If your candidate or campaign can avoid these common mistakes, raising money should become easier and less anxiety-producing for your staff and stakeholders.Β
Thinking of running for office? Start networking now
Running for office is a team sport, but for many candidates building that team means drawing upon a lifetime of contacts. So if you are considering a run for political […]
2010 Democratic Rising Stars
The 2010 Rising Stars | Democrats | Republicans | Nonpartisan & International John Balduzzi, 31, Democrat Political Director, Kennedy Communications Growing up in Syracuse, New York, John Balduzzi knows what […]
Stakes Rise for Startups As Voting Gets Underway
First contact with voters this cycle has rattled the left’s political startup ecosystem and sparked soul searching among venture capitalists and entrepreneurs alike. Failure for startup founders looks different in […]
Poli-Tech Firms Pursue Patent Protection Despite Hurdles
The battle lines of an intellectual property war are becoming clearer two years after Audience Partners threw down an industry marker with a 27-point patent of their cookie-voter file matching […]
Coming & Going: Who is Where in the Political World…
Ethan Berkowitz, a former Alaska state representative, has joined the Seattle-based strategic communications firm Strategies 360 as a senior vice president. Ethan Berkowitz A graduate of Harvard University […]
Microsites on the march
Not every piece of a campaign’s online territory need be a full-on website; some are microsites designed to propel a particular message—often a negative one—or perform a specific task. Microsites […]
Tim Pearson Finds a Political Home in South Carolina
After managing Nikki Haley’s successful 2010 campaign for South Carolina governor and then serving as executive director of her transition team, Tim Pearson has settled in as the governor’s chief […]
Plan of Steele
In 1977, David Norcross began his career in national politics as New Jersey’s representative on the Republican National Committee. That same year, Reince Preibus was preparing for kindergarten. For a […]
Engaging Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters In 2020
“What have you done for black and Latino voters?” That’s a question Rachel Maddow asked Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar during the Democratic presidential debate June 26. Noticeably absent from this […]
The digital battleground
On a recent Friday morning, Jim Gilliam stepped into a glass conference room overlooking Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles and set his things down on the reclaimed-wood table. Dressed […]
What you can learn from openly gay candidates
For a long time I have said that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender candidates tend to be better than their straight counterparts at running for office, and that’s because they […]
72 Hours Is So 5 Years Ago
If you haven’t started your GOTV push, you’re already late…When it comes to getting out the vote, 72 hours just doesn’t cut it anymore. Five years ago, the GOP’s meticulous […]
Taking a political tech startup to the next level
If you’ve founded a startup, you likely remember the moment the idea came to you. What follows is an indescribable enthusiasm and anticipation of a smooth sail to an acquisition […]
Class Actions Against Campaigns Highlight Importance of TCPA Compliance
Campaigns on both sides of the aisle have been falling prey to costly TCPA class actions. Hereβs what campaign professionals need to know.
Portable Computers: Useful in State-Wide Campaigns
Challenging the Speaker of the House in one of the most heavily Democratic districts in the country is no easy task-even for a young, energetic Harvard graduate, Frank McNamara, with […]
Corporate Activists Must Embrace Culture and Authenticity
Corporate activism affords companies opportunities to affect their bottom line. But itβs easy to get it wrong. Two experts explain how to get it right.
In An Age of Online Rage, Should Comms Pros Consider a Calmer Approach?
Campaigns may want to rethink their comms strategies going into 2024 as some practitioners could be limiting the reach of their clientsβ messaging by βicingβ out news outlets or reporters […]
New firm focus: Trail Ready Communications
For Democratic strategist Sean Whitson, too much direct mail creative on his side of the aisle is stale and formulaic. What direct mail needs to really break through, he argues, […]
3 Things to Consider When Placing Media in the Coming Weeks
Advertising is critical for candidate and advocacy campaigns in the coming weeks because of the difficulty in reaching voters through earned media during the pandemic. Now, not every campaign or […]
Outside group wants to test limits of joint fundraising committees
A conservative group has asked the Federal Election Commission for guidance on collecting donations via joint fundraising committees consisting of nonprofits, Super PACs and candidate committees. American Future Fund, a […]
Tech Bytes: The Company They Keep
Oppo software helps campaigns dig up the dirt.No one could challenge the candidate’s claim to being a fresh face in the political arena—until staffers for the opposing candidate plugged his […]
How To Work Effectively With Communications Staff On Outreach β¨
Federal lobbyists are fond of throwing lavish DC events with invitations extended to elected officials and agency leaders as a way to advance a policy agenda. But in 2019, this […]
In An Age of Remote Phone Banks and Lower Connect Rates, Dem Company Impactive Thinks It Has a Solution
Two problems that need solving in the political phones space: low connect rates and the difficulty of managing volunteers who are working remotely.