Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Eric Hyers, manager of both Andy Beshear's '19 and '23 gubernatorial races, goes deep on last week's election of Governor Beshear in Kentucky. Eric talks his initial theory of the race, key strategic decisions from both campaigns, how the Beshear campaign fought back against transgender attacks and leveraged the issue of abortion against GOP nominee Daniel Cameron. In addition to getting under the hood of the 20...

Patrick Ruffini, pollster at Echelon Strategies, returns to talk about his new book (released today, 11/7/23) PARTY OF THE PEOPLE - on the transition of the Republican Party from being dominated by wealthy, suburban white voters to a more blue-collar and increasingly-multi-racial coalition. In this conversation, Patrick lays out the data behind these shifts, what is driving the GOP's new-found success with blue-collar voters, ...

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 President Eisenhower and President Nixon, why an init...

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 strategist for Dianne Feinstein. We talk her early a...

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 effectively.

IN THIS EPISODE

Jenifer&a...

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 Democrats could've "saved" him (a...

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 political media at the NRCC, his favorite story...

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 about the inspiration, impact, and influence of Bi...

[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 career, great political stories, and advice &...

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 mail in the mid 70s...how he took the "Califo...

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 career, his own political trajectory in Southern...

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 Mike Bloomberg's political orbit, advice fo...

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...plus her own experience running for State Sen...

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 Artificial Intelligence and political campaigns. In th...

[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 roots in Oregon politics and activism, bei...

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's first Senate race in 1986 and then Bob Ke...

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 his nearly lifelong passion for film, the non-po...

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 in 1960s Georgia to advance civil rights, her ro...

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 others. And the campaigns he had an impact on ...