This is always difficult. You have no idea how much time I've put into researching different candidates, issues, etcetera. Even then, there's just no way that I'll ever find a candidate or a law that I agree with 100%. Even with Ron Paul, there are some things he's said that really bother me. I had to address those, examine them, chew on them for quite some time, then come to a decision and resolution.
Number one rule for candidates; do they impinge upon rights (generally), or do they like to give rights where none existed? Newcomers have to make intelligent statements, I scrutinize EVERYTHING (which is why I don't usually vote the full-on Libertarian party ticket, there are some real whack jobs in my party).
Number one rule for any measures, proposals, or legislation; do I understand it? If I can't understand it, if the plan has not been spelled out to a T, then I vote NO. I never ever rely on the ads on tv, those are usually extremely misleading, up to and including listing who supports or opposes a given measure or proposal.
Maybe I should have majored in Poli Sci when I was in school, might not have dropped out. Then again, I value my own privacy too highly.
If you want links to some of the sites that I use to help me learn about the politicians, let me know.