Unless you are fortunate enough to find yourself in an uncontested election, you will have competition from other candidates during the Election Campaign itself, and possibly before it too.
It’s very easy to lose focus on what you are doing yourself and be unsettled by what other candidates might be doing, particularly if they publish a message which sounds very strong, or are featured by the local media in some way when you have not been.
This experience is quite normal for anyone getting into politics for the first time, and one that even a lot of experienced politicians have too!
What you should bear in mind is that when you are promoting a message and ‘putting yourself out there’ in public, it is perfectly normal to become sensitive to anything that might bring into question what you are doing.
The good news is that this is normally an emotional response rather than a logical one. In fact, your competition will very probably feel in some way insecure when they become aware of anything you do.
These kinds of response are normal.
The very important thing you need to remember is that every moment you spend worrying about your competition or what they are doing, is a moment wasted that you could have spent positively promoting you or the work that you have, could and will do.
As far as your competition is concerned, keep perspective on everything you hear. It is in their interests to make you feel uncomfortable and all you need to be focused on is everything that you do.
Run your own race!
DIY Politics UK 