Campaign Trend Podcast

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.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

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 National Security Confirmation Process.”In this episode General Punaro takes us behind the scenes of the confirmation process from short lists to nominations to vetting to hearings and Senate votes. So if you want to survive a Senate confirmation hearing someday, take notes!Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

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:X sold over $25 million in political ads in 2024These progressive groups left X for Bluesky. Was it a mistake?The 2024 election exposed Republicans’ worst weaknessMeasuring Political Preferences in AI Systems An Integrative ApproachSubscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

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.How Marsha Blackburn used campaign to train new generation of GOP activists (Axios)Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

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.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

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. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

David Kanevsky, from 3D Strategic Research, dives into crucial insights from the 2024 Post-Election Survey. He reveals a alarming decline in local TV news viewership, with only 35% of voters tuning in daily, while social media, especially TikTok, has surged as a primary news source. The rise of podcast listenership, now at 32%, showcases a shift in how voters consume news. Kanevsky emphasizes the importance of adapting campaign strategies to connect with diverse electorates and highlights the potency of personal recommendations in voter engagement.

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 what the future looks like for the grassroots fundraising space.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Scott Tranter is Director of Data Science at Decision Desk HQ, the only provider of real-time election results, race calls, and data to cover US elections from the presidency and Congress to the county and city level. We previously spoke with Scott about his experience building and selling his previous company, Optimus.In this episode we dig into the nuts and bolts of making race calls on Election Night in an accurate and timely manner.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider

Chaz Nuttycombe is director of CNalysis, an election forecasting website and is the first-ever American election outlet that created forecasts for state legislative districts and chambers across the country and remains the sole group dedicated to this work.In this episode we discuss the process behind building election forecasts, what they mean, and how they’re being used on the campaign trail.Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign Trend Insider