The Blue Bench Training Project

About the Blue Bench Project

The Blue Bench Project is a training program for anyone of any age that wants to run for office or serve the party as a staff member on a campaign or officer at the county level. 

The Blue Bench Project is about taking substantive action and making sure Democrats have the training needed to be strong candidates and grassroots party leaders.

The Nebraska Democratic Party is building our bench for races up and down the ballot; as well as ensuring we have diverse folks in age, race, and economic backgrounds serving as leadership at the county party level and on campaign staff teams.

Our Blue Bench trainings are hands-on and emphasize action. We learn from one another as we all prepare to win elections for Democrats.

Since 2018 we went from 504 Democrats elected across Nebraska, to 902 elected Democrats across the state showing that the work we are doing is effective. 

Watch our Mobilize page for upcoming trainings you can be a part of– we host trainings all over the state and at each of our quarterly meetings. To schedule a specific training for your group or to find out the upcoming trainings contact us at: info@nebraskademocrats.org.

The Nebraska Democratic Party partners with the National Democratic Training Committee, who provides trainings and resources to party leaders and candidates all over the country.

Upcoming Candidate Trainings: 

    • Online June 4, 2023: The Basics – Starting Out Strong.
      Develop a strong foundation on the basics in order to start your campaign including what services the NDP offers.
      We will have Frank Daly from the NADC, a panel with former candidates/staffers, a panel digital advertising and mail and more.
      If you missed this please email ronr@nebraskademocrats.org
    • Omaha, September 30, 2023: VendorFest – Tools for a Successful Campaign.
      Come meet the Vendors that the NDP regularly works with. Learn how to use tools for voter contact, data tracking, digital and print ads, and more.  Vendors will demonstrate their tools and services along with how it will benefit Candidates for 2024.
      https://www.mobilize.us/nebdems/event/563485/
      • FEATURED SPEAKERS:
        • ASDC President & DNC Vice Chair Ken Martin
          KY Chair Colmon Eldridge
          NE Chair Jane Kleeb

    • Omaha, November 18, 2023: The Pillars of a Successful Campaign – Field, Comms, Fundraising. Prepare to run a strong campaign with our NDP partners: National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC) and the Democratic National Committee (DNC). https://www.mobilize.us/nebdems/event/562999/

NDTC Training: Sign up for a free online training account to get access now to critical information with the National Democratic Training Committee.

NDP Candidate Manual + Trainings: Once candidates announce they are running or contact the state party about running, they can get access to the candidate manual, code of conduct, and MOU. We do not publish these on the website. Candidates must first complete the MOU — please email ronr@nebraskademocrats.org.

  • If you or someone you know wants to run for office, please promote this link. Once a person completes this form, staff holds a meeting with the candidate and then they get added to a listserv and trainings.