Money in Politics

In what feels like a lifetime ago, we launched season two of the Money in Politics podcast in the summer of 2020. Since then, we have spoken with record-setting fundraisers, political journalists, Joe Biden's pollster and his senior media advisor, lobbyists, opposition researchers, and those keeping an eye on both how politicians use campaign funds and corporate political giving. In today's Season 2 finale of the Money in Politics podcast, Andrew reflects on a great season and provides some reflections on the role money played this cycle, and what the future might bring. Though we will be on a brief hiatus, Season Three is right around the corner! In the meantime, we want to hear from you. Do you know a topic we should be discussing, or a person we should be discussing it with? Shoot us an email at [email protected]

The issue of corporate political giving is a fairly persistent topic in campaign finance these days, but it took on renewed interest in the wake of the insurrection on Capitol Hill on January 6th. In the aftermath, corporations, ranging from Airbnb to Walmart, announced that they would be making changes to the way they dolled out their political cash.  Bruce Freed is the president and co-founder of the Center for Political Accountability, a nonprofit advocacy organization that is leading the way when it comes to achieving corporate political disclosure and accountability. Bruce joins the Money in Politics podcast to help put these recent events in their proper context, as well as shed light on the lasting ramifications, if any, of corporate America's political spending hiatus. 

Technology is increasingly becoming available to campaigns that want to leverage the power of data and machine learning to give them the insights necessary to win a modern campaign. By analyzing millions of data points, software is able to detect patterns and insights that campaigns can use to decide where to spend their money, how to organize their field operation, and make other critical decisions. Max Wood is the founder of Deck, a company that leverages the power of data science to help Democrats predict who is likely to vote, who they will likely support, and what campaigns can do to win their races. Max joins the Money in Politics podcast to share how campaigns are maximizing the impact of data to gain a competitive edge. 

The 2020 elections demonstrated, once again, that you can have all the money in the world and still not win. There are many factors that influence the outcome of an election, and while having enough money to bring your message to all of your potential voters is certainly key, the nature of your messaging and the overarching strategy behind it is equally as important as its proliferation. John Rowley is the founder of Counterpoint Messaging, a company focused on political and advocacy campaigns at the local, state, and national levels. He has worked on over 500 campaigns in 47 states, and those campaigns have a winning record of 91%. John joins the Money in Politics podcast to discuss how campaigns should be thinking about their messaging in an era of increasingly crowded candidate fields and media landscapes. 

A large and ever-growing piece of a campaign's budget is spent on digital advertising. While we have talked before on the podcast about the efficacy of using digital ads to fundraise, we've only scratched the surface on the other side of that digital ad spend: all the dollars that are put behind digital ads meant to persuade voters and get out the vote. Megan Clasen is the Senior Vice President of Digital at GMMB, a PR and communications firm in DC that works with candidates up and down the ballot, and she recently served as a senior paid media advisor to the Biden for President campaign. Megan joins the Money in Politics podcast to give her take on some of the digital lessons from the 2020 cycle and the incredible amounts of money that was spent to target voters with digital ads. 

The media plays an important role in our politics and the quantity and nature of media coverage a campaign receives can dramatically impact their ability to successfully fundraise. But that is merely one of the many ways that the media, money, and politics, all intersect. Michael Hardaway was a fundraiser on some of Barack Obama’s earliest campaigns, and is now the founder of a media startup called Hardaway Wire, which provides “intelligence briefings" to their membership on the major political issues of the day. Michael joins the Money in Politics podcast to discuss how significant financial decisions in business can be influenced by politics, and how the media can shape these high stakes decisions through their accurate- or not so accurate- reporting of the policymaking process. 

One of the fastest-changing landscapes in politics is digital media. Whether it is connected TV or ads on social media, there are more ways than ever to reach voters and donors. But while there are certainly some high profile examples of national campaigns leveraging digital tools to raise astronomical sums, what are the real opportunities, and limitations of digital fundraising, for everyone else? Bill Gordon is the CEO of Yosemite Consulting, a digital media trading desk and strategy firm focused on progressive causes. Bill joins the Money in Politics podcast to share how campaigns up and down the ballot are utilizing their digital media presence to not only turn out the vote, but also to unlock fundraising opportunities. 

Understanding voters’ attitudes is an important part of an effective campaign. After all, if a campaign is going to spend significant sums of money to get their message out there, they need to be sure that they are crafting their message in a way that reaches and resonates with people. To that end, campaigns have long invested in polling and research. Celinda Lake is the president of Lake Research Partners and is one of the Democratic Party’s leading political strategists. She serves as a pollster and senior advisor to President-Elect Biden, the national party committees, and dozens of Democratic incumbents and challengers at all levels of the electoral process. Celinda joins the Money in Politics podcast to discuss the accuracy, capacity, and limitations of polling and research, as well as what it tells us about public attitudes surrounding money in politics.

Despite its importance, the topic of opposition research often exists in the shadows. Whether, and how, campaigns choose to spend money on research can play a huge role in the outcome of an election, and unsurprisingly, money and fundraising often find themselves at the center of this in damaging ways. Carol Andrews is a nationally awarded political researcher and strategist who has spent two decades advising candidates and elected officials in every level of government. Carol joins the Money in Politics podcast to shed some light on the inner workings of opposition research and how campaigns make use of the insights her work provides. 

When people hear the phrase "money in politics," they may think about the role of dollars in campaigns. But another concept probably comes to mind: lobbying. Many associate lobbying with something sinister, such as decision-makers being paid to act on behalf of special interests. But the ability to press elected officials to influence policy outcomes is a big part of our democracy. MP Wray is the founder and owner of Top Drawer Strategies, a government and public relations firm based in Louisiana. MP joins the Money in Politics podcast to help us better understand the world of lobbying and the role of money in that process.