A Government Affairs Leader’s Election Readiness Checklist

How prepared are you for this election cycle? A practical checklist for self-assessment

Now is the time to understand how shifts in legislative control at the federal and state levels will impact business, advocacy, and growth strategies.

Using a checklist – like the one we’ve provided below – can help you determine your election readiness and prepare for the cumbersome work it can involve.

Consider it a diagnostic. The more boxes you check off, the more ready you may be to navigate change for your organization or clients.

Step 1: Identify the races and issues that matter most

The election cycle is underway, and overlapping issues can emerge at a frenzied place. For some government affairs teams trying to manage these dynamics, headcount hasn’t kept pace with growing workflow demands.

To effectively monitor, track and prepare for this election cycle (especially if bandwidth is tight), it’s important to narrow your focus to only the elections, ballot measures, and policy issues that could affect your organization or clients.

To work effectively, focus on:

☐ Priority races that affect your organization or clients
☐ Key states or districts for your advocacy areas
☐ Congressional leadership contests with potentially significant outcomes
☐ Committees with jurisdiction over important issues
☐ Industry-specific policy developments that merit your attention

Pro tip

Using manual methods to sift through pages of news and policy documents can be overwhelming, especially when you’re working on multiple issues across varying jurisdictions.

Centralized monitoring tools from Bloomberg Government can help separate meaningful developments from background noise. We offer AI-enabled legislative and regulatory tracking along with election news coverage and policy analysis.

Step 2: Map the policymakers who could shape outcomes

It’s important to prepare for a multitude of outcomes at the national level. But state changes also matter, because most legislation in the United States is passed at that level and lobbying state governments can shape the legal and regulatory landscape beyond state borders.

Bottom line: Whether you’re working at the federal, state, or local level, it’s essential to know the players and their positions.

Take time to understand:

☐ Incumbents and key challengers most relevant to your priorities
☐ Congressional staff who may become key contacts
☐ Committee members who may have oversight
☐ Coalition partners who can help further your agenda
☐ Industry allies, opponents, and their positions

Pro tip

Manually scanning hundreds of web pages or reviewing disparate and potentially outdated articles or directories is a waste of time. Instead, access a single data, news, and analytics platform that can save you countless hours and streamline your efforts.

With Bloomberg Government, you can leverage breaking news from our trusted newsroom, backed by content from more than 35,000 aggregated sources.

Within hours of the election, Bloomberg Government updates its federal and state directories with new lawmakers, staff, committee assignments, and contact information.

From there, Stakeholder Intelligence helps you go a step further by using AI to identify the policymakers and staff who matter most to your issues, uncover policy alignment, and reveal networks of influence that may not be obvious through manual research alone.

[Download our report, How Redistricting is Impacting the 2026 Midterms, for expert analysis of the latest map changes, legal developments, and key races to watch ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Step 3: Prepare for multiple outcomes

Countless media outlets report election results in real time, but far fewer help government affairs professionals understand what may happen after the votes are tallied.

As leadership changes and committee assignments evolve, the people influencing policy often change just as quickly. Preparing for multiple outcomes means understanding not only what could happen, but also who is likely to shape those decisions.

If you want to move beyond the headlines, it’s important to understand the state of play while also conducting scenario planning to prepare for multiple outcomes.

Research and plan for:

☐ Control-of-Congress scenarios that vary from forecasted expectations
☐ Committee leadership changes that may affect your bottom line
☐ Legislative agenda shifts – both anticipated and possible
☐ Regulatory implications that can result from political shifts
☐ Business impact assessments that may be affected by shifting priorities  

Pro tip

Don’t get caught flat footed when voting results shift the balance of power in unexpected ways. Tech tools with integrated analyses can help you parse through high volumes of information and prepare for multiple outcomes in the days, weeks, and months following election day.

By accessing Bloomberg Government’s news, historical spend data, legislative trend-spotting, and other resources as part of your election monitoring and government affairs planning process, you can anticipate multiple streams of change, assess the possible impacts, and prepare to take meaningful action on a variety of scenarios with confidence.

We also offer AI-powered stakeholder research so teams can quickly identify emerging policymakers, understand policy alignment, and adapt engagement strategies as the landscape changes.

[Download our exclusive report on 2026 Midterm Elections Scenario Planning to get key insights on how any changes to the make-up of Congress could shape oversight and the broader policy agenda.]

Step 4: Strengthen executive communications

This election cycle is just the beginning of understanding how government actions may affect your organization or clients.

As a new balance of power takes shape, it’s critical to understand which policy developments actually merit your attention, while also determining which actions to take and the messages that will advance your agenda.

To effectively communicate on the issues that matter most, you must go beyond election monitoring and tracking post-election developments. The next step is translating this information into actionable business intelligence.

Focus on these activities:

☐ Issues briefings to keep everyone aligned
☐ Business impact summaries for key stakeholders and leadership
☐ Risk assessments that prepare teams for any scenario
☐ Opportunity identification that aligns with goals and priorities
☐ Internal stakeholder alignment to enable quick pivots

Pro tip

Set your team up for success by gathering actionable intelligence. Bloomberg Government’s government affairs software offers timely and helpful communications assistance, including our executive-ready, OnPoint presentations that examine developments and trends, and offer impact analyses through a business-minded lens.  

Step 5: Establish your post-election action plan

Election Day is the end of the election cycle, but it’s the beginning of the next crucial stage of your advocacy work.

Now is the time to establish your post-election action plan, including how you’ll refine your stakeholder mapping, engage with lawmakers and stakeholders, and account for committee leadership changes that may affect your bottom line.

Develop and review your action plan for:

☐ New member engagement, so you’re prepared from day one
☐ Committee monitoring to prioritize and track key issues
☐ Legislative priority tracking
☐ Regulatory developments that may impact your organization and clients
☐ Budget and spending impacts for key issue areas
☐ Coalition building to encourage early and meaningful support  

Pro tip

It’s essential to navigate each part of the election cycle with intention and strategy, including tracking races and policy priorities before Election Day, then understanding results and anticipating the activities that follow.

Election results often reshape who has influence over your priorities. Rather than rebuilding stakeholder maps manually, Bloomberg Government’s AI-powered Stakeholder Intelligence can help identify new lawmakers, key congressional staff, policy alignment, and emerging influence networks so teams can prioritize outreach and prepare for meetings with confidence.

To avoid becoming overwhelmed, or missing key details, government affairs teams leverage Bloomberg Government’s comprehensive platform, which includes legislative and regulatory tracking, updated directories, reliable news and analysis, federal funding intelligence, and trustworthy AI-enabled workflow tools.