Candidates Flocked to Podcasts in 2025, Analysis Shows

2025 was a landmark year for candidates appearing on podcasts.

High-profile candidates in this year’s elections invested more time than ever into podcasts, according to a new analysis from Edison Research. In doing so, the analysis argues, candidates were able to reach millions of voters nationally, underscoring the growing importance of podcasts in the campaign space.

It’s a natural continuation of a trend that rose to the forefront in 2024, when President Donald Trump and, to a lesser extent, former Vice President Kamala Harris sat for interviews and conversations on numerous shows in a bid to reach increasingly fragmented audiences. 

Trump, according to Edison Research’s count, appeared on 20 podcasts from July to November 2024, while Harris appeared on just eight in the same time frame.

Those numbers appear quaint by 2025 standards. According to Edison Research’s tally, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani appeared as a guest on 31 podcasts in the time period between January and October of this year. His main rival in the New York City mayoral race, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, appeared on 18. 

Meanwhile, in neighboring New Jersey, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who won last Tuesday’s race for governor, went on 18 individual podcasts, according to Edison Research. Her Republican opponent in the general election Jack Ciattarelli fell just shy of that, appearing on 16. 

The payoff of their strategies are clear. Edison Research estimates that Mamdani reached approximately 12.5 million Americans 18 and older in an average week with his podcast appearances, trouncing Cuomo, who reached about 1.2 million Americans per week on average. 

For her part, Sherrill was able to reach about 4.1 million Americans 18 and older in an average week via podcasts, Edison Research reported, while Ciattarelli reached roughly 972,000.

To be sure, Edison Research’s estimates are national, rather than statewide or local. And the numbers gauge the weekly reach by show, rather than individual episodes. 

Still, the analysis suggests that campaigns are increasingly turning to podcasts as a way to broaden their reach, especially at a moment when voters are demanding authenticity and candor from political candidates.

Not only are campaigns taking podcast appearances more seriously, but several high-profile politicians, from California Gov. Gavin Newsom to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), have started their own podcasts in a bid to reach new audiences. 

Polling from the podcast agency Voxtopica and audio research firm Signal Hill Insights shared first with Campaigns & Elections last week underscored the impact that podcasts have on voters, showing that most podcast listeners are more likely to pay attention to politicians when they appear as guests on their podcasts.

“The thing that’s most important is authenticity,” Richard Fawal, the CEO of Voxtopica, told C&E. “Politicians generally try to fake authenticity, but when you go on a podcast and have to talk about whatever that podcast is about, it gets you out of repeating the same talking points over and over again. And voters want to see more of that.”