This study presents longitudinal data concerning factors that influence student participation in political campaigns for candidates opposed to nuclear weapons build‐up. Participation in campaigns was stimulated by nervousness about the nuclear arms race and the possibility of nuclear war, a feeling of moral obligation to act to try to prevent nuclear war, and several additional factors. The factors that contributed to participation in political campaigns are quite different from the factors found previously to be associated with other types of activism against nuclear weapons build‐up. These findings suggest varied strategies for recruiting people to participate in different types of activism. Copyright © 1988, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved