The Business of Politics Show
The Business of Politics Show brings you into conversation with the entrepreneurs who build best-in-class political businesses, the funders who provide the capital, and the operatives who put it all together to win campaigns. Hosted by Eric Wilson, Managing Partner of Startup Caucus, an investment fund and incubator for Republican campaign technology.
Episodes
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 commissioner in 2020.
In our co...
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 looking for in a guest.
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.
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 an entrepreneur, and the lessons lea...
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.
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.
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 how to create content that cuts through...
Our guest is Jason Thielman, Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, where he is tasked with leading the GOP’s efforts to elect more senators in 2024. Jason served as Chief of Staff to Senator Steve Daines prior to his election as NRSC Chairman for the cycle. Jason has a background in both business and politics.
In our conversation today, Jason shares with us the strategy decisions driving the NRSC in 20...
Today, we’re talking with Jon Seaton, Managing Partner of Camelback Strategy Group, a full-service political consulting and public affairs firm. Jon was Associate Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush and served as Regional Campaign Manager for Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign. Jon and I dig into the changing nature of the campaign ground game, how data and technology have transformed door knocking, ...
David Broockman is an associate professor of political science at UC Berkeley. He is the co-author of a study published in the American Political Science Review last month titled “How Experiments Help Campaigns Persuade Voters: Evidence from a Large Archive of Campaigns’ Own Experiments.” In our conversation, we discuss the research and learn what campaigners should do in light of the findings.
Our guest today is Kurt Luidhardt, co-founder of the Prosper Group, one of the leading digital strategy firms for Republicans. Kurt and his team have worked for candidates across the country, including Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and many more.
In today's episode, we're talking about the future of digital strategy, online fundraising, and what recent shifts in tactics mean for a new path...
Our guest is Patrick Wohl, author of the new book Down Ballot: How A Local Campaign Became a national referendum on abortion. Patrick is a Washington, DC-based public affairs professional and also has extensive experience on the campaign trail up and down the ballot.
In our conversation, we discuss the small race that became a big deal, the long-term impact of the outcome, and we even dig into the book publishing industry...
Today we’re sharing the audio from a recent webinar hosted by the Center for Campaign Innovation discussing the 2023 Virginia Post Election Survey they did with the State Government Leadership Foundation. The full survey, including the slides referenced in the discussion are available at the link in our show notes.
The webinar was moderated by Eric Wilson and participants were David Kanevsky from 3D Strategic Research and...
Our guest today is Scott Brennen, head of online expression policy at the University of North Carolina’s Center on Technology Policy. He and his colleagues recently published a set of policy frameworks for political ads in the age of artificial intelligence. We discuss the current state of AI in political ads, what should be done about it, and recommendations for protecting voters from the harms of AI in political ads.
Today we’re joined by Sean Topham, co-founder of Topham Guerin, a global creative and digital agency. Sean and his team have worked on campaigns around the world, from Australia to the UK, where they’re always bringing cutting edge, envelope pushing creative ideas to the table.
Sean’s fresh off a big win in his native New Zealand where TikTok played a major role in the political conversation. We learn more about the New Z...
On this episode, we’re taking a look back at the stories that shaped the world of digital politics in 2023 and are setting the trends as we head into 2024. These are the stories I drew from Learn Test Optimize, my weekly newsletter on all things digital politics. Subscribe at LearnTestOptimize.com if you aren’t already.
I’m joined today by Mitchell Porwoll, Digital Strategist at Invictus Strategies, a new fundraising firm...
Our guest is Bob Maranto, he’s the 21st Century Chair in Leadership in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. He’s a founding member of the Society for Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences. In our conversation today we discuss the field of political science and the effect of polarization in academia on political science.
Our guest today is Robert Moran. He’s a futurist, a management consultant, and a pollster. He began his career in political consulting and polling. He recently wrote a fascinating article at Campaigns & Elections about a thought experiment where an AI runs for office.
In our conversation, we dive deeper into his vision of an AI politician, what it would mean for our politics, and more near-term impacts of AI in campai...
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Today we’re speaking with Ryan Lyk, CEO of WinRed, the official secure payments technology designed to help Republican candidates and committees raise more money and win. Since launching in 2019, WinRed has processed more than three billion dollars. Ryan has been with WinRed from day one and became CEO in March of this year. ...
Sylvie Légère is a civic leader, social entrepreneur, and advocate for women in Leadership. She’s the founder of Candidate Pathways, a software platform to help political organizations with candidate recruitment by building, tracking, and developing a pipeline of candidates to run for office.
In our conversation we discuss the challenges of candidate recruitment, how software can help political organizations tackle the problem, and ...
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