Running for Our Lives

When election time rolls around, do you ever think about running for office? Often individuals wonder if they couldn't do as good a job or better than the incumbent candidates or anyone else who is running. Running for Our Lives by Robb Ryerse is the story of how he decided to challenge his congressman in the primary. Ryerse peels back the curtains so everyone can see the challenges the ordinary person on the street faces in running for election.

In order to effectively tell his story and why he decided to take the plunge to run for Congress, Ryerse spends some time filling in his backstory of his previous experiences, education, employment, and family background. This information is important in understanding his motivation for running for office. Beyond this backstory, Ryerse spends the majority of the book describing his experiences running a campaign. Ryerse also elaborates on his beliefs and his political platform. As a progressive Republican, in a solidly red district, he did not march in lock step with the party platform but instead emphasized he would represent the people.

While being a somewhat politically aware individual, I learned so much from reading Running for Our Lives. While knowing that running for political office is expensive and that PACS provide a vast amount of political funding, reading his experiences and the actual cost of running for office was eye-opening. In particular the breakdown of how much Ryerse spent on his campaign versus how much his opponent spent and how much that was per vote was both shocking and sickening. It definitely made me a campaign finance reform advocate. In addition to running for Congress, Ryerse also is a bivocational minister. As such, throughout the book he references how his Christian beliefs are the basis of his political beliefs. Several sections of the book, especially an eloquent section on Philippians 2, almost read like a devotional and were very impactful in considering how I think about political issues and my vote.

Running for Our Lives is a marvelous book for anyone who is interested in politics and the process of running for office. As we head into another election year, this is a great book to add to your reading list.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received Running for Our Lives from Westminster John Knox via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.