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RICHMOND, Va. - Professional campaign workers are the men and women behind the men and women who make our laws.

They are the instrumental but often unseen organizers who arrive long before the volunteers and stay long after the candidates go home. They are professional campaign workers and must lead a migratory life as they move from one candidate's hometown to the next.

While every campaign manager has his or her own story, the typical staffer is aggressive, energetic, passionate, single and in their mid-20s.

These individuals spend hundreds upon hundreds of hours knocking on doors, making calls and passing out information to help elect a candidate they believe in. Then after the first Tuesday in November, they pack up, move out and start all over again.

Reece Collins knows campaigns. He moved from Indiana to Virginia to run Rich Anderson's bid for the House of Delegates. "It's not for everyone but I certainly like it," he said.

Anderson won by just a few hundred votes. "[Collins] was the glue that held it together," he said.

"It's like a one-year business. You open it up, get all of your customers in one day and then close shop," added Collins.

It's a quick turnaround but Collins considers campaigning like playing offense in the political arena. "Like a football team having the ball marching down the field -- that's what we're doing," he said.

Collins says just 15 years ago, his job at a local level didn't exist. Now, more money in politics makes it possible.

"Some people get involved in politics by [volunteering], some people do it by putting a sign in their yards, [and] some people get involved by writing a check," he said.

Those checks pay for his salary. "At the number of hours he's worked, he's worked at minimum wage or below," said Anderson.

And Collins has seen some interesting sights along the way, including people answering the doors in their underwear.

But that's not the only way Collins job is unpredictable. "I lose my job every year," he said. "That part of it is tough."

He says in some ways he has no job security but in other ways he has incredible security. "There's going to be another first Tuesday in November where names are going to be on the ballot. So there's always going to be an opportunity somewhere for me."

Where his next opportunity is, he doesn't know. Political operatives choices are either sign on with a winning candidate's staff or find another campaign trail. With next year's mid-term elections looming large, Collins says he's going to take a few weeks to think over his next move.

"I may be here next year. You and I may sit in this office and have another chat or I may be on the other side of the county," he said. "I mean who knows?"

The political circuit is a very close-knit network. Collins says when political operatives like himself are looking for the next campaign, they don't post their resume on a job Web site. Instead, it's all about who they know and what their track record shows.

Collins says no campaign manager should be blamed for a candidate's loss but winning certainly makes it easier to get the next job.

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