Opportunity Race Program Overview
NAR’s Opportunity Race Program is a grassroots-based program that encourages REALTORS® to become active in the campaigns of selected NAR-supported federal candidates. REALTORS® are contacted by NAR through direct mail, phone banks, e-mail and other campaign activities and encouraged to support a particular candidate for Congress in their state or district. Since federal election law allows only a maximum of $10,000 to be contributed to a candidate by RPAC, the Opportunity Race program allows NAR to go the extra step to help elect pro-REALTOR® candidates.
The Opportunity Race program is funded through voluntary RPAC corporate contributions, commonly referred to as “soft dollars.” Because all election communication used by NAR occurs only with its members, NAR is allowed to use these so-called “soft dollars” or “non-federal funds” and save our RPAC “hard dollars” or “federal funds” to be used only for direct contributions to candidates.
NAR has a unique advantage over many other participants in the political process in that we have one million members to draw upon. The Opportunity Race program seeks to channel that resource into an effective political force that will make a difference in the election.
This has the effect of also serving as a lobbying tool, in that Members of Congress will be far more receptive to NAR’s concerns if they know the REALTORS® in their districts our educated and motivated voters. The program also has the added value of showing REALTORS® their political contributions at work while educating them on the voting record of the candidates running to represent them in Congress.
Opportunity Race Program Levels
Opportunity Race Program Process