A Millennial's Guide to Running for Office: How to Get Elected Without Kissing the Ring

by Henry Bouchot

America has become a gerontocracy - and it’s showing its age. Our future depends on young people running for and winning elected office. Yet despite historically high interest in politics among the young, few are entering the halls of power. Young candidates at all levels of government need a new model. A political newcomer, Henry Bouchot shocked the political establishment in Richard Nixon’s hometown of Whittier, California, defeating a nine-term incumbent to become the youngest member in the history of the Whittier City Council in 2018. In A Millennial’s Guide, Henry shows how he harnessed his business education and experience in the Marines to create an unbeatable campaign. He goes beyond just the nuts and bolts of campaigning and describes how to make running both an unforgettable experience and an unstoppable one.

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 10, 2021

About the author

Henry grew up in East Los Angeles. He is the son of Latin American immigrants. He became a lawyer and volunteered for the Marines, deploying to Afghanistan. After returning, Henry ran for city council and beat a nine-term incumbent.

He describes his experience in A Millennial’s Guide to Running for Elected Office: How to Get Elected Without Kissing the Ring. Henry is passionate about helping others interested in running for office and wants to see more capable, authentic candidates from all backgrounds throw their names in the hat.

Reviews

[Alev Newman · Rating 3 out of 5]

for class but i bounced between appreciating his honesty on how much of a game politics really is and wondering how special he must think himself to be writing a book on winning a single local election. he was lowkey charismatic so that makes it better i guess

[Josh Whittaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some genuinely good advice in here along with some not great advice (I'm very skeptical about hiring a campaign consultant unless 1) they have boots on the ground experience in your area and/or 2) they're willing to do it at a very deep discount, or preferably for free). Mostly the book reads as a how-to guide for how to run in Bouchot's very specific race set in a southern Californian city in Los Angeles County, but that's a common flaw of books like this. Read it, learn from it, but don't treat it like political gospel.

[Todd Lyons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid advice to anyone else considering it, could have used more specifics and examples.