Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Send a text Fred Grandy spent 8 years in the US House as a Republican from Northwest Iowa, but remains best known for the decade he spent playing the character Gopher on the iconic 70s/80s hit television show "The Love Boat". In this conversation, he talks how his small-town Iowa roots mixed with matriculating at tony Eastern boarding schools, how he came to spend time around both Presid...

Send a text Bill Carrick was the longtime chief media strategist for Senator Dianne Feinstein, as well as helping elect President Bill Clinton, multiple LA mayors, Congressman Jim Clyburn, and many more. In this conversation, Bill discusses his early political roots in South Carolina, his time working for Senator Ted Kennedy, his pivot to political media, and a deep dive on his time as chief strat...

Send a text Jenifer Fernandez Ancona is a co-founder of Way to Win , a progressive donor hub that has helped direct nearly $300M since 2018. Jenifer talks her early experiences in journalism, what pulled her into political activism in the early 2000s, why Way to Win was needed, and the work and research and guidance Way to Win is providing to help Democrats message, organize, and advocate more eff...

Send a text Liam Donovan , a principal at Bracewell and longtime insider and observer of the Hill GOP, returns to weigh in on a chaotic couple of weeks in the House - including the surprise sidestepping of a government shutdown, the toppling of Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and the budding race to fill his shoes. In this conversation, Liam talks the factors that led to McCarthy's ouster, how House...

Send a text Over the course of a career focused on political media, Ed Blakely helped innovate within Republican politics that led to the modernization of the media arms of campaign committees of both parties. After a stint in US Amry intelligence, Ed spent nearly 20 years at the NRCC before joining the GOP media firm of Smith & Harroff. In this conversation, Ed talks his efforts to modernize...

Send a text Dave Contarino was Bill Richardson's 2002 gubernatorial campaign manager, his first term Chief of Staff, and manager of his 2008 presidential campaign. Very few are better equipped to remember the life and legacy of Governor Richardson than Dave. In this conversation we talk Dave's own path to politics and mine his expertise specifically about New Mexico, then go in depth abo...

Send a text [Originally released October 2021] Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has a truly American story: born in Cuba, emigrates to Miami with her family at age 8, works as a teacher before being elected to the Florida legislature - and then makes history as the first Hispanic woman in American history to be elected to Congress. This is a great conversation about her one-of-a-kind life, history-making caree...

Send a text Rich Schlackman is best known as a pioneer of all things direct mail - and he continues to hit the mail box and also spearheads important efforts as a GC and has expanded his reach to digital messaging. In this conversation, Rich talks his early activist roots at the '68 Democratic Convention and with names like Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden...why he gravitated to political direct mai...

Send a text Barry Goldwater Jr . grew up in politics as the son of the influential Senator and '64 GOP Presidential Nominee. He has a one-of-a-kind story of witnessing his father's political rise and then his own political career with his House tenure spanning parts of 3 decades. In this conversation, he talks his early memories in a political household, key moments in his father's...

Send a text Bill Knapp is in his fifth decade as a top Democratic media consultant and is the first K in the mega-media firm SKDK. In this conversation, Bill talks his NYC roots, the 1980 Senate campaign that launched his professional career, lessons from his mentor & eventual partner Bob Squier, key races in his development as a strategist, the '96 Clinton re-elect, 20 years as part of M...

Send a text Diana Hwang is the Founder and Executive Director of the Asian American Women's Political Initiative .  In this episode, Diana talks growing up in Houston in a Taiwanese-immigrant family, her political awakening after college in Boston, what led her to start the AAWPI, how the organization has grown over the past 10+ years, her analysis of partisan trends within the AAPI community...

Send a text Kelly Gibson is the founding partner of Stronger Than Communications , where she works to elect Democratic candidates and advance progressive causes - and is a board member of the American Association of Political Consultants and faculty member of the Campaign School at Yale. Through the AAPC, she has helped lead conversations and spearhead recommendations on the intersection of Artifi...

Send a text [EPISODE ORIGINALLY RECORDED FEBRUARY 2021] Lisa Grove has been a leading Democratic strategist and pollster for 25+ years, helping elect a President, Senators, Governors, and more. She also developed a reputation for winning tough ballot measures and helped refine messaging to advance the cause of marriage equality. In this conversation (recorded February '21), she talks her root...

Send a text Paul Johnson's resume reads like it should cover three careers...managing multiple presidentials, manager/general consultant on twelve Senate races, DSCC Executive Director over two cycles, and several years on Capitol Hill as a Senate Chief of Staff. In this conversation, we talk his roots in Minnesota politics, rising up the ranks through Mondale '84 to manage Tom Daschle&a...

Send a text Chris Mottola is in his fifth decade as a Republican media consultant, with nearly 400 campaigns under his belt - including seven presidential campaigns and working with eleven US Seantors and six governors. His client list includes the highest echelons of GOP names like Bush, Dole, McCain, Giuliani, Specter, Rubio, Pataki, Sununu, Frist & many more. In this conversation, we talk h...

Send a text Elizabeth Holtzman is best known for her legendary primary upset of the Dean of the House in 1972, making her the youngest woman elected to Congress and propelling her to national notice as part of the House Judiciary Committee Impeachment Hearings of Richard Nixon. Even beyond that specific era, the diversity and duration of her public service is nearly unrivaled...including working i...

Send a text Michael Rowan's political career started in a small Alaksan fishing village in the 1960s and has ascended to heights of helping elect Presidents, Senators, Governors, and working in 17 countries. Michael was a contemporary and colleague of some of the most influential political minds in the modern era - Larry O'Brien, Joe Napolitan, Tony Schwartz, Marshall McLuhan, among many...

Send a text Andi Johnson, a partner at GPS Impact , is a veteran Democratic media strategist who has been a trailblazer as one of the first women in Democratic media. She's worked for leading Democratic political figures for over 30 years...names like Obama, Klobuchar, Leahy, Inslee, Bob Casey Jr, and many more. In this conversation, Andi talks growing up in a political family in Eugene, OR,...

Send a text Dick Gephardt served 30 years in the House, including 10 years as Democratic Leader - and ran for President in both 1988 and 2004, winning the '88 Iowa Caucus. In this conversation, he talks his working class roots in St. Louis, what drew him to public service, his early days in city government, coming to the House in his 30s, and how he quickly rose in the ranks of the Democratic...

Send a text Analilia Mejia is currently the co-ED of The Center for Popular Democracy. ..and prior to that she was Bernie Sanders 2020 Presidential Campaign Political Director with stints in the Biden Administration, with the Working Families Party, & deep roots in union organizing. In this conversation, she talks being raised in working class Elizabeth, NJ as a daughter of immigrants, the lif...

Send a text Bob Shrum is a platonic ideal of a guest for this podcast…someone who, as a teenager, met JFK at the 1960 Democratic Convention and decades later worked as a strategist for several presidential candidates, big city mayors, Governors, and Senators. In this conversation, we talk his early passion for politics, the fortuitous chance to get his foot in the door as a speechwriter for a NYC...

Send a text You almost certainly know that, for decades, Stu Rothenberg and his Rothenberg Political Report ( now Inside Elections ) penned among the most influential political analysis in Washington. But you probably don't know the origin story...his initial academic career track, how he cut his political teeth at the conservative Heritage Foundation, and what led to launching his own newsle...

Send a text Fred Davis only ended up in politics due to a family tragedy and then a family connection, and yet has become one of the most creative and controversial ad makers in America. His clients include a who's who of Republican elected officials...from Bush to Dole to McCain to Schwarzenegger among dozens of others. And despite electing Presidents and numerous Republicans up and down the...

Send a text Dr. Annie Andrews has an incredibly unqiue political story...a pediatrician turned House candidate turned founder of the new organization Their Future, Our Vote. In this conversation, she demystifies what it takes to become a practicing medical doctor, mines her background studying gun violence, talks her jump to become a candidate for Congress in 2022, what it's like to run for H...

Send a text Richard Norton Smith is a renowned historian, a former director of five presidential libraries, & author whose latest work - Ordinary Man - chronicles the life and career of Gerald Ford. In this conversation, we talk the insurgent rise of Ford as he takes on the local GOP machine, his ascent through the House GOP of the 50s and 60s, the fortuitous events that led him to become Vice...