Early Returns - Law and Politics with Jan Baran

Most voters will not see a single door knocker this fall. A small number will not be able to get anyone to leave them alone. In this episode of Early Returns, host Jan Baran speaks with Republican campaign consultant Jon Seaton about where the 2026 midterms are actually being fought and what that means for the person holding the ballot.  Fewer than 40 of the 435 House seats are genuinely in play,...

The hardest question in political law isn’t a case cite or a filing deadline. It’s “Who is the client?” We sit down with Bob Bauer, longtime election lawyer, former Obama White House counsel, and author of The Unraveling, to unpack how that single question drives ethics, privilege, and decision-making at the highest levels of government. We start with the post-Watergate world that built modern cam...

Congressional maps are being redrawn in the middle of the decade, the Supreme Court has sharply narrowed a core piece of the Voting Rights Act, and both parties are racing to squeeze out every seat they can before 2028. On this episode of Early Returns, host Jan Baran sorts through what is actually happening with two lawyers who have argued these cases: Richard Pildes, professor of law at NYU and...

Jan Baran sits down with Sarah Isgur, author of the New York Times bestseller Last Branch Standing ,  for a wide-ranging conversation about law, campaigns, and the Supreme Court. Sarah draws on her experience in opposition research, Election Day legal operations for Romney 2012, and her role as deputy campaign manager of the Carly Fiorina campaign to explore what it really means to be a lawyer in...

With eight months until the 2026 midterms and Republicans holding razor-thin margins in both chambers, host Jan Baran welcomes back well-known political analyst Charlie Cook for a wide-ranging assessment of where the country stands heading into a consequential election cycle. Cook reflects on the 2024 race, explaining why the Biden-to-Harris transition was unlikely to change the outcome. The undec...

In this episode of Early Returns, host Jan Baran speaks with Nneka Chiazor, President and CEO of the Public Affairs Council, about the critical role public affairs professionals play in navigating the intersection of business, community, and society. As Washington enters a midterm election year with all House seats and a third of the Senate on the ballot, they discuss how the business community is...

In this Early Returns episode, host Jan Baran speaks with the entire current Federal Election Commission, Chair Shana Broussard and Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum, the only two commissioners remaining after four departures left the agency without a quorum. Despite being unable to vote on new cases or issue advisory opinions, the commissioners reveal how their 249-person staff continue the FEC's...

Host Jan Baran welcomes back Josh Gerstein, Senior Legal Affairs Reporter for Politico, for a comprehensive review of the litigation landscape surrounding the Trump administration. They dive into the Supreme Court's increasingly prominent "shadow docket" and how it has become essential for advancing presidential agendas through executive action rather than legislation. The conversat...

Host Jan Baran sits down with Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad for an educational and illuminating deep dive into cryptocurrency's intersection with law and politics. Faryar, whose journey from Iranian diplomat's son to White House advisor to Goldman Sachs executive led him to crypto's frontier, breaks down the complex technology in refreshingly accessible terms. He expl...

Jan Baran speaks with Artificial Intelligence (AI) legal expert. lawyer and teacher, Oliver Roberts, to speak about AI, its birth, its forms, and how people have historically used and are currently using the ever-changing technology.  They discuss further about how AI has changed the way lawyers practice, how the courts are using it, what questions clients are asking in RFPs related to technology,...

In this episode of Early Returns, Jan Baran speaks with Brody Mullins, co-author of “The Wolves of K Street” and Pulitzer Prize winning Wall Street Journal journalist, about the historical, present and future world of lobbyists in the U.S.  When our founding fathers created the Constitution, they believed there would be both industry and worker factions lobbying towards a greater good.  Then, even...

In this episode, Jan Baran speaks with the Vice Chair of the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”), Trey Trainor.  Born and raised in Texas, Commissioner Trainor discusses his career, his route to the FEC, the tracking of campaign donors through technology, the future of the Commission, and its role with the Department of Justice in campaign finance investigations.  Given that the FEC is responsible...

Attorney General of Virginia and son of an immigrant who fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Jason Miyares, has recently announced his campaign for reelection and now talks with Jan Baran about the role of attorney general and the issues facing Virginia. AG Miyares reveals his journey growing up in Virginia Beach and his path to his current office.  He also discusses the pre-election lawsuit by the Departme...

A very unusual and historic week of political and legal events just preceded America’s Independence Day. The Supreme Court of the United States ended its term with pivotal decisions, including a number that affect former President Donald Trump, the pending legal cases against him, and the 2024 presidential election. Indeed, the justices have ruled on constitutional, political, and cultural controv...

Arguing before the Supreme Court increasingly has become a specialty of an elite group of lawyers.  A former Scalia judicial law clerk, Kannon Shanmugam has argued 38 cases at the court.   In this episode, Jan speaks with Kannon about his Midwest upbringing, his route to being a lawyer, his exceptional career, and his times before the Supreme Court.  They discuss his most memorable case, Maryland...

In this episode of  Early Returns, Jan Baran speaks with Former Virginia Governor and U.S. Ambassador, Jim Gilmore.  They discuss his career in public service, his rise in Republican politics with the popular Virginia car tax reimbursement, and staying true to his roots and passion for foreign affairs and policy.  As Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), he...

At this point in a presidential election year, the national conversation would usually be focused on which candidates are wrestling for their party nomination.  But, as we know, this year is different.  Even though primary elections still remain and the nominating conventions won’t occur until late summer, the 2024 candidates for president appear to be settled: President Joe Biden v. Former Presid...

As with the previous two season kick-offs of Early Returns, we welcome the third season with the newly elected 2024 chair of the Federal Election Commission, Sean Cooksey, who is a republican.  The FEC consists of six bipartisan commissioners with no more than three from the same political party.  It takes the vote of four commissioners to take any major action.   Chair Cooksey has three of his si...

In this episode of Early Returns, Jan speaks with Bradley Smith, professor at Capital Law School, former Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) Chair, nationally recognized expert on campaign finance and the First Amendment, and the Founder and Chairman of the Institute for Free Speech (“IFS”).  IFS defends rights guaranteed by the first amendment of the United States Constitution.  Brad and IFS have...

In this episode, Jan speaks with Jill Holtzman Vogel, the managing partner of Holtzman Vogel and a Virginia State Senator. Jill started her law firm 21 years ago as a sole practitioner specializing in political law.  It now has over 40 lawyers in four states.  Jill also has devoted 16 years of public service in the Virginia Senate.  Jill speaks openly about her experiences as a woman in these two...

It appears that policy changes are being resolved in the courts, and most specifically at the Supreme Court.  If we look at recent court decisions involving abortion, the Affordable Care Act, Environmental Protection Act and gun rights, many people believe these decisions are politically motivated, especially when the politicians and media help to plant that seed by branding each Justice as libera...

This episode examines an important government agency that helps keep our voting systems current, transparent, and reliable.  The U.S. Elections Assistance Commission (“EAC”) has existed for a little over 20 years.  It was created in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election and the Florida vote recount.  In today’s political climate of distrust and controversy regarding, among other things,...

Political activity and lobbying have become not only full time, but also highly regulated.  That also means that election campaigns as well as lobbying activities are getting under way for the next election cycle.   To talk about the demands and challenges of advising companies on political law, Jan speaks with Wesley Bizzell, a lawyer who has spent over 20 years specializing in political law, inc...

This episode marks the start of the second season of Early Returns. We have been privileged to interview interesting guests and welcome a large and growing audience of listeners.  We have discussed laws about foreign election interference, representation of the president during the Mueller investigation, the perspective of a journalist who covers legal affairs, biographies of notable politicians a...

The lead up to the 2022 election cycle was a very active two years, coming off of a very divisive 2020 election which included pandemic-related election changes and election deniers. Our guests, Jessica Furst Johnson and Jason Torchinsky, both political law partners at Holtzman Vogel, join Jan to review the legal issues that arose during this recent 2022 election cycle and to identify/forecast the...