Rick McCartney for AZ: Content Production for the 2026 Democratic Primary

LOCATION

SALARY

DESIRED SKILLS

COMPANY

DEPARTMENT

EMPLOYMENT TYPE

MINIMUM LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE

JOB DESCRIPTION

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Content Production for the 2026 Democratic Primary

Arizona’s 1st Congressional District

Rick McCartney for Congress

Issued by

Rick McCartney for Congress

Issued

May 22, 2026

Proposals due

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 — 5:00 PM Arizona time

Target start

Friday, May 29, 2026

Engagement length

Through July 21, 2026 (Primary Election Day), with possible extension

Submit to

Tommy Palmer, Campaign Manager — [email protected]

Questions

[email protected] — submitted by Sunday, May 24, 5:00 PM AZ time

1. Overview

Rick McCartney is the Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. The primary election is July 21, 2026. Ballots mail to voters on June 24, 2026. From the date of hire through Election Day, every day matters.

The campaign’s message is “A New Kind of Democrat. A Real Kind of Fighter.” — Rick is the only candidate in the race willing to take on both Donald Trump and the weak Democrats who keep losing to him. Every public-facing piece of content ladders back to this frame.

The campaign is hiring two paired content roles to replace a previously in-house Content Manager:

• Role A — Videographer / Editor (Phoenix-local 1099 stringer): Owns on-site capture and editing for town halls, events, B-roll, and rapid-response shoots. Paid per deliverable.

• Role B — Content Consultant (remote acceptable): Owns the daily organic publishing rhythm across platforms, copywriting, posting calendar, real-time engagement, growth analytics, and coordination with the videographer and the Communications Director.

Bidders may submit for one role or both. If submitting for both, please clearly delineate scope and pricing for each. The campaign reserves the right to award the two roles to different bidders, to a single bidder, or to restructure the engagement based on the proposals received.

2. About the Campaign

• Candidate: Rick McCartney

• Race: AZ-01 Democratic Primary, July 21, 2026

• Field: Four candidates — McCartney, Marlene Galán-Woods (DCCC pick), Amish Shah (2024 nominee), Jonathan Treble (tech entrepreneur)

• Reports to: Communications Director (Grace Unger). Day-to-day standup and content approvals route through Grace.

• Operations and contracting: Campaign Manager (Tommy Palmer)

3. Role A — Videographer / Editor

3.1 Mission

Be the eyes and ears of the campaign at every town hall and major event. Deliver finished, platform-ready vertical video clips on a fast turnaround that the Content Consultant can publish the next morning. Maintain the visual quality bar that makes Rick McCartney the most-watched candidate in the primary.

3.2 Required Profile

• Phoenix-metro local, able to travel anywhere in AZ-01 on short notice

• Owns professional video and audio equipment (camera, lavalier microphones, lighting, gimbal or equivalent stabilization, redundant storage)

• Available evenings and weekends — town halls happen on the schedule of voters, not the schedule of vendors

• On-call reachability for rapid-response shoots during business hours, May 29 through July 21

• Proven track record editing vertical short-form video (under 60 seconds) optimized for Instagram Reels and TikTok

• Reliable own transportation

3.3 Core Deliverables

Town hall coverage

The campaign will execute approximately 22 town halls between May 29 and July 21. At each event:

• On-site for the duration of the event with a full kit

• Capture the candidate, the audience, voter Q&A exchanges, and the room’s energy

• Stay 10–15 minutes after each town hall to film Rick recording response lines for the rapid-response library (per Communications Director’s direction)

• Deliver 3–5 finished vertical clips per town hall within 24 hours of the event:

• — One “core moment” clip (Rick’s strongest 45–60 seconds)

• — One voter-exchange clip (Rick answering a real question from a real voter)

• — One context clip (the room, the people, the energy)

• Target cumulative deliverable: 60–100 finished short-form clips across all town halls

Rapid response

• 90-minute turnaround from “we need a response clip” to delivered, finished, captioned vertical clip ready to post

• Reachable and on-call with rig ready, business hours, May 29 through July 21

• Maintain raw footage library tagged and retrievable for re-cutting evergreen “fighting position” clips with new captions

B-roll and supplementary

• Periodic B-roll shoots with the candidate (community visits, family, business, Arizona settings)

• Endorsement events, press conferences, and fundraisers as scheduled

Specs

• Vertical 9:16, optimized for IG Reels and TikTok

• Burned-in captions on every deliverable (no exceptions — 80% of social video is watched without sound)

• Lower-third graphics using approved campaign template (provided)

• Color-corrected, audio-leveled, ready to publish

• Delivered via shared cloud folder (Frame.io, Dropbox, or equivalent) with descriptive filenames

• Raw footage retained and accessible to the campaign for the duration of the engagement and for 90 days after

3.4 What Role A Does NOT Do

• Write social copy or captions beyond the burned-in clip text — the Content Consultant owns published copy

• Run the campaign’s social accounts or publish content directly

• Direct Rick’s on-camera performance — the Communications Director directs Rick on camera; the videographer captures

• Graphic design beyond approved templates

• Editing for paid digital ads — that is handled by a separate paid digital vendor

3.5 Reporting and Coordination

• Coordinates daily with the Content Consultant (Role B) on next-day publish priorities and rapid-response needs

• Reports to Communications Director (Grace Unger) on content priorities and quality bar

• Contracting and invoicing through Campaign Manager (Tommy Palmer)

4. Role B — Content Consultant

4.1 Mission

Own the campaign’s organic content engine end-to-end. Make Rick McCartney the most-watched candidate in this primary. Drive the daily publishing rhythm across every platform, write the copy that lands the message, and grow the audience that the field program and paid program can amplify.

4.2 Required Profile

• Proven experience running organic social for a competitive political campaign or candidate (2022 cycle or later strongly preferred)

• Native fluency in Instagram, TikTok, X/Twitter, and Facebook — platform-specific best practices, not cross-posted slop

• Demonstrated growth track record: provide accounts you have run with view and follower trajectories

• Strong copywriting voice — short, punchy, scannable, on-message

• Comfort with rapid-response cadence — the ability to ship a quote-tweet, story, or reactive post within 30 minutes

• Familiarity with Arizona politics is a strong plus; not required

• Remote acceptable; Mountain or Pacific time zone strongly preferred for daily standup coverage

4.3 Core Deliverables

Daily publishing volume (Monday–Friday)

Target: 30–50 organic touches per week across platforms, anchored by one substantive new content piece per day.

• One new high-effort core clip per day, published in the morning as the day’s anchor content (videographer supplies the cut with captions; consultant writes copy and publishes)

• Instagram: the core clip as a Reel; 2–3 Stories per day

• TikTok: one vertical recut of the day’s clip with platform-specific captioning

• X/Twitter: 2–4 posts per day — the core clip, quote-tweets of news with Rick’s reaction, replies to AZ political accounts

• Facebook: one adaptation of the day’s core content with community framing

• Weekends drop to 3–5 touches per day using repurposed evergreen material

Copy and message discipline

• Write all captions, copy, and platform-native text to fit the “Fearless Fight” message frame (briefed on first day)

• Maintain message discipline across platforms — same fight, different formats

• Flag anything that needs Communications Director approval; trust own judgment on real-time reactive posts within the approved frame

Rapid response (paired with Role A)

• 90 minutes from “we need a response” to published post, working in parallel with the videographer

• Maintain a pre-cut library of evergreen “fighting position” clips that can be redeployed with new captions in under 30 minutes

Town hall amplification

• Publish the videographer’s 3–5 clips per town hall on the next-day publishing rhythm

• Pre-event Story posts driving turnout; post-event Story recap; same-day quote graphic on X

Supporter amplification handoff

• Push each day’s anchor clip and every endorsement announcement to the supporter amplification queue via Impactive (coordinate with Volunteer Coordinator)

Analytics and reporting

• Weekly 1-page performance report to Communications Director: total views, top performers, follower growth, what worked, what didn’t

• Hit the campaign’s growth targets (see Section 4.4)

4.4 Targets and Accountability

• Cumulative organic video views: 1,000,000+ by end of June; 3,000,000–5,000,000+ by July 21

• Follower growth: net 50%+ growth across primary platforms by July 21

• Individual post performance: at least 2 posts per week clearing 10,000 views

• Production floor: 25+ total weekly posts across platforms; one new core clip per weekday

4.5 Daily Rhythm

• 9:00 AM AZ — 15-minute standup with Communications Director

• Mornings (2–3 hours) — publish the day’s core clip; cross-post anchor content; coordinate with videographer on next-day priorities

• Midday (1 hour) — Stories, replies, quote-tweets, real-time engagement

• Afternoon — prep tomorrow’s publishing slate

• Evenings (variable) — monitor for rapid-response triggers; coordinate with videographer on event coverage

4.6 What Role B Does NOT Do

• On-site video capture — the videographer (Role A) owns capture

• Press relationships, surrogate management, or talking points distribution — owned by the Communications Director

• Paid digital ads or paid social media buys — owned by a separate paid digital vendor

• On-camera direction of Rick — the Communications Director directs

• Volunteer or field logistics

4.7 Reporting and Coordination

• Reports to Communications Director (Grace Unger)

• Daily coordination with videographer (Role A) on next-day publishing priorities

• Weekly handoff coordination with Volunteer Coordinator on supporter amplification

• Contracting and invoicing through Campaign Manager (Tommy Palmer)

5. How the Two Roles Work Together

The two roles are paired by design. The videographer is the hands behind the camera; the consultant is the voice on the feed. Their daily handoff is the single most operationally important workflow in this engagement, and it must work without burdening the Communications Director.

Standard daily flow

• Evening (videographer): Capture at town hall or event. Identify the core moment, voter-exchange, and context cuts on-site.

• Late evening / early morning (videographer): Edit 3–5 clips. Upload to shared folder with descriptive filenames by 8:00 AM.

• Morning (consultant): Review delivered clips. Select the anchor for the day. Write captions and platform-specific copy. Cross-post by mid-morning.

• Throughout the day (both): On-call for rapid-response triggers.

Rapid-response flow

• Communications Director or Campaign Manager flags a rapid-response need

• Within 30 minutes: videographer is on Rick with the rig; consultant is drafting copy options against the videographer’s expected take

• Within 90 minutes: clip is cut, captioned, copy is approved by Communications Director, post is live

Quality control

The Communications Director (Grace Unger) holds the strategic message frame and approves anchor content. The two consultants are trusted on real-time reactive posts within the approved frame. Approvals from the Communications Director are not a bottleneck on every post; they are a guardrail for substantive new content and rapid-response.

6. Compensation Structure

Bidders propose their own compensation structure. The campaign is working from a constrained budget and will weigh total projected cost heavily, but the lowest bid will not automatically win — quality, fit, references, and prior demonstrable results count.

6.1 Role A — Videographer / Editor

Proposed structure: per-deliverable / per-event. Please complete the table below as part of your proposal.

Line item

Your proposed rate

Per-town-hall flat rate (capture + 3–5 finished vertical clips, 24-hour turnaround)

$

Per additional event capture (press conference, endorsement event, fundraiser, etc.)

$

Per rapid-response clip (90-minute turnaround)

$

Per B-roll shoot day (half-day, 4 hours)

$

Mileage / travel reimbursement basis (IRS rate, included, etc.)

Estimated total cost through July 21 (your projection based on 22 town halls + reasonable rapid-response assumptions)

$

6.2 Role B — Content Consultant

Proposed structure: monthly retainer or weekly rate. Please complete the table below as part of your proposal.

Line item

Your proposed structure

Monthly retainer (full SOW, May 29 through July 21)

$

Alternative: weekly rate

$

Hours per week committed to this account

Estimated total cost through July 21

$

Any tools/software passed through at cost (specify)

6.3 Payment Terms

• Net-15 from receipt of invoice

• Invoices submitted to the Campaign Manager bi-weekly (Role A) or monthly (Role B)

• All vendors paid through the campaign committee per FEC regulations; vendors will be itemized on the campaign’s FEC reports as required

7. Proposal Requirements

Proposals must include the following. Proposals missing required elements will not be considered.

7.1 All Bidders

• Brief cover note (1 page max) explaining why you are the right fit for this campaign and this moment

• Statement of which role(s) you are bidding on — Role A, Role B, or both

• Completed pricing table(s) from Section 6

• Three references from prior campaign or candidate work — name, role, campaign, contact information, and what you did for them

• Disclosure of any current or anticipated client conflicts — specifically, any work for or with any of the other AZ-01 Democratic primary campaigns (Galán-Woods, Shah, Treble), their consultants, or affiliated outside groups. Conflicts are disqualifying.

• FEC compliance acknowledgment — confirmation that you can be paid through the campaign committee and reported as required

• Confidentiality acknowledgment — confirmation that you will sign a standard NDA covering campaign strategy, polling data, opposition research, and internal communications

7.2 Role A Bidders — Additional Requirements

• Reel or portfolio of vertical short-form political or candidate video work — minimum 5 examples with links

• Equipment list (camera bodies, lenses, audio, lighting, stabilization, storage)

• Confirmation of Phoenix-metro base and willingness to travel AZ-01 districtwide

• Availability statement — confirmation of evening and weekend availability May 29 through July 21

• Sample turnaround example — link to a recent project where you delivered finished vertical clips within 24 hours of capture

7.3 Role B Bidders — Additional Requirements

• Three to five accounts you have run or substantially contributed to, with view and follower trajectories — ideally with screenshots or analytics screenshots showing growth on your watch

• Three sample captions you would write for a hypothetical Rick McCartney town hall clip in which Rick says: “Washington Democrats keep picking losers, and we keep losing. I’m running because we deserve better than that.” — one for Instagram Reels, one for X/Twitter, one for TikTok

• Time zone and standup availability — confirmation you can hold a 9:00 AM AZ daily standup

• Other clients you will be working with during the engagement and approximate weekly hour commitment to each — we are evaluating focus, not exclusivity

8. Selection Process and Timeline

• Friday, May 22: RFP issued

• Sunday, May 24, 5:00 PM AZ: Deadline for clarifying questions to [email protected]

• Monday, May 25: Campaign responds to clarifying questions (responses shared with all known bidders)

• Tuesday, May 26, 5:00 PM AZ: Proposals due

• Wednesday, May 27: Finalist interviews — 30-minute video calls with the Communications Director and Campaign Manager

• Thursday, May 28: Selection and contracting

• Friday, May 29: Target start date

The campaign reserves the right to extend, modify, or terminate this RFP process at any time; to negotiate terms with one or more bidders; to award contracts to bidders not submitting the lowest price; or to award no contract.

9. Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated on the following, in approximate order of weight:

• Demonstrated quality of prior work for comparable candidates or campaigns

• Cultural fit with the campaign’s message frame and tempo — we are running a fight, not a brochure

• References and prior-client signal

• Availability and ability to operate at the cadence required

• Total projected cost

• For Role A: equipment quality and turnaround track record

• For Role B: growth track record and copywriting voice

10. Contract Terms

• Independent contractor (1099) engagement

• Engagement runs through July 21, 2026, with possible extension into the general election cycle on terms to be negotiated

• Either party may terminate with 7 days written notice. Campaign reserves the right to terminate immediately for cause (including breach of confidentiality, material failure to perform, or conflict of interest).

• All work product, raw footage, and analytics data belong to the campaign

• Vendor maintains general liability insurance appropriate to the scope (Role A specifically: production insurance covering equipment and on-site work)

• Vendor adheres to the campaign’s confidentiality, harassment, and professional conduct standards as set forth in the campaign’s Staff Handbook (provided upon engagement)

11. Contact

Submit proposals and all questions to:

Tommy Palmer, Campaign Manager

Rick McCartney for Congress

[email protected]

This document is confidential. Do not distribute or share without authorization from the campaign.

Rick McCartney for Congress

A New Kind of Democrat. A Real Kind of Fighter.