Election night is a year and a half away, but with presidential hopefuls already hitting the campaign trail, now’s as good a time as any for associations to ramp up their advocacy efforts.

The 2016 presidential election is still 17 months away, but that hasn’t slowed down the work some associations are already doing to get their message in front of the early entrants into the race for the White House.

Take, for instance, the American Gaming Association, which launched its “Gaming Votes” initiative back in February. AGA President and CEO Geoff Freeman sent a letter to candidates last week urging them to get familiar with his industry. “With nine in ten American voters approving of gaming, your presence in casinos and gaming supplier facilities will only boost, not hurt, your chances of securing more votes—not just in Nevada, but nationwide,” he wrote.

The group will also host events in key swing states throughout the country over the summer, starting with Iowa on Monday, and it unveiled a series of videos intended to show the impact of the gaming industry on the American economy.

“AGA has done things in the past, and they’re very good at bringing attention to their issues—it’s a smart model for a lot of associations to emulate if they can,” Robert Hay Jr., CAE, executive director of the Association of Government Relations Professionals, said in an interview with Associations Now. “There are going to be so many issues that are going to be debated over the next two years, during the election and immediately afterward that it’s smart for groups to consider how they can get their issues in front of the candidates. The sooner the better.”

The benefit of election advocacy efforts is two-fold for associations, Hay explained. Not only are you getting your organization’s issues in front of a presidential candidate, but you’re also likely to draw some coverage from the press as well.

“There’s going to be media constantly following them, a lot of attention and a lot of searching for news,” he said. “If your association can get out there and raise its issues in front of the candidates, there’s a good chance that the media will start to notice it and start asking questions about your members and why these issues are important to them. It’s a good way to get some attention that you might not otherwise receive.”

As a reminder, Hay pointed out that, while there’s an important race for the White House going on, there will also be roughly 500 seats up for grabs in Congress—the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate will be on ballots throughout the country next November.

“It’s important to make sure that they see these issues too because, as important as the next president is going to be, they won’t have a vote in Congress,” he said. “If you can get members of Congress to learn more about your issues, then when votes come up on the floor or in committee, they’ll be knowledgeable. It’s a good grassroots effort to build attention that way.”

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