Campaign Trend Podcast
The Campaign Trend Podcast brings you into conversation with professionals who drive the business of Politics. Hosted by Eric Wilson, Executive Director of the Center for Campaign Innovation. Visit CampaignTrend.com/podcast for more.
Episodes
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 Purkert breaks down these challeng...
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 qualitative voter feedback faster and mo...
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 conversation covers real-world examples...
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 testing tools for local campaigns, segment...
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 blue still outperform trendy color sche...
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 lobbyists versus public affairs profession...
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 for incorporating user-generated conte...
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 widespread panic from global institutions...
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.
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- Caroline Strom, Client Partner for US Elections, X
- Bryan McPartla...
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 objectives.
Our guest today is David Tennent, founder of CNCT, a platform to centralize social and professional opportunities for political staffers.
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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.
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.
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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 “If Confirmed: An Insider’s View of the...
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:
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 canvassing to analytics.
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 this into their campaigns.
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.
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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 (CampaignInnovation.org)
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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 fundraising in 2024 and wh...
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