The Business of Politics Show

Jordi Calvet-Bademunt, a senior research fellow at The Future of Free Speech and visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University, joins Eric Wilson to discuss AI regulations and their potential unintended consequences for free speech. In this eye-opening conversation, Calvet-Bademunt reveals how the anticipated wave of AI-generated deepfakes during the 2024 elections failed to materialize despite widespread panic from global institutions and media.The episode explores why AI is being treated differently than previous communication technologies, examines the risks of overly broad regulations, and highlights how both government policies and corporate self-censorship could threaten political discourse. Calvet-Bademunt shares surprising research findings about the actual impact of deepfakes in recent elections worldwide and advocates for media literacy over restrictive policies while celebrating the positive potential of AI in political communication.For campaign professionals and political strategists, this conversation offers valuable insight into navigating the evolving relationship between emerging technology and free speech in democratic systems.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

On today's episode, we're sharing a panel discussion I moderated early this month at the Leadership Institute's ElectTech conference in San Francisco. It was an informative conversation about how technology can be used to provide scale alongside the more conversational tactics campaigns are embracing. Become a Friend of the Trend: https://campaigntrend.com/friends/Caroline Strom, Client Partner for US Elections, XBryan McPartlan, Sales Director, Prompt.ioScott Winn, COO, California Republican PartySubscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Lara Aulestia is founder and CEO of 1060 Advisors, a paid media strategy, planning and buying company serving the public affairs and political industry. She has an extensive background in political media buying with past roles at iHeartMedia, Resonate, Xandr, and Warner Media.In this episode we dig into the need to layer media buys across platforms to achieve our desired reach and frequency objectives.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Our guest today is David Tennent, founder of CNCT, a platform to centralize social and professional opportunities for political staffers. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Our guest is Maya Hutchinson, the Founder & CEO of Battleground AI, an integrated advertising platform built for politics - effortlessly combining data, messaging, and ad creation in one place. Maya is a data-driven marketer with roots in Democratic politics.In this episode we discuss the tangible ways campaigns are using AI and how they can more fully tap into this emerging technology.3 Steps to Smarter Political AdvertisingSubscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Our guest today is Mark Harris, Managing Partner of ColdSpark, a boutique advertising and public affairs firm that specializes in political campaigns and issue advocacy.In our conversation, we discuss lessons Mark and his team learned from the victorious 2024 Pennsylvania Senate campaign for Senator Dave McCormick.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Our guest today is Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Reserve Major General. For decades he served on Capitol Hill, including as the Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Today he runs the Punaro Group, consults for a broad array of Fortune 100 companies, and has been recognized by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential individuals in US Defense. He's also the author of “If Confirmed: An Insider's View of the National Security Confirmation Process.”In this episode General Punaro takes us behind the scenes of the confirmation process from short lists to nominations to vetting to hearings and Senate votes. So if you want to survive a Senate confirmation hearing someday, take notes!Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Our guest today is Abigail Sigler, Vice President at Baker Group Strategies and the former campaign manager for Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. In this episode we're talking about a unique initiative from Senator Blackburn's re-election campaign known as “Campaign College”, a training program to train volunteers across the state in the various components of modern campaign strategy from canvassing to analytics.How Marsha Blackburn used campaign to train new generation of GOP activists (Axios)

Our guest today is Stephen Aaron, founder of Perspective Strategies. He is also the founder of a voter turnout initiative in 2024 called Vote4America that worked to activate social media influencers and podcasters.In this episode we dig into the mechanics and strategy of working with social media influencers with an eye towards how everyone - not just presidential candidates - can incorporate this into their campaigns.

In this episode, we look back at the key themes from the world of campaigning with highlights from some of our best episodes in 2024. 

On this episode, we're breaking down some key findings from the Center for Campaign Innovation's 2024 Post-Election Survey. We're joined by David Kanevsky of 3D Strategic Research who has been conducting this poll since 2020 to share additional insights from this research and helping us understand what they mean for campaigners. 10 Key Takeaways From Our 2024 National Post-Election Survey (CampaignInnovation.org)

Mike Hahn is the President of Digital Strategy & Operations at Frontline Strategies. In the 2022 cycle he was the Deputy Digital Director at the NRSC and is an alum of the Trump 2016 and 2020 campaigns where he served as the Director of Social Media. In total, he has raised well over $100 million online for various groups.In this episode we're digging into the initial learnings about digital fundraising in 2024 and what the future looks like for the grassroots fundraising space.

Scott Tranter is Director of Data Science at Decision Desk HQ, the only provider of real-time election results, race calls, and data to cover US elections from the presidency and Congress to the county and city level. We previously spoke with Scott about his experience building and selling his previous company, Optimus.In this episode we dig into the nuts and bolts of making race calls on Election Night in an accurate and timely manner.

Chaz Nuttycombe is director of CN Analysis, an election forecasting website and is the first-ever American election outlet that created forecasts for state legislative districts and chambers across the country and remains the sole group dedicated to this work.In this episode we discuss the process behind building election forecasts, what they mean, and how they're being used on the campaign trail.

Chris Faulkner who is a Senior National Strategist at Majority Strategies, one of the biggest consulting firms in the political space. Chris spent almost a decade as a Marine before getting into politics and he has worked on a LOT of campaigns.In this episode we diver further into the mechanics and strategy around early voting and vote by mail in the 2024 Election.Become a Campaign Trend Insider to support the podcast and get more analysis. Click here to join.

Jessica Anderson is President of the Sentinel Action Fund, the only conservative Super PAC with a year-round ground game committed to turning out absentee, early vote, and "day of" voters. She was previously the Executive Director of Heritage Action for America.In this episode we discuss how Sentinel has adapted to the wildly unpredictable 2024 election, the strategy behind boosting early voting, and the role of personal voter contact.Click here to become a Campaign Trend Insider.

Katie Harbath is Chief Global Affairs Officer at Duco Experts. From 2011 to 2021, Katie was the Public Policy Director at Facebook where she led global outreach to elected officials, political parties, and campaigners around the world.In our conversation, we check in on Facebook's role in the 2024 election.Anchor Change (newsletter)Become a Campaign Trend Insider and get even more news and insights. Subscribe here. 

Our guest today is Matthew Mazzone a partner at Ascent Media Agency where he leads large scale branding and marketing campaigns. Before getting into agency world, Matt was the Director of Film and Visual Media at the Republican National Committee.In this episode we're talking about virtual production – how it works and what it means for political ad makers.Watch Virtual Production In Action - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AmlMcfxzT8Become a Campaign Trend Insider to get exclusive content and more. 

Enjoy a brief explanation of the thought process and decision making behind this podcast's rebrand. Become a Campaign Trend Insider to support the podcast and get exclusive content: https://campaigntrend.com/join

The next time an episode hits your feed, the show will have a new name – the Campaign Trend Podcast. Campaign Trend is a journal at the frontier of political campaigning and the new home for all of the campaign-related content I create – including blog posts, newsletters, and podcasts. https://campaigntrend.com/To get a mug, email me: eric@campaigntrend.com

Sean Cooksey is Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. The FEC sets the regulations for campaigning at the federal level. To put it bluntly, the business of politics follows their rules and there are real consequences to that. It's an honor to have Sean on the show. He is former Chief Counsel to Senator Josh Hawley and former Counsel to Senator Ted Cruz. The Senate confirmed Sean as a commissioner in 2020. In our conversation, we get the insider's perspective on how the FEC works, what the commission is working on for the 2024 cycle, and how they're responding to new advancements in technology.

Our guest today is Doug Heye, a strategic communications advisor and political commentator. Doug was the communications director for the Republican National Committee during the 2010 election cycle and on Capitol Hill was Deputy Chief of Staff to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. In our conversation today we go behind the scenes on cable news, how Doug prepares for a hit, and what producers are looking for in a guest.

Armin Petschner-Multari is a digital campaign expert based in Berlin. He is the founder of The Republic, a think tank promoting center-right policies in Germany.In today's episode, we're digging into the recent European Union elections and what campaigners here in the U.S. can learn.

Daria Grastara is CEO of Direct Persuasion, a performance marketing and persuasion advertising agency serving Republican campaigns and issue advocacy organizations. During the 2022 election cycle Daria was Digital Director at the NRSC and she's also worked on the Trump campaign and at the NRCC.In our conversation, we discuss the transition in ownership of the firm, that challenges she's faced as an entrepreneur, and the lessons learned along the way.

Seth Blank is the Chief Technology Officer at Valimail, a leading provider of email authentication and anti-impersonation solutions. Seth is also co-chair of the DMARC working group for the Internet Engineering Task Force.We'll also talk about Valimail's outreach to political campaigns and what Seth thinks campaigns can do to send better emails.The New Requirements for Email Delivery at Gmail

Our guest today is Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. Since 1985, Grover and ATR have been a fixture of Republican politics, shaping the party's dedication to cutting taxes. In our conversation, we discuss the origins of ATR, the keys to its long-lasting success, and lessons for other organizational entrepreneurs.

Our guest today is Zack Roday, Partner at Ascent Media, he's been a communicator on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail for many years, including Joe O'Dea for Senate where he was campaign manager, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Republican Attorneys General Association.In our conversation, we dive into strategies for overcoming the fragmented media and platform landscape and how to create content that cuts through.Axios: Shards of glass: Inside media's 12 splintering realities

Our guest is Jason Thielman, Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, where he is tasked with leading the GOP's efforts to elect more senators in 2024. Jason served as Chief of Staff to Senator Steve Daines prior to his election as NRSC Chairman for the cycle. Jason has a background in both business and politics. In our conversation today, Jason shares with us the strategy decisions driving the NRSC in 2024, what he thinks about the state of campaigning, and a behind the scenes look at recruiting someone to run for U.S. Senate.How The NRSC Helps Senate Candidates – Kevin McLaughlin (Common Sense Leadership Fund)Chapters00:00 Introduction00:58 The Lay of the Land for Senate Campaigns in 202404:07 The Importance of Early Phase and Candidate Recruitment05:26 The Challenges of Online Fundraising07:06 Factors Contributing to the Downturn in Online Fundraising09:54 Challenges and Priorities as Executive Director of the NRSC12:33 Pros and Cons of Candidate Recruitment16:04 Convincing Candidates to Run for Senate22:45 Balancing Work and Personal Life25:18 Delegating and Focusing on Strategic Efforts26:26 Conclusion

Today, we're talking with Jon Seaton, Managing Partner of Camelback Strategy Group, a full-service political consulting and public affairs firm. Jon was Associate Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush and served as Regional Campaign Manager for Senator John McCain's presidential campaign. Jon and I dig into the changing nature of the campaign ground game, how data and technology have transformed door knocking, and the rise of paid canvassing. TakeawaysTechnology has revolutionized the campaign ground game, allowing for more effective measurement and targeting of door knocking operations.Building a modern, effective ground game involves identifying persuadable voters, creating scripts that resonate with them, and maintaining ongoing contact to reinforce messaging.Canvassing remains a highly effective and personal way to communicate with voters, providing an opportunity for face-to-face conversations and influencing voter decisions.Paid canvassing has become increasingly popular as it allows campaigns to recruit well-trained canvassers and ensure consistent standards and productivity.The risks of paid canvassing include potential negative interactions captured on doorbell cameras and the need for careful training and management to maintain a positive campaign image.The future of campaign ground games involves further advancements in targeting, personalized messaging, and coordination across multiple communication channels.

David Broockman is an associate professor of political science at UC Berkeley. He is the co-author of a study published in the American Political Science Review last month titled “How Experiments Help Campaigns Persuade Voters: Evidence from a Large Archive of Campaigns' Own Experiments.”  In our conversation, we discuss the research and learn what campaigners should do in light of the findings. 

Our guest today is Kurt Luidhardt, co-founder of the Prosper Group, one of the leading digital strategy firms for Republicans. Kurt and his team have worked for candidates across the country, including Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and many more. In today's episode, we're talking about the future of digital strategy, online fundraising, and what recent shifts in tactics mean for a new path forward for creating content to engage supporters.

Our guest is Patrick Wohl, author of the new book Down Ballot: How A Local Campaign Became a national referendum on abortion. Patrick is a Washington, DC-based public affairs professional and also has extensive experience on the campaign trail up and down the ballot. In our conversation, we discuss the small race that became a big deal, the long-term impact of the outcome, and we even dig into the book publishing industry.

Today we're sharing the audio from a recent webinar hosted by the Center for Campaign Innovation discussing the 2023 Virginia Post Election Survey they did with the State Government Leadership Foundation. The full survey, including the slides referenced in the discussion are available at the link in our show notes. The webinar was moderated by Eric Wilson and participants were David Kanevsky from 3D Strategic Research and Peter Barnes from the State Government Leadership Foundation, co-sponsor of the survey.Our discussion focuses on three main highlights from the poll: the perception of the abortion debate in voters' minds, the effect of renewed Republican early voting efforts, and the status of social media and digital streaming platforms. Visit CampaignInnovation.org for the slides referenced. 

Our guest today is Scott Brennen, head of online expression policy at the University of North Carolina's Center on Technology Policy. He and his colleagues recently published a set of policy frameworks for political ads in the age of artificial intelligence. We discuss the current state of AI in political ads, what should be done about it, and recommendations for protecting voters from the harms of AI in political ads. A policy framework to govern the use of generative AI in political ads

Today we're joined by Sean Topham, co-founder of Topham Guerin, a global creative and digital agency. Sean and his team have worked on campaigns around the world, from Australia to the UK, where they're always bringing cutting edge, envelope pushing creative ideas to the table. Sean's fresh off a big win in his native New Zealand where TikTok played a major role in the political conversation. We learn more about the New Zealand National Party's victory, what Sean and his team learned about tiktok, and how conservatives can apply these lessons in the united states.The digital campaign that rewrote NZ's political playbook

On this episode, we're taking a look back at the stories that shaped the world of digital politics in 2023 and are setting the trends as we head into 2024. These are the stories I drew from Learn Test Optimize, my weekly newsletter on all things digital politics. Subscribe at LearnTestOptimize.com if you aren't already. I'm joined today by Mitchell Porwoll, Digital Strategist at Invictus Strategies, a new fundraising firm. He was previously head of marketing at WinRed.

Our guest is Bob Maranto, he's the 21st Century Chair in Leadership in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. He's a founding member of the Society for Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences. In our conversation today we discuss the field of political science and the effect of polarization in academia on political science.

Our guest today is Robert Moran. He's a futurist, a management consultant, and a pollster. He began his career in political consulting and polling. He recently wrote a fascinating article at Campaigns & Elections about a thought experiment where an AI runs for office. In our conversation, we dive deeper into his vision of an AI politician, what it would mean for our politics, and more near-term impacts of AI in campaigns.

**Support the Business of Politics Show by becoming a member for just $10 per month (click here)**Today we're speaking with Ryan Lyk, CEO of WinRed, the official secure payments technology designed to help Republican candidates and committees raise more money and win. Since launching in 2019, WinRed has processed more than three billion dollars. Ryan has been with WinRed from day one and became CEO in March of this year. Before that he worked on the agency side helping candidates with their digital campaigns. During our conversation we learn about WinRed's latest features, what campaigns can do to take advantage of them, and what Ryan sees on the horizon for online fundraising.

Sylvie Légère is a civic leader, social entrepreneur, and advocate for women in Leadership. She's the founder of Candidate Pathways, a software platform to help political organizations with candidate recruitment by building, tracking, and developing a pipeline of candidates to run for office.In our conversation we discuss the challenges of candidate recruitment, how software can help political organizations tackle the problem, and what Sylvie's learned about the business of politics with Candidate Pathways. 

We're joined today by Caitlin Huxley, a campaign strategist, certified project manager, and history buff with a passion for empowering new candidates to overcome challenges and achieve success in their campaigns. She's also an author, and her new book is Ancient Wisdom for Modern Campaigns: Lessons from Sun Tzu's Art of War. In our show today, we dig into why this text is still relevant thousands of years after being written, what campaigners can take away from Sun Tzu's most famous sayings, and where strategy and tactics meet on the trail.

We're diving into the current state of affairs for political programmatic advertising. Where do major tech platforms stand in terms of their policies on campaign ads, what alternatives exist, and what can campaigners do to prepare for further disruptions?Joining us to discuss this and more is Matt Hedberg, the COO of RepublicanAds.com – our sponsor for this episode. Republican Ads is the only self-service voter targeted digital advertising platform built for conservatives by conservatives. We interviewed co-founder Andy Yates during an earlier episode of the podcast – listen here.

**RSVP for Business of Politics Show LIVE**Bubba Atkinson is Co-founder of Monarch Media Ventures, a digital media consulting and video production firm. He was employee number 10 at Axios where he led audience growth and video strategy. Prior to that, he was editor in chief of IJ Review, the viral political news website. In our conversation, we discuss the state of news media, audience building, and what you need to know to succeed in today's content landscape.Click here to learn more about One Dollar News.

This episode was recorded during a live, in-person event on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. Click here to RSVP for our next in-person event on Tuesday, October 3 in Washington, DC. In this episode we discuss the Iowa Caucuses – the first nominating contest in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. We'll dig into what they are, how they work, and what candidates need to do to win.We're joined by two Iowa natives and experts: David Kochel and Nicole Schlinger.David is the owner of Redwave Communications, a Des Moines-based, political and public affairs firm. He's who you want to have on your team if you want to win in Iowa – that's included six presidential campaigns!Nicole is the President of Campaign HQ, a Brooklyn, Iowa -based phone call and texting firm that has a client roster as long as your arm from across the country. She's been a part of four Iowa Presidential campaigns and is one of the few Iowa operatives with both an Iowa Straw Poll and Iowa Caucus win under her belt.

Our guest today is Paul Allen, founder of Citizen Portal, an AI-powered platform that helps citizens, elected leaders and other stakeholders be informed and engaged in our representative democracy.  He's also the co-founder and former CEO of Ancestry.com. He's also served as the chief evangelist for Gallup's Strengths finder. In our show today, we learn more about Citizen Portal and what's drawn Paul to the political space for his next company. Visit BusinessOfPoliticsPodcast.com/join to become a supporter of the show.

Today we're talking with Michael Duncan, a founding partner at Cavalry, an issue management firm that works with Fortune 500 companies, trade association, political and non-profit clients. He's had an extensive career in digital campaigning, but he's also the host of the Ruthless Podcast, which has taken the GOP political world by storm over the last 3 years. They were just tapped to provide the pre-game coverage for the first Republican presidential debate this year. In our conversation, we talk about the growth of the podcast, what lessons he's learned as a content creator, and how he thinks more campaigns can embrace the power of audience building. Support the Business of Politics Show by becoming a member of the Startup Caucus Network. Click here to join now.

*** NEW: Visit BusinessOfPoliticsPodcast.com/join to become a supporter of the show. ***This episode is all about programmatic digital advertising in the political space. You'll learn more about how it works, the risks and benefits, and what new technology is doing to make it more efficient – especially for political campaigns.To guide us on this discussion, we're joined by a pair of industry experts from Powers Interactive, a programmatic media company. Jordan Lieberman is the CEO and he boasts a long career in the political advertising industry as does Kate Holliday, VP for Political and Public Affairs.

We're talking with Hunter Schwarz, a journalist whose Yello website chronicles everything related to politics and design.  He's been a reporter at CNN, the Washington Post, IJ Review, and Buzzfeed. In this episode, we discuss the role of branding in modern politics, what he thinks about the 2024 Republican logos, and the design trends he hopes cross over into politics. 

We're joined today by Josh Klemons a Digital Storyteller/Strategist and the founder of Reverbal Communications, helping progressive campaigns, organizations and brands of all shapes and sizes find, hone and tell their stories online.Our conversation today is about the state of email marketing in the 2024 Republican primary and Josh has an interesting outsider's perspective as a Democrat and he wrote a blog post where he assessed all of the 2024 Republican contenders' email campaigns. We dig into what he's looking for, what trends he's spotted, and what he thinks down ballot campaigns should take or leave from presidential campaign email strategy.

This episode is all about how campaigns can create media for their ad campaigns on a low budget. Despite an increase in political spending – especially when it comes to media – the need for campaigns to create content is growing every day. So campaigns of all sizes need to think about how they balance output and costs. Our focus today is going to be on video creative since it's the most in demand and the most costly.To help us understand, we're joined by Danny Laub, a partner at Poolhouse, who serves as a key political advisor and media consultant for Republican campaigns across the country."Common Cents" – Glenn Youngkin for GovernorMeet Glenn Youngkin's Ad Man - Will Ritter (POOLHOUSE)