How to write your candidate bio
Your bio is the second most-read page on your site. Here is how to write a short and a long version that tell voters who you are and why you're running.
After your homepage, your bio is the page voters open most. They want to know three things: who you are, why you're running, and whether you're one of them. Most candidate bios answer none of those. They read like a résumé that wandered onto the wrong website.
This guide covers how to write both versions you need, what to lead with, what to leave out, and the questions we ask in the 30-minute interview we use to write bios for our clients.
You need two versions
Write a short bio and a long bio at the same time. They do different jobs.
| Version | Length | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 75 to 100 words | Homepage, flyers, forum introductions, the "About" box on social media, candidate questionnaires |
| Long | 400 to 600 words | The About page on your site, press kits, endorsement requests |
Write the long one first. The short version is easier to cut from something good than to write from scratch. Then read the short version aloud and time it. If the moderator at a candidate forum reads it, it should take about 30 seconds.
Lead with why you're running
Most bios start with where the candidate was born and work forward, so the reason they're running shows up in paragraph six. Flip it. Open with the moment or the problem that got you into this race.
"I'm running for county council because I sat through three planning commission hearings last year and watched 1,200 new homes get approved off a two-lane road, and nobody on the dais asked who was going to pay to widen it."
That one sentence tells a voter more than a page of credentials. It names a real problem, shows you were paying attention, and gives them a reason to keep reading. Your reason doesn't need to be dramatic. It needs to be true and specific.
Roots and service
After the why, tell voters you belong here. For local office, how long you've lived in the district and what you've done in it matters more than any title.
- Roots. How long you've lived here, which neighborhood, what brought you or kept you. "We moved to the Lakeview side of the county in 2004 and never left" is plenty.
- Service. Military service, coaching, church or mosque or synagogue work, PTA, volunteer fire department, HOA board, food pantry shifts. Pick the two or three that connect to the job.
- Work. What you do or did, in one or two sentences, framed around what it taught you. A small-business owner knows what a payroll is. A nurse knows what an understaffed shift is like. Say that.
Be concrete. "Active in the community" means nothing. "Coached Little League at the county park for eight seasons" means something, and the parents of those players vote.
Family, on your terms
How much you share about your family is your call. Some candidates feature a spouse and kids in every photo; others keep them off the site entirely. Both are fine.
If family is part of why you're running (your kids are in the schools you want to fix, your parents need the senior services you want to protect), say so. That's a reason, not decoration.
Avoid the résumé dump
A bio is not a CV. Voters skim past degree lists, job titles and award names. Three habits make bios worse:
- Listing everything. Every board, every certificate, every committee. Pick what proves you can do this job, and drop the rest.
- Jargon from your field. "Led cross-functional stakeholder alignment" means nothing at a kitchen table. "Ran a team of 40 and kept the budget balanced for six years" does.
- Self-praise. "Tireless advocate," "proven leader," "dedicated public servant." Let your record say it. Better yet, let an endorser say it on your endorsements page.
A useful test: for every line, ask "Would a voter on my street care about this?" If the answer is no, cut it.
First person or third person?
Use first person on your website. "I," "my wife and I," "we raised our kids here." It reads like you're talking to the voter directly, and on your own site that's exactly what's happening.
Keep a third-person version of the short bio for anywhere someone else is speaking about you: press releases, event programs, the person introducing you at the Rotary lunch, a news outlet's candidate guide. "Jane Smith is a 20-year resident of the Lakeview district and a retired middle school teacher..." Give them that version so they don't write their own.
Pick one and stick with it on each page. Switching from "I" to "Smith believes" halfway down looks like two people wrote it.
The 30-minute interview we use
Most candidates find it much easier to talk about themselves than to write about themselves. So in our Campaign and Full Season packages, we do a 30-minute phone or video interview and write the bio and issue pages from what you say. You can use the same questions to interview yourself, or have a friend ask them and record it.
- What made you decide to run, and when did you decide? Was there a specific meeting, vote or moment?
- How long have you lived in the district, and where? What keeps you here?
- What work have you done, and what did it teach you that applies to this office?
- How have you served: military, faith community, volunteer groups, coaching, boards?
- What do you want to share about your family, and what should stay private?
- What three issues do you hear about most when you knock on doors?
- What's one thing the current officeholders are getting wrong, in plain words?
- If you win, what would you want people to say about your first term?
The best lines in a bio almost always come from questions one and six, said off the cuff. We write it up, you read it, you change anything that doesn't sound like you, and nothing goes live until you approve it. The same interview feeds your issue pages.
Pair it with a good photo and get it live
Your bio needs one clear, recent photo of you, looking at the camera, in decent light. It doesn't need a studio. Our guide to campaign photos on a budget covers how to get one with a phone and a friend.
Then publish it. A good bio on a live site beats a perfect bio in a draft folder. If you'd like us to handle the interview and writing, see how it works or start here. First-time candidates get $100 off setup.
Common questions
Should my candidate bio be in first person or third person?
Use first person on your website's About page, because it sounds like you. Keep a third-person short version for press releases, event programs and the person introducing you at a forum.
How long should a candidate bio be?
Keep two versions. A short bio of about 75 to 100 words for the homepage, flyers and introductions, and a long bio of about 400 to 600 words for the About page.
Do I have to talk about my family?
No. Share as much or as little as you're comfortable with. Many candidates mention a spouse and children by first name only, and some leave family out entirely. Never post your children's school or your home address.
What happens in the 30-minute interview?
We ask you about why you're running, where you're from, how you've served, and the issues you hear about at the door. You talk; we write the bio and issue pages and you approve every word before anything goes live.