Cygnal Pulse Podcast

On this episode of the Pulse Pod, Brent and Chris are joined by Cygnal’s experienced pollster and VP Brock McCleary to discuss the upcoming elections and touching on some major issues, including the current political environment (which is favorable towards Republicans), consequences of COVID policies, and shifting demographic trends.

On this first Pulse Pod episode of 2022, Chris and Brent premiere the new podcast's round table format. This time, they are joined by Chris Lane and John Rogers, two Cygnal team pollsters. They discuss the current general election macro environment, inflation concerns, and key demographics of voters moving into midterm season.

On this week’s episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent share a preview for next year, as the current format of the podcast is being updated, moving from its usual intro + interview structure to a new style that will include some round table discussions and the sharing of very unique data collected by Cygnal’s own DIT. Also, Cygnal’s data scientist Noah Rudnick talks in detail about the mentioned District and Issue Tracker, commenting on some very insightful facts that was collected from around 6,000 respondents.

On this week’s episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent discuss the burst of optimism among Republicans stemming from the Virginia race. Yet, the two reiterate the importance of how different federal elections are from smaller campaigns that focus on local issues. Simplistic messaging stood out as the winning strategy in Youngkin’s victory. On another note, an original process of daily tracking developed by the Cygnal team has resulted in very accurate results in comparison with the traditional multi-mode poll.

Our guest this week on the Cygnal Pulse Pod (Ep. 36) is Matt Gould. Matt Gould is a New Jersey based political operative with more than 10 years of legislative election experience. He has served as the executive director of the New Jersey Assembly Republican leadership PAC, Assembly Republican Victory, since 2017. In 2021 the caucus had the largest single cycle pick-ups in 30 years, gaining 6 seats. In the last two cycles the caucus has flipped a total of 8 seats. Matt lives in Manahawkin, NJ with his wife Katie, three sons, Teague, Dan and Jack, and bassett hound Millard Fillmore.

On this week’s episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent discuss the importance of storytelling when aiming to On this week’s episode of the Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent discuss different types of survey responses. This year shows a particularly high rate of over-response among Republicans, meaning they want their voices to be heard when it comes to certain topics and issues. However, experience has shown us that a high survey response rate doesn’t necessarily mean a significant turnout of a specific voter group - At the end of the day, voter turnout and trend is usually cyclical in the political environment. 

Our guest this week on the Cygnal Pulse Pod (Ep. 35) is Josh Penry. Josh is a Principal at 76 Group. He’s run winning statewide ballot initiative campaigns legalizing sports betting, banning gerrymandering, and making it more difficult for interest groups to amend Colorado’s constitution. In 2020, he led the Amendment B campaign, the largest fiscal overhaul enacted in Colorado in decades. Penry was also the lead strategist for Mike Coffman’s upset victories in 2014 and 2016. A former state representative, state senate minority leader, congressional press secretary, and Staff Director of a US House Subcommittee, today Josh’s work operates at the intersection of public policy and public opinion, helping corporate, non-profit and political clients move the agenda in a way that matters.

On this week’s episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent discuss the importance of storytelling when aiming to convey a political message. It’s not enough to say the right words and have the right points – you have to give people something to connect to from an emotional side. On another note, the most recent data thrown by the District & Issue Tracker (DIT) reveals a significant degradation of the political environment for democrats.

full-service communications company. Prior to starting her own company, she was Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing for Kid One Transport, a state-wide non-profit organization, and Public Relations Account Director at o2ideas, where she succeeded in gaining international press coverage for clients. In 2002, Holly was Press Secretary for an Alabama statewide political campaign. She has also worked for Senator Richard Shelby’s Press Department, Concerned Women for America’s Media Department and served as an assistant to Vice President, Ray Cole of Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc., all in Washington, D.C. In March of 2011, Lollar received the distinguished honor of being named one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40”. In 2017, she was named to Yellowhammer News’ Power & Influence 50 list of the most powerful and influential players in Alabama politics and business.

On this week’s episode of the Cygnal Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent discuss some surprising data revealed by the District Issue Tracker. In only one month, “Recovering from Covid” went from the 8th most important priority for voters all the way to the 2nd most important priority, above other major social and economic concerns. This new context brings up a brand new challenge for campaigns: having to find an effective way to pivot while keeping a consistent emotional tone, regardless of what issues are dominating the narrative at the moment.

Our guest this week on the Cygnal Pulse Pod (Ep. 32) is Nick Everhart, the Founder and President of Content Creative Media (CCM). Prior to starting CCM, Nick worked for Majority Strategies, the largest Republican print and mobile firms in the country. He also spent a decade working at the Strategy Group for Media, serving as co-founder and president of the advertising company’s media planning and placement division, as well as working in all aspects of the creative media process. Named to the 2017 AAPC 40 Under 40 class and a Campaign & Elections 2011 "Rising Star,” Nick has been involved in some of the nation's most high-profile races. This includes helping state legislative caucuses return to GOP control, protecting numerous vulnerable Congressional seats, and securing wins for Republican governors and U.S. senators across the country.

On this week’s episode of the Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent discuss the movement of some minority voter groups such as Cubans, Venezuelans, and Vietnamese trending towards Republicans. Having their own set of ideals and beliefs originated from their unique experience both in the US and in their native countries, it seems that issues such as immigration and other social measures are not as important to them as the right they cherish the most: freedom.

Our guest this week on the Cygnal Pulse Pod (Ep. 31) is Phil Vangelakos, a political strategist and recognized digital communications expert with a history of leveraging cutting-edge trends in technology, traditional and social media; strategic communications, branding and research. If your campaign is a heist film…Phil is your explosives expert.

On this week’s episode of the Pulse Pod, Chris and Brent discuss political psychology and the major impact that understanding voter’s emotions can have on campaigns. Given the fact that people make decisions based on the feelings they have rather than on well-reasoned arguments, the better the candidates can understand their voters’ emotions, the better they can communicate and build trust with voters.
Our guest this week on the Cygnal Pulse Pod (Ep. 30) is Dr. Peter Wish. During a successful, prominent career as a clinical and academic psychologist, Dr. Wish also became a fundraiser, campaign coach, and strategist to political candidates. He served on Mitt Romney’s 2012 National Presidential Finance Committee and has advised Republican and Democratic candidates in state, congressional, senatorial, and gubernatorial campaigns. He has appeared on over 100 television and radio shows including: Nightline, The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The CBS Morning Show.