony RuffiNov 10, 20267 min read

Add as a preferred source on Google

This article shows how to write a Wisconsin campaign bio that sounds like a person and not a resume. By the end of this article, you'll have a one-line, a short and a full version, plus five blanks to fill in tonight.

What is a campaign bio?

A campaign bio is a short story about who you are and why you are running, written for voters. It is not a list of jobs. It tells people where you live, what you have done that matters for this seat, and what you want to do. Most candidates need three lengths of it.

How long should a candidate bio be?

Write three versions and use each where it fits. A long bio on a palm card does not get read, and a one-liner on your About page wastes the room you have. Keep the facts the same in all three so voters hear one story, no matter where they meet you.

These lengths come from our work with candidates, not from a study. They are a good place to start, and you can change them to fit the space you have.

What goes into a good bio?

Start with where you live and for how long, because voters want to know you are one of them. Then give one or two things you have done that fit the job. Next say why you are running, and end with how to reach you. Put the reason for running near the top.

Here is the order we use:

1. Where you are from. The town, how long you've lived there, and who your family is, if you want to share that.
2. What you do for work or in your community. Pick the things that fit this seat. A budget job helps for a board that sets budgets.
3. One proof. A fact with a date, like a volunteer role you held, a board you sat on, or a business you ran.
4. Why you are running. One plain sentence. This is the part people repeat.
5. How to find you. A website, the one you own.

If you are still working on that last point, our campaign website article covers what goes on the site, and why you should own your domain name yourself. A site is also the one place you get to tell your story your own way, instead of letting a news story do it for you.

Want help with your bio, your photo or your website? Our consultants work with candidates in every corner of Wisconsin. Your first call is free.

What can a short bio from Abraham Lincoln teach you?

Lincoln knew a short bio can do a lot. In December 1859, before his run for president, he sent a friend a life story of just under 600 words. His cover note said, "There is not much of it, for the reason, I suppose, that there is not much of me." The sketch was printed in newspapers, and it gave voters who did not know him a quick way to learn who he was.

What we take from it: facts, plain words and a short length. He did not brag. He gave dates, places and jobs, and he let those do the work. Readers can see the full text on the Dickinson College Lincoln site.

What did a Wisconsin mayor race teach us about being known?

Most of your voters do not know you, so your bio has to do the introducing. In 2024, Doug Diny won the Wausau mayor race with 52% of the vote and unseated the incumbent, which is the person who held the seat. We can't say a bio did that, but a voter who had never met him still had to learn who he was, fast.

The biggest mistake we see is a candidate who tries to sound like someone they are not. They think they have to look better than they are. Voters can tell, and they want the real you. Honesty is what people crave right now, in podcasts, on YouTube and in politics too, and a plain, true bio gives them that. Voters will like you and accept you just as you are.

Here is our test. Would a voter grab a beer, a lunch or a coffee with the person in your bio? If not, that is not the candidate they will pick. If you have a scandal, or think one could come up, give us a call before you write a word. We will help you work through it.

That is the job of the short version. Someone gets a mailer, sees a sign or hears your name from a neighbor, then looks you up. What they find in the first ten seconds is your bio.

Which words should you cut?

Cut any word you would not say at a kitchen table. Big words and "I'm passionate about" lines sound like everyone else, and voters skip them. Swap each one for something you did, a place you went or a number. Here are swaps we make a lot.

Those are samples to show the idea. Use only what is true for you.

Where should your bio show up?

Put your bio everywhere a voter might look, and keep it the same. Start with your website, your social profile, your palm card and your forum intro. Then add any form from a group that asks for one. Our palm card article shows what fits on a card.

• Website About page: the full version, with a good headshot next to it. Our web design team builds these pages.
• Palm card and mailer: the short version.
• Social profile: the one line, plus a link to the site.
• Forum and speeches: say the one line out loud. Our stump speech article can help you use it.
• Announcement: work the short version into your launch.

Printed items can need a "Paid for by" line. That is a Wisconsin rule, and it depends on who pays and what the piece says. Check the Wisconsin Ethics Commission page and ask your clerk. This is a plain-English overview and not legal advice.

What do first-time candidates get wrong with bios?

Most first-timers write too much about the past and too little about the seat. They list every club, then forget to say why they want the job. Some stretch the truth a little, which gets caught fast in a small town. Here are the slips we see most.

• Starting with a job title. Start with the place you live and your reason.
• Nothing a voter can check. If you say you "led" something, give a year and a name.
• A different story on each page. Voters notice when the card says one thing and the site says another.
• No one else read it. Ask two people who are not on your team to read it and tell you what they remember.
• A fuzzy photo. A bio with a poor photo makes people doubt the words. A campaign photographer can fix that in one afternoon.

Only say what you can back up with a paper, a date or a person who'll say yes. One claim that does not hold up can cost you the others.

Before you post it, test it. Hand the short version to someone who has never heard of you and ask what they remember a minute later. If they can't say where you live and why you're running, cut until they can. Also check that your name, office and the spelling of your town match what you file with the state. The Wisconsin Elections Commission and your filing officer can tell you how your name should read on forms.

Fill in these five blanks, then read it out loud

Copy this into a note on your phone and fill in each blank. Then read it out loud, and cut any part that makes you stumble.

1. "I live in ______ and I've been here ______ years."
2. "I work as / I'm known for ______."
3. "One thing I've done: ______ (year)."
4. "I'm running for ______ because ______."
5. "You can find me at ______."

Blanks 1 and 4 alone make your one-liner. All five make your short bio. Want a second set of eyes? Candidates anywhere in Wisconsin can hire us, from the Northwoods to the Mississippi, for any seat from school board to Congress & governor. Call 715-314-3250 or book a free first call.

Fact-checked November 10, 2026 against Abraham Lincoln's December 20, 1859 autobiographical sketch (Dickinson College Lincoln site), the Wisconsin Ethics Commission attribution page, and Bluejack field practice.