The official qualifications top run a campaign for political office are usually pretty simple. In this democratic country that encourages public participation in government, it is not hard to meet the official qualifications for most local offices.

The official qualifications might vary from state to state, and from office to office, but generally are the same throughout most of the United States. Basically, all that is required to run a campaign for office is that you are a registered voter and a resident of the district in which you are running.

What we say here about running a campaign might not be completely accurate for your state, though. Not only does each state have its own peculiar election laws, many times the courts in each have interpreted similar election laws quite differently. Local candidates, particularly newcomers, often run afoul of the election laws or the requirements for candidates in their state. We can't list all of the state and local election campaign laws in one article, of course.

You must check those requirements for yourself in your local area. You cannot rely on what some person, even some old political hand, tells you. You must check for yourself, and look at every election campaign law on the books.

In talking about the official campaign qualifications, you should begin by checking out the official requirements for your office. You should also get in the habit of always checking the local election laws on any question that might come up.

Although, as we said above, the basic qualifications to campaign for office are generally pretty simple, there are many local wrinkles. For example, in one state a teacher may not run for school board, but in another he may work in one school district but be eligible to run for school board, if he lives in another district. You have to check for any official requirement that may make you unqualified for an office.

The basic qualifications for running for office have changed a lot in the last few hundred years, to be sure. During the Democratic political campaign convention of 1844, it took several ballots before a front runner for the presidential nominee emerged. That front runner was a man who had come to the convention hoping to be nominated as vice president instead.

James K. Polk had served as Speaker of the House of Representatives and governor of Tennessee, yet he was essentially a little-known candidate--so little known, in fact, that the Whig campaign repeatedly posed the question "Who is James K. Polk?"

Polk, though, sensing that most Americans wanted to see their country expand, spoke out during the political campaign in favor of annexing Texas and Oregon, and he had the support of the aging Andrew Jackson. Expansion became his campaign issue, and this emphasis was popular in the South and West.

Slavery existed in the background of this political campaign issue: Texas's entry into the United States would tip the balance in favor of slave-holding states. Polk's tough stance against Mexico (which claimed Texas) and Great Britain (which claimed portions of Oregon) was also popular. He won the election and, shortly after his victory, Congress voted to annex Texas.

Polk kept his political campaign promise of expanding the country. He signed a treaty with the British that brought Oregon in as American territory. Disputes over territory were followed by war with Mexico, but American forces were successful. In the end, Polk added not only Texas but also New Mexico and California to American territory. With this new territory, however, came the question that had haunted each American effort to expand: would slavery be allowed in these new territories?