Pro Politics with Zac McCrary Ali Lapp on Founding House Majority PAC & Winning House Races
Very few people have had more impact on US House races over the past decade than Ali Lapp. After years in campaigns and as a Hill Chief of Staff, she created House Majority PAC from scratch in 2011. With Ali at the helm, HMP has established itself as a vital presence on the political landscape - raising and spending hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Democrats to the House. In this episode, Ali talks her early days in politics in Washington state, her time on the Hill as a Chief, how and why she started HMP, and what she's learned from a decade in the trenches in House races.
Podcast Website
Twitter: @ProPoliticsPod
Twitter: @ZacMcCrary
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IN THIS EPISODE
Ali’s first political memory…
Ali looks back on the pendulum swinging back and forth in Washington state as she grows up…
How volunteering for a legislative campaign in college leads to Ali becoming a House Chief of Staff in DC…
Ali talks the Hill in the 90s…
Ali runs John Kerry’s caucus campaign in 2004…
Ali joins the famed Rahm Emanuel-led DCCC team of the 2006 cycle…
Ali’s front-row seat at the creation of the “modern-day independent expenditure” …
What motivated Ali to start House Majority PAC after 2010…
The nuts and bolts of starting HMP from scratch…
Ali’s “most depressing moment” in the first year of HMP…
What Ali’s learned about fundraising after a decade of raising money…
Ali’s take on what mistakes she sees campaigns making…
Ali’s favorite example of a “high impact" HMP tactic…
The House districts that have most frustrated Ali over the years…
The 2006 House race that informs how Ali thinks about going negative in races…
Ali’s tips on hiring and managing…
AND… Sheldon Adelson, American Crossroads, airplane banners over the Jersey Shore, John Barrow, Melissa Bean, Jeff Bjornstad, Leonard Boswell, Bill Burton, the Christian Coalition, the Congressional Airport Caucus, Howard Dean, Norm Dicks, Brad Ellsworth, Rahm Emanuel, EMILYs LIST, Sarah Feinberg, Geraldine Ferraro, flight attendant school, Tom Foley, Scott Garrett, Josh Gottheimer, Bruce Kieloch, John Lapp, LCV, Warren Magnuson, the MCU, Microsoft, Jen O’Malley, Jen Psaki, Ralph Reed, Christina Reynolds, Karl Rove, Nicole Runge, Adam Smith, Randy Tate, Ellen Tauscher, The University of Puget Sound, David Valadao, Brian Wolff, and MORE!
Podcast Website
Twitter: @ProPoliticsPod
Twitter: @ZacMcCrary
Facebook: The Pro Politics Podcast