MyGrade for incumbents and challengers: grading the government you serve or want to join

MyGrade asks every official and candidate to grade how the government is doing now on each of the ten subjects, from 0 to 10. An incumbent grading the government is partly grading their own work. A challenger grading it is making the case for change. Both are useful to voters when the grades are specific and uneven: high where things work, low where they do not, with a sentence on why. A row of tens or a row of zeros reads as a talking point, whoever wrote it.

What does MyGrade ask an official to grade?

MyGrade asks an official to grade how the government is doing now on each subject, on a scale from 0 to 10. It is an assessment of the present, separate from MyPriorities, which says what matters most, and MyBudget, which says where money should go. A candidate can rank housing first, give it the largest share of $1 billion, and grade the government’s current work on it a 3. That combination tells voters exactly what the candidate wants to change.

Officials should say in “In my words” which government their grades describe: the city they serve, the state they are running to join or the federal government. Voters read the grades better with that line in place.

How should an incumbent approach MyGrade?

An incumbent should approach MyGrade knowing that their grades include their own record, and that voters will read them that way. A sitting official who gives every subject a 9 is grading their own work generously. One who gives a subject they oversee a 4 is telling voters, honestly, that the work is not done, and that is often the most credible line in the record.

Tips for incumbents:

• Grade each subject on its own. A strong record on transport does not lift the grade on housing.
• Where the grade is low, say what you have done and what still needs to happen.
• Where the grade is high, name the result you are proud of, in one sentence.

An incumbent also has a record voters can check. The House Clerk publishes roll call votes, searchable by bill and date,⁠¹ and many state and local bodies publish their votes too. Grades that line up with a record carry weight.

How should a challenger approach MyGrade?

A challenger should approach MyGrade as the argument for their candidacy, made subject by subject. A challenger who grades every subject low has said “everything is broken,” the easiest line any challenger can say. A challenger who grades three subjects low and the rest in the middle has said “here is exactly what I would fix,” which is a reason to vote.

Tips for challengers:

• Grade honestly where the incumbent’s work is good. It makes the low grades more believable.
• Tie each low grade to another part of your record: the MyBudget share you would change, or the MyOpinion answer that differs.
• Remember that the government being graded may include offices held by your own party.

How should voters read an incumbent’s and a challenger’s grades side by side?

Voters should read the two sets of grades by looking for the subjects where they differ most, then reading each candidate’s reason. Where the incumbent gives a 7 and the challenger gives a 3, the race turns on that subject, and both candidates should be able to say why. Where they agree, the subject may not decide the race at all.

Three things to look for:

1. Spread. Grades from 2 to 9 show judgment. Grades that are all the same show a script.
2. Consistency. Low grades should match the candidate’s top priorities in MyPriorities and MyBudget. A subject graded 2 and ranked tenth deserves an explanation.
3. The office. A city council candidate grading defense is giving an opinion, not describing their job. Weight the subjects the office decides. See Every level of office.

Why do grades matter for representation?

Grades matter for representation because they show whether a candidate sees the same problems voters see. When a voter’s own grade on a subject is far from a candidate’s, that gap is worth a conversation, at a forum, in a debate or in a letter. Many state and local governments mirror the federal design, with legislative and executive officials whose work is the government being graded.⁠² The Representation chapter explains why responsiveness to the public and independent judgment both belong to the job.

What is a fair grade?

A fair grade is the grade a candidate would defend in front of the people the subject affects. A transit rider, a teacher or a small business owner will judge a grade against their own experience. Grades that would survive that meeting are the right grades. Grades written for a campaign ad usually would not.

Unresolved questions

Two questions about MyGrade for officials are still open.

1. Which government. Should the record name the government being graded in its own field, so the line does not depend on “In my words”?
2. Over time. How should an incumbent’s grades from one election be shown beside their grades from the next, so voters can see what they believe improved?

Make my Top 10

Fill it all out, or don’t run. We deserve to know. Make your Top 10 now and show voters every grade.

Make my Top 10I’m running for office