Have You Ever Run For Local Office And Lost? NPR Wants To Hear From You NPR is working on a project to help people run for office for the first time. If you have experience to pass along, let us know!

Have You Ever Run For Local Office And Lost? NPR Wants To Hear From You

Have you run for office and lost? We want to hear your story. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

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LA Johnson/NPR

Have you run for office and lost? We want to hear your story.

LA Johnson/NPR

Updated Aug. 15

Every year, thousands of Americans try their hand at breaking into politics by running for some kind of elected office.

It's a noble act, often aimed at trying to make a difference — on a school board, a city council or a zoning commission.

But it isn't easy, and many passionate, intelligent people don't know where to start.

NPR's politics team and Life Kit are putting together a how-to guide — in podcast form — on running for office.

If you ran for office and lost, we want to hear from you.

Whether your campaign was more Veep or more West Wing, we want your stories. If you ran a House of Cards campaign, maybe keep that to yourselves.

What are the things you wish you had known going in? What mistakes did you make? What clever tips would you give to newcomers?

Tell us by filling out the form below.

This form was closed on July 12.