Engagement fees, written down.
Every candidate and PAC asks the same first question. Darth Ventures' answer is a scope-based retainer, no commissions, no back-end — and a fee that does not change with how the race is going. The rest of this page explains what that means, what drives the number, and what the consultation actually looks like.
Paid for the work. Not for the outcome.
Darth Ventures runs on a scope-based retainer engagement. The firm is paid for the work the campaign commissions — voter modeling, message testing, paid media, field operations, opposition research, war room support — sized to the actual scope of the race, not to a tier on a rate card. Every engagement includes access to OppoDB, our in-house SaaS platform and the proprietary engine that powers every lane.
The fee does not change with how the race is going. There are no success bonuses, no back-end arrangements, no commissions on media spend. Those structures create a conflict of interest between the firm and the campaign, and Darth Ventures has chosen not to operate that way.
Comparable firms keep their fees proprietary. Darth Ventures is intentionally more open about its engagement model — the philosophy, the drivers, the consultation shape — because campaigns deserve to know what they are buying before they sign.
Three factors shape the number.
Every engagement is sized to scope. These are the variables that move the number, in plain language, so the consultation starts with shared vocabulary rather than guesswork.
The electorate universe, the number of media markets in play, the field footprint, and whether the race is a single district or spans multiple regions all change the work. A statewide general is not a state-legislative race, even when the polling looks similar.
Which lanes from the homepage services grid are in — voter analytics, message testing, paid media, field and GOTV, opposition research, war room support — each adds a discrete workstream with its own staffing and dashboarding.
A primary-season sprint is a different engagement than a full general-cycle run, and both differ again from an extension through recount or runoff. Length scales staff time and the cadence of dashboarding and check-ins.
A five-step path from first call to kickoff.
There is no rate card and no surprise fee structure at the end. The consultation has a shape, and the shape is the same on every engagement — from a state-legislative primary to a statewide general.
Intro call, no fee
A 30-minute conversation about the race, the timeline, and the lanes the campaign is considering. NDA-friendly — we sign before any specifics change hands, if the campaign wants one.
Race scoping we send back as a 1-pager
After the call we send a short written read of the race: universe, competitive read, lanes we would prioritize, and the open questions we still need answered before sizing anything.
Indicative engagement scope, discussed openly
We walk through the workstreams and rough level of effort on the second call. Indicative fees are discussed on this call, not after — the campaign hears the shape of the number before signing anything.
A retainer proposal sized to scope
The written proposal is sized to the statement of work, not a rate card. It names what is in, what is not, the cadence of invoicing, and how scope changes are handled.
A kickoff date on a real calendar
If the proposal lands, the engagement kicks off on a date both sides commit to, not a placeholder. Day one is staffed, the dashboard is wired, and the work begins.
What the model is, and is not.
This is the part of the page other firms do not write down. Darth Ventures does — because the difference between a scope-based retainer and a commission-heavy engagement is the kind of thing a campaign should be able to read before the first call.
Scope-based retainer
Pay for the work the campaign commissions, sized to the scope we agree on in writing.
Open written scope
Every engagement comes with a written statement of work, so both sides know what is and is not in.
Conflict checks up front
We will not stack opposing clients on the same cycle. The check happens before the proposal goes out.
Back-end or contingency fees
The fee does not change with the outcome. There are no success bonuses that create a conflict of interest.
Commission on media spend
Darth Ventures is disintermediated from vendors. We do not take a cut of what the campaign spends on media.
Off-the-shelf rate card
There is no published price list. Fees are sized to scope, not picked from a menu of tiers.
Talk through the engagement.
There is no fee to get the conversation started. The consultation is how a real number gets reached — sized to the race, the lanes, and the timeline the campaign is actually working with.
Darth Ventures · Data-driven political consulting powered by OppoDB — our in-house SaaS engine that turns voter files, polling, and live signal into the strategy that wins the close race.