Campaign Trend Podcast

Our guest today is David Tennent, founder of CNCT, a platform to centralize social and professional opportunities for political staffers.  Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

Our guest is Maya Hutchinson , the Founder & CEO of Battleground AI , an integrated advertising platform built for politics - effortlessly combining data, messaging, and ad creation in one place. Maya is a data-driven marketer with roots in Democratic politics. In this episode we discuss the tangible ways campaigns are using AI and how they can more fully tap into this emerging technology. 3 S...

Our guest today is Mark Harris, Managing Partner of ColdSpark, a boutique advertising and public affairs firm that specializes in political campaigns and issue advocacy. In our conversation, we discuss lessons Mark and his team learned from the victorious 2024 Pennsylvania Senate campaign for Senator Dave McCormick. Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

Our guest today is Arnold Punaro , a retired Marine Reserve Major General. For decades he served on Capitol Hill, including as the Staff Director of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Today he runs the Punaro Group , consults for a broad array of Fortune 100 companies, and has been recognized by Defense News as one of the 100 most influential individuals in US Defense. He’s also the author of “I...

On today’s episode, I’m joined again by my friend Adam Belmar from Advocacy Content Kitchen who produces the Campaign Trend Podcast and we’re discussing some of the latest news from the world of tech and politics. We dig into political ad spending on X, the Left’s X exodus, what’s going on with TikTok, and more.  Stories discussed in this episode: X sold over $25 million in political ads in 2024 T...

Our guest today is Abigail Sigler , Vice President at Baker Group Strategies and the former campaign manager for Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee.  In this episode we’re talking about a unique initiative from Senator Blackburn’s re-election campaign known as “Campaign College”, a training program to train volunteers across the state in the various components of modern campaign strategy from...

Our guest today is Stephen Aaron, founder of Perspective Strategies. He is also the founder of a voter turnout initiative in 2024 called Vote4America that worked to activate social media influencers and podcasters. In this episode we dig into the mechanics and strategy of working with social media influencers with an eye towards how everyone - not just presidential candidates - can incorporate thi...

In this episode, we look back at the key themes from the world of campaigning with highlights from some of our best episodes in 2024.  Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

On this episode, we’re breaking down some key findings from the Center for Campaign Innovation’s 2024 Post-Election Survey. We’re joined by David Kanevsky of 3D Strategic Research who has been conducting this poll since 2020 to share additional insights from this research and helping us understand what they mean for campaigners.  10 Key Takeaways From Our 2024 National Post-Election Survey ( Campa...

Mike Hahn is the President of Digital Strategy & Operations at Frontline Strategies. In the 2022 cycle he was the Deputy Digital Director at the NRSC and is an alum of the Trump 2016 and 2020 campaigns where he served as the Director of Social Media. In total, he has raised well over $100 million online for various groups. In this episode we’re digging into the initial learnings about digital...

Scott Tranter is Director of Data Science at Decision Desk HQ , the only provider of real-time election results, race calls, and data to cover US elections from the presidency and Congress to the county and city level. We previously spoke with Scott about his experience building and selling his previous company, Optimus. In this episode we dig into the nuts and bolts of making race calls on Electi...

Chaz Nuttycombe is director of CNalysis , an election forecasting website and is the first-ever American election outlet that created forecasts for state legislative districts and chambers across the country and remains the sole group dedicated to this work. In this episode we discuss the process behind building election forecasts, what they mean, and how they’re being used on the campaign trail....

Chris Faulkner who is a Senior National Strategist at Majority Strategies , one of the biggest consulting firms in the political space. Chris spent almost a decade as a Marine before getting into politics and he has worked on a LOT of campaigns. In this episode we diver further into the mechanics and strategy around early voting and vote by mail in the 2024 Election. Become a Campaign Trend Inside...

Jessica Anderson is President of the Sentinel Action Fund , the only conservative Super PAC with a year-round ground game committed to turning out absentee, early vote, and "day of" voters. She was previously the Executive Director of Heritage Action for America. In this episode we discuss how Sentinel has adapted to the wildly unpredictable 2024 election, the strategy behind boosting ea...

Katie Harbath is Chief Global Affairs Officer at Duco Experts . From 2011 to 2021, Katie was the Public Policy Director at Facebook where she led global outreach to elected officials, political parties, and campaigners around the world. In our conversation, we check in on Facebook’s role in the 2024 election. Anchor Change (newsletter) Become a Campaign Trend Insider and get even more news and ins...

Our guest today is Matthew Mazzone a partner at Ascent Media Agency where he leads large scale branding and marketing campaigns. Before getting into agency world, Matt was the Director of Film and Visual Media at the Republican National Committee. In this episode we’re talking about virtual production – how it works and what it means for political ad makers. Watch Virtual Production In Action - ht...

Enjoy a brief explanation of the thought process and decision making behind this podcast's rebrand.  Become a Campaign Trend Insider to support the podcast and get exclusive content: https://campaigntrend.com/join Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

The next time an episode hits your feed, the show will have a new name – the Campaign Trend Podcast. Campaign Trend is a journal at the frontier of political campaigning and the new home for all of the campaign-related content I create – including blog posts, newsletters, and podcasts. https://campaigntrend.com/ To get a mug, email me: eric@campaigntrend.com Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

Sean Cooksey is Chairman of the Federal Election Commission . The FEC sets the regulations for campaigning at the federal level. To put it bluntly, the business of politics follows their rules and there are real consequences to that. It’s an honor to have Sean on the show. He is former Chief Counsel to Senator Josh Hawley and former Counsel to Senator Ted Cruz. The Senate confirmed Sean as a commi...

Our guest today is Doug Heye, a strategic communications advisor and political commentator. Doug was the communications director for the Republican National Committee during the 2010 election cycle and on Capitol Hill was Deputy Chief of Staff to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. In our conversation today we go behind the scenes on cable news, how Doug prepares for a hit, and what producers are l...

Armin Petschner-Multari is a digital campaign expert based in Berlin. He is the founder of The Republic , a think tank promoting center-right policies in Germany. In today’s episode, we’re digging into the recent European Union elections and what campaigners here in the U.S. can learn. Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

Daria Grastara is CEO of Direct Persuasion , a performance marketing and persuasion advertising agency serving Republican campaigns and issue advocacy organizations. During the 2022 election cycle Daria was Digital Director at the NRSC and she’s also worked on the Trump campaign and at the NRCC. In our conversation, we discuss the transition in ownership of the firm, that challenges she’s faced as...

Seth Blank is the Chief Technology Officer at Valimail , a leading provider of email authentication and anti-impersonation solutions. Seth is also co-chair of the DMARC working group for the Internet Engineering Task Force. We’ll also talk about Valimail’s outreach to political campaigns and what Seth thinks campaigns can do to send better emails. The New Requirements for Email Delivery at Gmail V...

Our guest today is Grover Norquist , founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. Since 1985, Grover and ATR have been a fixture of Republican politics, shaping the party’s dedication to cutting taxes. In our conversation, we discuss the origins of ATR, the keys to its long-lasting success, and lessons for other organizational entrepreneurs. Visit our website: CampaignTrend.com

Our guest today is Zack Roday , Partner at Ascent Media , he’s been a communicator on Capitol Hill and the campaign trail for many years, including Joe O’Dea for Senate where he was campaign manager, the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Republican Attorneys General Association. In our conversation, we dive into strategies for overcoming the fragmented media and platform landscape and h...