Pro Politics with Zac McCrary Becki Donatelli, Famed GOP Digital Trailblazer
Becki Donatelli is a legendary GOP strategist and a trailblazing digital consultant. She got her start as a Goldwater Girl, worked for Reagan in '76, knew Jim Baker and Ronald Reagan, and worked with John McCain in 2000 & 2008. As a digital pioneer, Beck was part of the first operation to raise political money on the internet. And her firm, Campaign Solutions, has been leading in the digital space for 20+ years in presidential races and hundreds of statewide and congressional campaigns. This is a great conversation following Becki's one-of-a-kind career and a front-row seat to the advent and evolution of the digital politics we know today.
Podcast Website
Twitter: @ProPoliticsPod
Twitter: @ZacMcCrary
Facebook: The Pro Politics Podcast
IN THIS EPISODE
Becki talks about growing up in “idyllic” Orange County, CA in the 1960s…
Becki’s first political experience volunteering for a CA Assembly race…
Becki’s love-at-first-sight experience with DC…
Becki works for the insurgent ’76 Reagan campaign…
Becki’s involvement in Jim Baker’s one race for office in Texas…
The story behind the first online political donation…and the surprising recipient…
Becki’s friendship with Roger Stone…
Becki’s passion for political fundraising and the difference between Doers and Donors…
Becki talks about her time around Ronald Reagan…
Beck starts a new firm…and connects with John McCain…
How Becki’s firm played a key role in the insurgent McCain 2000 campaign…
The early “wars” between online giving vs. major donors…
Becki and her firm stick it out with McCain during the up-and-down 2008 primaries…
Becki’s best practices on digital messaging…
Becki admires the Obama digital operation…
Becki talks the historically expensive Lindsay Graham / Jamie Harrison race of 2020…
Becki identifies a “bad practice” within the industry…
How Becki’s firm stays on top of a rapidly-changing industry…
AND The Biltmore, Charlie Black, Rich Bond, Cambridge Analytica, Chick-fil-A, Citizens for Reagan, Bob Dole, Elizabeth Dole, Frank Donatelli, Carla Eudy, Fairfield Inns, Facebook, Steve Forbes, Barry Goldwater, Tom Hockaday, Brian Jones, David Keene, Walter Knott, Jim Lake, Paul Manafort, George Pataki, skywriters, Roger Stone, John Wayne, John Weaver, YouTube, and more!
Podcast Website
Twitter: @ProPoliticsPod
Twitter: @ZacMcCrary
Facebook: The Pro Politics Podcast