Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Send a text It's Election Day 2022...so instead of more predictions and punditry, Rebecca Pearcey is back to dive into what political consultants talk about most amongst ourselves...travel tips, hacks, and preferences. In this conversation, Rebecca and I discuss and debate best practices for aiports, flights, hotels, taxis, and all things being a political operative on the road. Hopefully thi...

Send a text Maggie Haberman is, of course, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who's covered the political rise of Donald Trump for the New York Times...and her new book, CONFIDENCE MAN : The Making of Donald Trump & The Breaking of America became an immediate best seller. In this conversation, Maggie dives into all things Trump...from his formative influences in the New York City of the...

Send a text Nobody has a political career like JC Watts . Starting quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, NFL draft pick, several years in the Canadian Football League, the first Black statewide elected official in Oklahoma, 8 years in Congress rising to Conference Chair in the GOP leadership, and voluntarily leaving office with even greater political stardom likely in front of him. In this co...

Send a text Wesley Donehue has an unconventional background for a Republican consultant…growing up in public housing with two parents who struggled with drug addiction…but that upbringing fueled his passion to work in politics and his interest in crisis communications. In this conversation, we talk Wesley’s path to politics, his work as a digital consultant for big GOP names like Lindsay Graham, M...

Send a text Julie Roginsky has one of the most unique stories in politics…as a 6-year old, she and her family flee their homeland in the Soviet Union to make their way to the Bronx…she’s drawn to campaigns and spends 20+ years in the trenches in New Jersey politics…she enters the world of cable news, working for 10 years as a Democratic voice on Fox News…ultimately leaving Fox after suing the netw...

Send a text Keiran Pedley is a veteran pollster, the Director of Politics for Ipsos/UK , and a regular presence in UK media offering analysis on the latest political data and developments. In this conversation, we set the table as to how the UK system is both similar and different than the US, cover the last few Brexit-fueled chaotic years in British politics, the current state of the Labour oppos...

Send a text Lance Tarrance is one of the founding fathers of modern political polling. In this conversation, he talks what drew him into the world of GOP politics, an inflection point working at the US Census Bureau, going to work for Ronald Reagan’s pollster, then opening up his own firm The Tarrance Group. Lance goes deep on several of his interesting races...including beating Bill Clinton in hi...

Send a text Gale Kaufman is a giant of California politics...winning hundreds of races, including some of the most impactful and expensive ballot measures in American history. In this conversation, Gale talks getting her start in DC, her move to California, an early intersection with Harvey Milk, learning from political mastermind Speaker Willie Brown, starting her own firm that was one of the few...

Send a text Tim Miller had sterling credentials as a top GOP operative, working for the RNC, John McCain, Jeb Bush, Jon Huntsman and more...until he felt increasingly alienated as Donald Trump took over the party. In this conversation, he talks his path out of Republican politics - chronicled in his bestselling book WHY WE DID IT - and how the past several years of GOP politics led to the wholesca...

Send a text Tom Davis served seven terms in the House from Northern Virginia, including 2 cycles as NRCC Chair and as Chair of the House Government Reform Committee. In this conversation, he talks becoming obsessed with politics at an early age, working as a Senate page in the 1960s, playing a small role in the political operation of Richard Nixon, 15 years on the Fairfax County Board, 14 years in...

Send a text Ann Lewis has had a legendary career as a Democratic strategist...from her time as Communications Director in the Clinton White House...as a Senior Advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate run and both 08 & 16 Presidentials...to her time as a Senate Chief of Staff and working at institutions like Planned Parenthood, the DNC, ADA, & more. In this conversation...Ann talks gr...

Send a text Lauren Baer  worked at high levels of the American foreign policy establishment...an aide to former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and in the Obama State Department as Senior Advisor to Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry...until the 2016 election drove home the importance of political campaigns. She then put her own name on the ballot as the Democratc nominee in...

Send a text Sean McElwee is the Founding Executive Director of Data for Progress, a progressive polling and think tank operation shaking up the way Democrats utilize data to better message and implement their priorities. Sean talks his roots as a military kid in an evangelical household, his circuitous path to working in progressive politics, the origin and evolution of Data for Progress, and how...

Send a text Charlie Black is a legendary figure in Republican politics, working his first presidential campaign with Ronald Reagan in 1976 and being involved at a high level with both Presidents Bush and names like Kemp, Dole, McCain, Romney, Kasich and more. In this conversation, Charlie talks his roots in the conservative movement of the 1970s, his work as a political consultant in some of the m...

Send a text Katie Moore was recently named Campaign Manager of the Year for her role managing Eric Adams' winning NYC Mayoral Campaign last year. In this conversation, she talks her roots as a "farm kid" in Western Kentucky, how she fell in love both with New York City and political organizing, and a deep dive into NYC politics and the 2021 Adams' victory. IN THIS EPISODE… Kati...

Send a text Jerry Austin is probably best known as the campaign manager for Reverend Jesse Jackson's '88 Presidential Campaign that won 11 contests and led in delegates deep into the calendar...and he also served as manager, media consultant, advisor to names like Paul Wellstone, Carol Moselely Braun, Sherrod Brown, Paul Tsongas and many more. In this conversation, Jerry talks the '...

Send a text Lis Smith is an operative's operative...with nearly 20 years of races under her belt of wins and losses and lessons learned along the way. Her new book ANY GIVEN TUESDAY is now out about her career in politics, while also finding herself in the headlines from time to time...including a deep dive into the unlikely ascent of Pete Buttigieg's 2020 Presidential Campaign. This is...

Send a text From serving in the Air Force, to his time in both the House and Senate, and rising to become Senate Majority Leader during the 9-11 attacks…few have led more impactful political lives than Tom Daschle . In this conversation, he talks the unusual confluence of events that led to his involvement in politics, his mentor George McGovern, being taken under the wing of Speaker Tip O’Neill,...

Send a text Robby Mook has managed races at all levels of politics - from state legislative races to the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential. In this conversation, Robby talks cutting his teeth in Vermont politics, the importance of field work, his time running the DCCC, managing successful races for Jeanne Shaheen and Terry McAuliffe, a deep dive on the 2016 campaign, & much more with one of th...

Send a text Ellen Malcolm helped found EMILY's List in 1985 and then served as EL’s President for 25 years. It’s hard to think of an organization over the last 30+ years that has changed politics more than EMILY's List, dramatically increasing the number of Democratic women in the both the Senate and the House. In this conversation originally released in August 2021, Ellen talks about ho...

Send a text There are few more historic political figures than former Senator & Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun - the first Black womzn elected to the US Senate and the first ever Black Democratic Senator. In this conversation, she talks growing up on Chicago's South Side, marching with Martin Luther King at age 16, memories of figures like Richard J. Daley and Harold Washington, the start...

Send a text Ari Rabin-Havt spent more time with Bernie Sanders over the past few years than virtually anyone. Ari served as the Sanders' 2020 Deputy Campaign Manager, traveling with Bernie almost 24/7. He recounts much of this time in his new book The Fighting Soul: On the Road with Bernie Sanders ...and in this conversation talks about the personal side of Bernie, the major strategic decisio...

Send a text Veteran Democratic media consultant Neil Oxman is one of the most interesting people working in politics. In addition to his years helping elect Democrats at all levels, he caddies on the PGA tour for golfing legends including Tom Watson. In this discussion, Neil talks the history of political ad-making from the 1950s to today and goes deep inside several of his own high-profile races...

Send a text Liz Mair has one of the more unusual career arcs in politics. Raised in both Seattle and London, she got her start working in conservative politics for David Cameron in the UK before moving to the US to work for the RNC and GOP candidates including Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, and more. In this conversation, she talks her unconventional path to working in politic...

Send a text Ken Spain , the founder of Narrative Strategies , had worked at high levels in Republican politics and corporate comms before starting his own strategic communications firm. He worked for the Bush/Cheney re-elect in 04, on the Hill for three different GOP members, at a senior position at the NRCC campaign committee, for the Private Equity Council during the tumultuous 2012 elections, &...