Campaign Trend Podcast

Every pollster knows the problem: for every hundred voters you ask to take a poll, only one or two actually respond. So what if AI could just answer the questions for them? It's a seductive idea — and Ben Leff has put it to the test. Ben is co-founder and CEO of Verasight, a survey research firm founded by academics and trusted by leading institutions and media organizations. He and his colle...

AI adoption in political consulting is accelerating — but is the industry keeping up, or splitting in two? Eric Wilson sits down with Julie Sweet, Director of Advocacy and Industry Relations at the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), to dig into the findings of AAPC's March 2026 member survey on AI use across the profession. They unpack what real integration looks like versu...

Adrianne Marsh, CEO of Altum Insight , came to rural Nebraska expecting to hear about the economy. What her team found instead stopped them cold: deep, values-rooted fear of artificial intelligence — not about jobs or data centers, but about trust, truth, and a way of life under threat. Adrianne joins Eric to break down the qualitative research behind that finding, what it means for Democratic str...

Winning arguments doesn't win elections. Persuasion does — and they're not the same thing. On this episode, Eric Wilson talks with Josh Bandoch, head of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute and author of How to Get What You Want: Mastering the Art and Science of Persuasion  (Simon & Schuster) , about what the neuroscience and psychology of persuasion actually tell us — and what mo...

For decades, campaigns have won by borrowing — getting union endorsements, buying TV ads, riding the audiences others built. But a small and growing number of candidates are doing something fundamentally different: building their own audiences from scratch and keeping them well beyond election day. Doug Usher , a partner at Forbes Tate Partners and co-founder of the Analytics Program at Columbia U...

Connected TV spending is growing — but the real question in 2026 isn't whether campaigns should be buying CTV. It's who should be managing the buy. Eric Wilson sits down with Chauncey Southworth , CEO of CrossScreen Media , to untangle the debate between TV buyers and digital buyers over who owns the streaming buy. Chauncey breaks down where the CTV growth is actually coming from (hint:...

The 2026 midterms present a fundamentally different electoral landscape for Republicans. In this episode, pollster David Kanevsky breaks down exclusive post-election survey data from Virginia and New Jersey that reveals how campaigns are now dealing with two distinct electorates: highly engaged partisans who consume news across every platform, and politically disengaged voters who stream without a...

Host Eric Wilson sits down with John Link, Senior Vice President of Data at Ad Impact, to unpack the eye-popping numbers behind the 2025-2026 political cycle—projected to become the most expensive midterm in U.S. history at $10.8 billion. Link reveals that three to four Senate races alone could hit the unprecedented $500 million mark, with Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and potentially Texas l...

What happens when a poker champion with $3 million in tournament winnings pivots to political texting? You get Phil Gordon, founder of Prompt.io , dropping wisdom on selective aggression, ethical influence, and why your campaign texts might be getting ignored. Whether you're managing a 50-50 race or just tired of your texts going straight to the spam folder, this episode is your permission to...

Wired senior writer Makena Kelly joins Eric Wilson to unpack how online fandom culture—the same energy that drives Swifties and K-Pop fans—is now fueling political movements. Through the lens of Zohran Mamdani's New York City mayoral campaign, Kelly reveals why young voters aren't just supporting candidates anymore—they're creating fan cams, remixing rally speeches into songs, and b...

What if the political consulting industry isn't the competitive free market everyone assumes it is? Jordan Lieberman, CEO of Powers Interactive , analyzed over 54 million federal campaign transactions to reveal the hidden architecture of political consulting. In this episode, Jordan shares eye-opening findings about vendor survival rates, the power of alumni networks, and why 93% of consultan...

What should smart campaigners be doing right now to prepare for 2026? In this special episode, we're sharing a recent webinar hosted by Campaigns & Elections and sponsored by Prompt.io, where host Eric Wilson sits down with Farz Sokhansanj, President of Prompt.io, to unpack the tech trends and strategic shifts that will define the next election cycle. Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

Billy McBeath from Senate Leadership Fund reveals why most political campaigns are still buying connected TV like it's 2015—and what they should do instead. He breaks down the breakthrough YouTube study that forced SLF to rebuild their entire advertising strategy mid-cycle, discovering that 14 impressions on YouTube moved polling numbers like broadcast TV. Billy explains how to get modeling,...

Security expert Bruce Schneier joins Campaign Trend host Eric Wilson to discuss his upcoming book " Rewiring Democracy " and how AI is already transforming politics behind the scenes. From AI-written laws in Brazil to chatbots helping local candidates engage voters, Schneier explores AI's potential as both a democratizing force and power concentrator. He introduces his "four S&...

WinRed CEO Ryan Lyk joins Eric Wilson for a revealing conversation about how GOP fundraising has transformed since 2018. The " WinRed Effect " report reveals stunning shifts in donor behavior, from smaller gifts given more frequently to massive growth in down-ballot digital programs. Lyk discusses battling Big Tech suppression, innovative solutions for SMS deliverability, and exclusive d...

As campaigns gear up for the 2026 midterms, new tech changes threaten online fundraising. Apple's iOS 26 will filter texts from unknown numbers, potentially blocking campaign messages from reaching 65% of donors who use iPhones. Meanwhile, Gmail has been flagging Republican fundraising emails with WinRed links as dangerous while ActBlue links pass through unfiltered. TAG Strategies' Dave...

Eric Wilson discusses groundbreaking research from the Center for Campaign Innovation on using AI to analyze open-ended survey responses. In this special episode, producer Adam Belmar interviews Eric about testing four AI models—ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini—to code voter responses in a battleground congressional district. Discover how AI can revolutionize campaign research by processing quali...

Political strategist and novelist Robert Moran joins Eric Wilson to discuss his new book " Lincoln 2.0 ," a political thriller exploring AI candidates in future elections. They dive into whether voters would accept a digitally resurrected Abraham Lincoln running for president, the technological requirements for AI candidates, and regulatory challenges facing this emerging reality. The co...

In this episode of Campaign Trend, host Eric Wilson sits down with Ron Nehring, Director of International Programs at the Leadership Institute and former national spokesman for Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign, to discuss the critical gaps in campaign technology for down-ballot races. Nehring outlines five key challenges facing campaign tech developers: building affordable message testin...

How does visual design influence voter behavior and campaign effectiveness? In this episode of Campaign Trend, host Eric Wilson speaks with Shane Helm, founder of RightPixel , about the critical role of design in political campaigns. They explore why campaigns often shortchange the design process, the importance of designing for voters rather than candidates or spouses, and how red, white, and blu...

How has corporate America's approach to Washington changed between Trump's first and second administrations? In this episode of Campaign Trend, host Eric Wilson speaks with Alex Conant, partner and co-founder of Firehouse Strategies, about the evolution from companies hiding behind trade associations to direct CEO engagement with the White House. They discuss the shifting role of lobbyis...

Courtney Weaver, Executive VP at IMGE, cuts through the hype around influencer marketing in political campaigns. Discover why influencers aren't just celebrities with massive followings - they're trusted voices like teachers, veterans, and mom bloggers who've built authentic relationships with niche audiences. In this conversation with host Eric Wilson, learn practical strategies fo...

Jordi Calvet-Bademunt, a senior research fellow at The Future of Free Speech and visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University, joins Eric Wilson to discuss AI regulations and their potential unintended consequences for free speech. In this eye-opening conversation, Calvet-Bademunt reveals how the anticipated wave of AI-generated deepfakes during the 2024 elections failed to materialize despite widesp...

On today’s episode, we’re sharing a panel discussion I moderated early this month at the Leadership Institute’s ElectTech conference in San Francisco. It was an informative conversation about how technology can be used to provide scale alongside the more conversational tactics campaigns are embracing.  Become a Friend of the Trend: https://campaigntrend.com/friends/ Caroline Strom , Client Partner...

Lara Aulestia is founder and CEO of 1060 Advisors , a paid media strategy, planning and buying company serving the public affairs and political industry. She has an extensive background in political media buying with past roles at iHeartMedia, Resonate, Xandr, and Warner Media. In this episode we dig into the need to layer media buys across platforms to achieve our desired reach and frequency obje...