The Electables

Doug ZOOMs with Majority Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina to discuss the results of the election, challenges facing Joe Biden's upcoming presidency, and provides some history on his own story in politics and public service. Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Doug is joined by "Against the Grain" host Josh Kraushaar to break down the results of the 2020 Presidential election.Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Doug Thornell is joined by Anita Dunn, a senior advisor to the Joe Biden campaign and a fellow colleague at managing director at SKDKnickerbocker. They discuss the entire campaign from primaries to election night as well as the coming transition.Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

 In this episode, Doug Thornell is joined by his longtime friends, actor Jon Bernthal, and Gareth Schweitzer, president of Material Company Action Division. They discuss their views on this election from the backdrop of growing up in DC.Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action. In this episode, Doug asks Shannon about how the organization is fighting for change and taking on the NRA. 

What is the data telling us as we head into November? Doug Thornell interviews Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart, to discuss election predictions with 3 days remaining.Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Dominik Whitehead, NAACP Civic Engagement Director, joins Doug Thornell to discuss the national campaign run by the NAACP to drive strong turnout in the 2020 election.Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Brianna Cayo Cotter leads Social Impact at MTV and Viacom and these days she is focused on getting the vote out. Doug and Brianna discuss what it takes to spread the word about the importance of voting and the responsibility corporations feel to create a social impact with their platform.Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

David Smick is a global macroeconomic strategist, investor, magazine editor, and author, most recently of The Great Equalizer: How Main Street Capitalism Can Create an Economy for Everyone (PublicAffairs), David Smickwhich predicted the U.S. average working family economic anxiety that led to Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. In 2008, he published The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy (Penguin Portfolio), which predicted the 2008 global financial crisis. Mr. Smick has written for the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He has appeared as a television commentator on CNN, Fox, CNBC, Charlie Rose, and PBSSTRATEGISTMr. Smick is chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson Smick International, Inc., a leading macroeconomic advisory firm based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1985, the firm's clients include some of the world's most successful money managers. The firm's first client was Soros Fund Management. The Financial Times described Mr. Smick as "one of Washington's premier The International Economy Fall 2016insiders" in the field of economic and financial policy.EDITORMr. Smick is also the founder, editor, and publisher of The International Economy magazine. Launched in 1987, the publication's readership includes many of the world's senior financial policy officials and market strategists.AUTHORNew York Times columnist David Brooks described Mr. Smick's first book, The World Is Curved, as "astonishingly prescient." Former President Bill Clinton called the book one of the top three books on the global financial crisis. Translated into dozens of languages, the book received the Gold Medal by the Axiom Business Book Awards as the year's "best book on international business and globalization." The World Is Curved Book CoverThe book sold out in China in two-and-a-half weeks.Mr. Smick began his career in 1975 in Washington, D.C., as a professional staff member of the United States Senate. In 1979, at the age of twenty-six, he became chief of staff to a member of the congressional leadership.Mr. Smick has advised both Republican (Ronald Reagan) and Democratic (Bill Bradley) U.S. presidential candidates on economic policy.

Jim Papa joins Doug Thornell to discuss the job of a Staffer and how that role shapes a career. It is a unique job that provides new challenges everyday and sculpts a person into being resourceful and flexible. Jim's new podcast Staffer showcases interviews with former staffers and details how the job shaped their careers. STAFFER releases on all platforms September 1. Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Amy Spitalnick, Executive Director of Integrity First for America, is committed to holding those accountable who threaten longstanding principles of our democracy. Her current mission is Sines v. Kessler, the lawsuit filed by a coalition of Charlottesville community members against the Nazis and white supremacists responsible for the violence. In this episode, we discuss the case and hear more about extremist groups and their tactics for spreading hate.Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Interested in media buying? Laura Kollappallil and Will Flohr of Assembly take us into the details of media buying. We hear about traditional vs digital and other ways candidates are using media to reach voters. Follow The Electables Twitter • Facebook • Instagram

Andre BanksFounder + CEOAndre Banks is founder and CEO of A/B Partners, a leading creative practice staffed by people of color, women and queer people bringing to life groundbreaking communications strategies in the #BlackLivesMatter era. A/B Partners is a fully integrated, data-driven agency providing communications strategy, brand positioning, content-driven message and audience testing and multi-channel media outreach. Andre has been leading campaigns for over 20 years and currently serves as the chair of the board at Color Of Change, the largest racial justice organization in the U.S. Prior to starting A/B, Andre was EVP for Social Impact & Philanthropy at Berlin Rosen, a leading national public relations and strategic communications firm. Andre is also co-founder of AllOut, a global organization advocating for the social acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. He was also a founding partner at leading social impact agency Purpose.Ashley BryantPrincipal, A/B PartnersAfter 12+ years of a unique professional career of brand building, digital marketing, and political strategy—Ashley sits at the intersection of culture, politics, and activism. After serving as the Ohio Digital Director for the 2012 re-election campaign of President Barack Obama, she left the private sector to focus her efforts on building political power in the communities that need it the most. Prior to A/B, Ashley was a VP at 270 Strategies, Federal Digital Director at MoveOn and has advised several non-profits, and campaigns on strategic engagement and political mobilization as an independent consultant encouraging action through integrated online and offline strategies. She is also currently an Advisor to Higher Heights for America and Higher Heights for America PAC, the only political action committee exclusively dedicated to electing more progressive Black women from the federal level to citywide Mayors.

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CEO of the 2020 Democratic National Convention Committee joins The Electables to discuss the changes to the convention due to Coronavirus, some of his favorite convention memories, and what to expect in August.

Cornell Belcher is the President of Brilliant Corners Research and Strategies. He joins Doug Thornell to discuss several topics ranging from the 2020 election to race and politics. They touch on the messaging around defunding the police and how that will translate at the polls.Cornell Belcher is President of Brilliant Corners Research & Strategies, a published author (A Black Man in the White House), political contributor to NBC/MSNBC, and one of the premier strategists in national progressive politics as well as in the rebranding of corporate America. Cornell served as Pollster for the DNC under Chairman Howard Dean making him the first minority to lead in that role for either national Party. He also served on the polling team for both groundbreaking Obama presidential campaigns. Over the years, Cornell has worked with both Senate and House Democrats as Senior Political Advisor to the DSCC in the 2002 cycle and Special Projects Director for the DCCC in the 2000 cycle. Cornell also served as Women VOTE! Coordinator for EMILY's List in the 1998 cycle, helping to put together communication and GOTV operations targeting women voters all over the country.Cornell is an experienced hand at campaign politics and has years of expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, message development, and product and behavioral insight. Founding brilliant corners in 2002, he is considered the vanguard for demographic trends among the emerging younger and browner America. In 2008 and 2012, youth and minority voters over-indexed and changed the face of the electorate helping not only President Obama, but progressive candidates and issues up and down the ballot; indeed in 2012 African American voter turnout surpassed that of whites for the first time in history.  Both historic watershed moments that greatly depended on Cornell's nonconformist contributing work. As the pollster for the Democratic National Committee, he was able to ignore beltway criticisms and take the national Party's research into previously unchartered directions, exploring how best to challenge Republicans' strengths among voters in supposedly untouchable "red states," particularly "faith" or "values first" voters. Under Governor Dean's leadership, Cornell helped to construct a savvy framework for the visionary 50 State Strategy that expanded the Democratic footprint on the electoral map and ultimately produced a Democratic realignment. Asked about Cornell's role, Governor Dean was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that the research conducted by brilliant corners for the DNC was "the best poll [he'd] seen in ten years."  

On this episode of The Electables, top pollster John Anzalone discusses recent polling data on Trump and Joe Biden and how the Black Lives Matter movement and COVID-19 are impacting support.

On this episode of the Electables, Doug is joined by Jamal Simmons, CBS News analyst and reporter. Jamal worked for U.S. President Bill Clinton and was an advisor to President Barack Obama's historic 2008 campaign and White House. Today, he and Doug discuss how the political landscape is impacted by recent Black Lives Matter protests and how race is present when working for a campaign or any organization.Learn more about Jamal here: http://jamalsimmons.com and follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamalSimmons

Jason Rosenbaum is the president of SKDK Digital. He joins the Electables to discuss how digital outreach has changed political advertising and fundraising through the years, which party has a stronger digital strategy, and how the Biden and Trump campaigns are employing these strategies.

Guy Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA, joins the Electables to discuss the upcoming 2020 election and the strategies Priorities USA are taking to beat Trump.

Dawn Huckelbridge is the Director of Paid Leave for All, a new campaign that will provide the strategy and coordinated effort to turn paid leave into a political reality.

Election law expert and voting rights advocate Marc Elias talks with us about Democratic efforts to protect everyone's right to vote.

Reed Galen is an independent political strategist. He left the Republican Party in 2016 and has spent the last three years dedicated to the political reform movement, creating a better system for all voters. Today they discuss how the Lincoln Project is rolling out their strategy to hold our elected officials accountable.

Consultant and Democratic Strategist Jesse Ferguson joins the Electables to discuss the most recent polling about how the Coronavirus is impacting the national campaigns.

Errin Haines joins the Electables to discuss how Coronavirus is impacting election staff and fundraising as well as discuss the new publication, The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy.

Political Strategist Paul Tencher joins the Electables to discuss the state of the Democratic primary.

Things are heating up in the Democratic race to elect a nominee to take on Donald Trump in November. It looked like Bernie Sanders was going to run away with it after the Nevada caucuses but Joe Biden has been catapulted by strong results in Super Tuesday and now Mini Super Tuesday. Doug and Adrienne catch you up on where this race stands heading into the first head-to-head debate between the two frontrunners on Sunday, March 15, 2020

Jamal Simmons, CBS News political analyst, joins the Electables to discuss the Super Tuesday results, the path of the Democratic Party now that there are two candidates, the legacy of Elizabeth Warren, and the outlook for the primaries taking place on Tuesday March 10, 2020.

Dave Wasserman, House Editor for The Cook Political Report, joins Adrienne and Doug to discuss the South Carolina primary results and where all the campaigns stand heading into Super Tuesday.

Doug and Adrienne react to the debate in Nevada leading up to the Nevada caucus.

Former Obama Aide Reggie Love joins The Electables to discuss his support of Pete Buttigieg ahead of the Nevada caucus and South Carolina primary.

Tom Steyer's campaign manager, Heather Hargreaves, joins the Electables to discuss the Nevada and South Carolina primaries. The candidate for president is trending well in those states and hopes he can make a move in the polls. Heather discusses the campaign's strategy and how they are focusing their message to reach voters.

Karen Hicks joins Adrienne and Doug to discuss the New Hampshire primary results. Karen is a veteran political strategist with extensive experience managing grassroots campaigns in battleground states.

Doug and Adrienne discuss the fallout of the Iowa Caucuses and are joined by Yahoo News reporter Brittany L. Shepard. Results are still waiting to be made official but the candidates are flying to New Hampshire to start meeting with potential voters. Campaign staffers are on edge while the stakes for the Democratic Party couldn't be higher.

On this episode of The Electables, guests Patrice Taylor, DNC Director of Party Affairs and Xochitl Hinojosa, DNC Communications Director discuss the upcoming Iowa caucuses and the new format being used in this 2020 election cycle.

Joining the Electables is Justin Buoen, campaign manager for Senator Amy Klobuchar's presidential campaign. In the lead up to the Iowa caucuses, Justin discusses Senator Klobuchar's strategy, how she is juggling her senate responsibilities during the impeachment trial, and why Iowans should support her presidential campaign.

On this episode, Doug and Adrienne discuss the final two weeks to the Iowa Caucus, Democratic infighting, and how the Senate impeachment trial effects the campaigns of candidates who will be stuck in Washington versus rallying their support in Iowa.

Top Democratic strategist Lily Adams, Communications Director, Kamala Harris for President, Former Hillary Clinton Spokesperson & Iowa Communications Director, Senior Advisor to VA Sen. Tim Kaine and OH Gov. Ted Strickland, joined Adrienne Elrod & Doug Thornell on The Electables to discuss Iowa and early primary states ground game and shares insights and predictions for 2020. Ms. Adams is a Fellow at Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and Public Service. According to her IPPS bio, she "has advised federal and state campaigns and office holders on communications strategy for more than a decade. Most recently, Lily served as communications director for U.S. Senator Kamala Harris' campaign for president, where she led communications strategy, including managing a team of over 20 press and research staffers across early primary states, acted as a senior strategist for all critical aspects of the campaign including debate prep, major speeches and campaign launch, and was the principal staffer to the candidate on all major media appearances. Lily held the same title in Harris' U.S. Senate office beginning in January 2017, where she oversaw the senator's national press strategy and was an integral member of the team crafting strategy and preparing the senator for high impact moments including the Kavanaugh hearings, and hearings with Attorneys General Sessions and Barr. Previously, Lily served as communications director for Hillary Clinton's successful Iowa caucus campaign and later ran all communications in primary states and in battleground states during the general election. In that role, Lily oversaw the hiring and management of dozens of communications staff and coordinated targeted messaging across the country. Before joining the Clinton presidential campaign, Lily worked as deputy communications director at the Democratic National Committee, where she led day-to-day operations of the communications department and served as the lead spokesperson for party affairs, including the 2016 convention site selection and the 2016 primary calendar process. Lily has also worked in various posts on campaigns for governor and senate including U.S. Senator Tim Kaine in Virginia, Governor Ted Strickland in Ohio and State Senator Creigh Deeds in Virginia. She has also been a senior member of three U.S. Senate offices including Kaine, Harris and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Lily is from Austin, Texas and received a B.A. in Politics from Brandeis University. She has a dog, Harper, and is an avid pie baker."

Doug and Adrienne talk about what lies in ahead in 2020 for the candidates, Could it be a brokered convention?

Dave Wasserman is the House Editor for The Cook Political Report. He is a highly respected political analyst and is recognized as one of the nation's top election forecasters.

Race Update - December 9, 2019 by Adrienne Elrod and Doug Thornell

Senator Cory Booker joins the Electables to discuss his campaign and the issues facing America.

Doug and Adrienne give some tips on how to survive Thanksgiving politics and give an update on the status of the Democratic race.

Uh-oh, Thornell called an audible! Actor, animal rights advocate, and DC native Jon Bernthal makes a special appearance on The Electables to talk about his acting career, rescuing pitbulls, growing up in DC and his views on Trump with co-host and best friend Doug Thornell.

Josh Kraushaar, National Journal Politics Editor, joins the Electables to breakdown the election debate from November 20th.

Pat Reilly is the Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Change Research, a polling firm located in San Francisco. Change Research is innovating on the polling process by leveraging digital surveys that can aggregate polls in near real-time and a fraction of the cost of traditional phone-based polls. In this episode, Pat elaborates on their methods, the future of polling, and the effect polling will have on the 2020 Democratic nomination.

Noam Lee, the Executive Director of the Democratic Governors Association, joins Adrienne and Doug to discuss the election runoff in the Louisiana Governor's race.

Joe Biden's Senior Advisor Symone Sanders joins the Electables to discuss how she got her start in politics, Joe Biden's strategy, and how to deal with Trump's bullying.

Katherine Miller is the Vice President of Impact at The James Beard Foundation and Founding Executive Director of the Chef Action Network (CAN). She joins Doug and Adrienne to discuss the importance of the food industry taking an active role in public policy.

Chef Tiffany Derry joins Adrienne and Doug in Princeton, New Jersey at the Bead Foundation Summit to discuss how politics and policy affects the food industry.

Doug and Adrienne recap the October debate.