Michael Rowan's political career started in a small Alaksan fishing village in the 1960s and has ascended to heights of helping elect Presidents, Senators, Governors, and working in 17 countries. Michael was a contemporary and colleague of some of the most influential political minds in the modern era - Larry O'Brien, Joe Napolitan, Tony Schwartz, Marshall McLuhan, among many others. And the campaigns he had an impact on includes names like Bill Clinton, Pat Moynihan, Andrew Young, Howard Metzenbaum, Mike Gravel, and more. And after working against Hugo Chavez in Venenzuela, Michael and his family had to flee after death threats from Chavez henchmen. Michael Rowan has a great political story and shares much of it in this conversation.IN THIS EPISODEMichael’s move from Long Island to rural Alaska sparks an interest in politics…How organizing a political slate in a small fishing village leads to Michael’s career in campaigns…Michael is the campaign manager for Mike Gravel’s successful upset of an incumbent Senator in 1968…Michael’s take on the quixotic Gravel presidential campaign of 2008…Michael’s early intersection with political consulting legend & future business partner Joe Napolitan…Michael talks the influence of his colleagues Marshall McLuhan and Tony Schwartz…How Michael helped Howard Metzenbaum beat American hero John Glenn in an Ohio Senate primary…Michael goes in depth on the political skills of two of his iconic clients, Andrew Young and Pat Moynihan…Michael’s connections to Bill Clinton’s core campaign message in 1992…Michael talks his work against Hugo Chavez in Venezuela that led to death threats against him and his family…Michael diagnoses the threats of polarization in American politics and a possible solution…AND agoraphobia, the Alaska Model, anthropological dreamworlds, asymmetric media, Jeff Bezos, Tony Blair, Rafael Caldera, James Carville, coding nightmares, Jim Dunn, Claudio Fermin, Eskimos, Buckminster Fuller, David Garth, Ernest Gruening, Charles Guggenheim, Jay Hammond, Michael Harrington, Robert Kennedy, Kent State, Jiddu Krishnamurti, the Kuskokwim River, Maslow’s Hierarchy, Ed Mezvinsky, Elon Musk, Larry O’Brien, Sarah Palin, Carlos Andres Perez, Ronald Reagan, Ralph Rivers, Winthrop Rockefeller, Rorschachians, Manuel Rosales, St Johns University, Milton Shapp, Sargent Shriver, Shelby Storck, Margaret Thatcher, wave theory, weird containers, Dick Wirthlin, William Butler Yeats & more!

Andi Johnson, a partner at GPS Impact, is a veteran Democratic media strategist who has been a trailblazer as one of the first women in Democratic media. She's worked for leading Democratic political figures for over 30 years...names like Obama, Klobuchar, Leahy, Inslee, Bob Casey Jr, and many more. In this conversation, Andi talks growing up in a political family in Eugene, OR, how she somewhat accidentally found a path into political media, mentoring under the late Democratic admaker Joe Slade White, some of her favorite races she's worked on...from Ben Nighthorse Campbell (as a Democrat) in 1988 to helping elect Cherelle Parker Mayor of Philadelphia just a few weeks ago. This is a great talk through a fascinating career with a groundbreaking woman in media consulting and one of the most successful admakers in Democratic politics. IN THIS EPISODEAndi grows up in a politically-minded family in Eugene Oregon…A teenage Andi rubs shoulders with Senator Ted Kennedy and his 1980 presidential campaign staff…Andi remembers the politics of her native Oregon in her formative years…Andi’s fortuitous intersection with two iconic media consultants, Roger Ailes and Joe Slade White…Andi talks the "two revolutions" in production of political media…Andi on what she learned from her early colleague Joe Slade White…Andi talks an early key race for (then Democrat) Ben Nighthorse Campbell in Colorado…Andi distills her approach to admaking…Andi talks one of her favorite ads for VT Senator Pat Leahy…Andi breaks down the appeal of two of the most memorable ads she produced for the Obama 2008 Presidential…Three Bedroom Ranch and Rearview Mirror…Andi’s memories working for the Klobuchar 2020 presidential campaign…Andi talks the recent success of her client Cherelle Parker, the next mayor of Philadelphia…Andi recalls a groundbreaking ad she helped write in 1998 for then Congressman Jay Inslee…Andi talks what she learned from longtime partner Saul Shorr…Andi discloses her strangest work habit and her advice to budding media consultants…Andi goes deep on her experiences as a traiblazing woman in political media & how the business has changed on that front over the past generation... AND audible gasps, Michael Bennet, Kit Bond, bungalows, Ken Burns, George W Bush, The Cascades, clean young men, Bill Clinton, Christopher Close, Coro Fellows, Dr. Ruth, the Daisy Ad, John Danforth, Danish mothers, Darlingside, David Dixon, Anita Dunn, The Eugene Weekly, Sandra Feldman, Norma Ferrer, The Foreign Service, Booth Gardner, Neil Goldschmidt, Mandy Grunwald, Charles Guggenheim, The Harriman Center, Sincere Harris, Mark Hatfield, Hillman & Carr, Peter Hoagland, Jay Howser, Val Hoyle, Tom Jones, Bill Knapp, Monica Lewinsky, Loony Tunes, Al Lowenstein, Dottie Lynch, MTV, Tom McCall, John McCain, Gunn McKay, Barbara Mikulski, Wayne Morse, the naked word, Janet Napolitano, Bob Packwood, Aren Platt, Prince, Questlove, Ed Rendell, The Responsive Chord, Will Robinson, rum raisin ice cream, Bill Sarpalius, Sawyer Miller, Tony Schwartz, Bill Sheffield, Shep Sherbell, Soundhound, Bob Squier, Ken Swope, Roy Temple, Tom Udall, Greta Van Fleet, the voice of God, WHYY, wandering in the desert, Jim Weaver, Randi Weingarten, Rick White, Williams College, Harriet Woods & more!

Dick Gephardt served 30 years in the House, including 10 years as Democratic Leader - and ran for President in both 1988 and 2004, winning the '88 Iowa Caucus. In this conversation, he talks his working class roots in St. Louis, what drew him to public service, his early days in city government, coming to the House in his 30s, and how he quickly rose in the ranks of the Democratic leadership and was on the precipice of winning the Democratic nomination for President in 1988. This is a great conversation with one of the most important and impactful political figures of his generation. IN THIS EPISODEGrowing up in blue-collar St. Louis as the child of a milkman and secretary…The political inspiration provided by JFK…A young Dick Gephardt’s first taste of precinct organizing…His inclusion in the group of insurgent “Young Turks” in St. Louis politics…Why he took the plunge to run an underdog race for Congress in 1976…Memories of early days in the House and a great Tip O’Neill story…How Congressman Gephardt advanced within the Democratic leadership…What led him to run for President in 1988, how he won Iowa, and why the campaign ran out of gas on Super Tuesday…Why he took a pass on running for president in 1992…How he looks back on the 1994 GOP Revolution led by Newt Gingrich…The reforms he put in place as House Democratic leader…Memories of dramatic House floor votes…The one-term member he describes as his “hero of democracy”…Memories of being in the VP mix across a number of elections…Congressman Gephardt talks the importance of longtime aide Joyce Aboussie within his political organization…The Dick Gephardt 101 on how to get the most out of a trip to St. Louis… AND Andrews Air Force Base, Joe Badaracco, big cigars, Dick Bolling, David Bonior, Bill Bradley, Lou Brock, bullshit excuses, George HW Bush, the Cannon Building, Jimmy Carter, Alfonso Cervantes, Bill Clinton, Tony Coehlo, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Jack Danforth, Dick Darman, Tom Daschle, Charlie Diggs, Tom Downey, Mike Dukakis, John Edwards, General Eisenhower, Stan Fike, Tom Foley, Bob Gibson, Dan Glickman, Al Gore, Don Gralike, Jesse Jackson, Ed Jenkins, Hamilton Jordan, John Kerry, Jim Leach, Joe Lieberman, Gillis Long, Douglas MacArthur, Manifest Destiny, Marjorie Mezvinsky, George Miller, Stan Musial, near violence, Richard Nixon, Phelim O’Toole, Bill Ramjue, the Reagan tax cuts, the Rio Grande Valley, rudimentary TV ads, Red Schoendienst, Dred Scott, Paul Simon, soft money, suffering fools, Leonor Sullivan, Stu Symington, Harry Truman, Tim Wirth, Jim Wright & more!

Analilia Mejia is currently the co-ED of The Center for Popular Democracy...and prior to that she was Bernie Sanders 2020 Presidential Campaign Political Director with stints in the Biden Administration, with the Working Families Party, & deep roots in union organizing. In this conversation, she talks being raised in working class Elizabeth, NJ as a daughter of immigrants, the life-changing role that a union job meant for her family, and the through line of empowering people that has run through her entire career in and around politics.IN THIS EPISODEAnalilia talks growing up in a working poor household in Elizabeth, NJ as the daughter of immigrants...Analilia's "political awakening" in 1988...Analilia cuts her teeth in politics as a union organizer in Chicago...Analilia explains the role of the Working Families Party, whom she led in New Jersey...Analilia on her path to becoming Bernie Sanders '20 Political Director & how she tackled the job...Analilia on why she continues to identify as a "Bernie Bro"...The role Analilia played in bringing Bernie voters into the Biden coalition...How Analilia joined the Biden Administration and why she left it to work again on the outside...Analilia on her role as Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy & the role CPD is playing...Analilia weighs in on how progressive orgs should be cognizant of communicating smartly to voters...Analilia's career advice to young operatives...AND AOC, Saul Alinsky, analogies, Ana Maria Archila, Sarah Badawi, Ella Baker, Build Back Better, George HW Bush, Wendy Chun-Hoon, Detroit Action, Michael Dukakis, finding a full humanity, George Floyd, fireworks, food insecurity, Jeff Flake, the free clinic, gummy bears, Fannie Lou Hamer, The Highlander School, Pramila Jayapal, jiu-jitsu, Arianna Jones, John Kerry, LUCHA Arizona, The Montgomery Bus Boycotts, Vivek Murphy, the New Georgia Project, people chess, radical transparency, Chuck Rocha, Jane Sanders, Faiz Shakir, Singer sewing machines, strep throat, Donald Trump, Nina Turner, the US Constitution, Jeff Weaver...& more!

Bob Shrum is a platonic ideal of a guest for this podcast…someone who, as a teenager, met JFK at the 1960 Democratic Convention and decades later worked as a strategist for several presidential candidates, big city mayors, Governors, and Senators. In this conversation, we talk his early passion for politics, the fortuitous chance to get his foot in the door as a speechwriter for a NYC mayor, how he connected with Senator Ted Kennedy and helped write his famous ’80 Convention Speech, and Bob’s 3 decades as a leading Democratic admaker and strategist – plus his current role as Director of the USC Center for the Political Future. IN THIS EPISODEBob’s early interest and passion for politics…Memories of meeting JFK as a teenage volunteer at the 1960 Democratic Convention…Bob gets a foot in the door as a speechwriter for NYC Mayor John Lindsay…Bob’s take on what makes for a good speechwriter…How taking the wrong job diverted Bob from politics from several years…How Bob entered the political orbit of Senator Ted Kennedy…Bob talks his role helping write Senator Kennedy’s most famous political speech from the 1980 Democratic convention…Bob on what a Reagan vs Kennedy race might have looked like…Bob talks some of his early consulting clients including Senators John Glenn and Barbara Mikulski…Bob’s longtime relationship with British Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair…Memories of presidential campaigns from Gephardt ’88 to Gore ’00 and Kerry ’04…Bob talks hanging up his political spurs after the ’04 campaign and his current role at the Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California…Bob games out how he’d approach the 2024 election were he a Biden strategist… AND Bertie Ahern, Dick Aurelio, banging pots and pans, Ehud Barak, Don Beyer, Barbara Boxer, Brandeis University, Pat Buchanan, George W. Bush, butterfly ballots, Pat Caddell, Camden Yards, carousing and hijinx, Jimmy Carter,  Bob Casey Sr, Bill Clinton, Alan Cranston, Culver City, Ron DeSantis, Tad Devine, David Doak, Mike Donilon, East Los Angeles Junior College, Esquire Magazine, feedback loops, Diane Feinstein, Tom Foley, Orville Freeman, Jim Gilmore, giving up the ghost, Richard Goodwin, Jeff Greenfield, Averill Harriman, Kamala Harris, Hubert Humphrey, the Lexington Market, Joe Lieberman, Abraham Lincoln, John Lindsay, Douglas MacArthur, Mac Mathias, Kevin McCarthy, George McGovern, mind’s ear, Amber Miller, Walter Mondale, Tom Morgan, Adam Nagourney, New Times, Tip O’Neil, Carey Parker, Reince Priebus, robot rules, Chuck Robb, Pierre Salinger, John Sexton, Jeff Shesol, Sargent Shriver, Shrumalot, John Smith, Steve Smith, Adlai Stevenson, Bob Squier, Suite 9300, Laurence Tribe, Harry Truman, Tommy Tuberville, Mark Warner, Cornel West…& more!

You almost certainly know that, for decades, Stu Rothenberg and his Rothenberg Political Report (now Inside Elections) penned among the most influential political analysis in Washington. But you probably don't know the origin story...his initial academic career track, how he cut his political teeth at the conservative Heritage Foundation, and what led to launching his own newsletter. In this conversation, we talk through all of that plus his most memorable interactions with candidates, biggest surprises, savviest politicians, and when he knew it was time to pass the newsletter baton to his partner Nathan Gonzales. IN THIS EPISODEStu grows up in a family of Rockefeller Republicans in Central Park West Manhattan…Stu’s growing interest in politics and initial career trajectory to become an academic…How Stu’s path diverted from the academic track to join the political operation of the conservative Heritage Foundation…Stu’s tutelage under conservative political icon Paul Weyrich…What led to launching the Rothenberg Report newsletter…Stu’s early intersection with fellow newsletter groundbreaker Charlie Cook…Stu's memories from “candidate interviews” with Ted Cruz, Nikki Haley, and Barack Obama…Stu on the single biggest surprising result in his decades as a political observer…Stu talks some of the smartest political minds in Congress & the one committee chair who was a “giant pain in the ass”…The backstory behind a favorite Rothenberg column “For the Thousandth Time, Don’t Call It a Push Poll”…Stu’s memorable 2006 meeting with then-Vice President Dick Cheney…How Stu handled passing the torch of the Rothenberg Report to Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales…AND The Almanac of American Politics, Morton Blackwell, Bill Bradley, Sherry Boehlert, Mary Bono, Sonny Bono, William Buckley, Bucknell University, CNN, CSX, Canadian-American regional integration, the Club for Growth, Colby College, complicated conservatives, Ted Cruz, Al D’Amato, Mitch Daniels, Tom Davis, David Dewhurst, egomaniacs, Rollie Fingers, Charles Franklin, the Free Congress Research and Education Foundation, Mark French, Milton Friedman, Martin Frost, The Greenbrier, Nikki Haley, Tom Harkin, Peter Hart, Friedrich Hayek, Blair Hull, “It’s Only Politics”, Jan Plans, Jacob Javits, Roger Jepsen, Tommy John, Ben Jones, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Kenneth Keating, Harmon Killebrew, Leading Authorities, Louis Lefkowitz, Jon Lerner, John Lindsay, Juan Marichal, Marxist feminists, John McCain, Joe McLean, Ed Muskie, NYU, Lindsey Nelson, Frank Newport, Richard Nixon, George Pataki, political goo, Walter Rich, Roll Call, Jack Ryan, Larry Sabato, sewage trolls, Casey Stengel, Inez Tenenbaum, total losers, Donald Trump, UCONN, Amy Walter…& more!

Fred Davis only ended up in politics due to a family tragedy and then a family connection, and yet has become one of the most creative and controversial ad makers in America. His clients include a who's who of Republican elected officials...from Bush to Dole to McCain to Schwarzenegger among dozens of others. And despite electing Presidents and numerous Republicans up and down the ballot, he's most famous for his unique perspective on advertising that has led to some of the most memorable and controversials spots of the last few decades...the McCain '08 ad comparing Senator Barack Obama to Paris Hilton, introducing soon-to-be Michigan Governor Rick Synder as "one tough nerd", "Demon Sheep" in California, and introducing the phrase "I'm Not a Witch" into popular culture. Fred is a natural story teller with a great story of an accidental path and unconventional approach to politics.(To donate to support The Pro Politics Podcast, you may use this venmo link or inquire by email at mccrary.zachary@gmail.com)IN THIS EPISODEHow family tragedy propels Fred into the PR at 19 years old & ultimately the ad business…The Senate race that put Fred on the national political map…Fred’s connection the rise of Napa Valley wines…The stories behind some of Fred’s most famous ads…- The “celebrity” ad against Barack Obama in 2008…- A colorful device for Governor Schwarznegger’s 2006 re-election…- Branding Michigan Governor Rick Synder as “One Tough Nerd”…- The story behind the infamous Demon Sheep spot for Carly Fiorina’s 2010 Senate race…- Fred’s concept behind the Christine O’Donnell “I’m Not a Witch” ad from the 2010 Delaware Senate race…- The Jon Huntsman “motorcycle” announcement video…- Fred talks one of his favorite current clients, Louisiana Senator John Kennedy…- The story behind Fred’s first viral video for Sonny Perdue against Georgia Governor Roy Barnes…How a high-profile conservative ad-maker is received living in liberal Hollywood…AND Jason Alexander, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, bell bottoms, the Beverly Hills Hotel, Bon Van Inc, David Boren, Bottle Rocket, Barbara Boxer, Tom Campbell, Chateau Montelena, cheese boards, Bill Clinton, Robert Davi, Gray Davis, Dan Duckhorn, family disagreements, the Freitas Brothers, Gateway computers, good luck charms, gotcha ads, Kelsey Grammer, half-way houses, Mark Halperin, Jim Inhofe, large-format cameras, Rush Limbaugh, Lippincott, Mitch McConnell, Dave McCurdy, Dan McLagan, mirrored pedestals, Robert Mondavi, Sam Nunn, the NRSC, Ogilvy & Mather, Sarah Palin, pink tutus, Steve Schmidt, selling fishing bait, K. Wortham Smith, Steven Spielberg, J. Walter Thompson, Chuck Todd, Trinity University, True Lies, weathermen, the West End Grill, Meg Whitman, Wine Spectator & more!Links to ads cited in this episode: Prison dancing (Inhofe '94)Big Spender (Inhofe '94)Bug Zapper (Inhofe '98)Celebrity (McCain '08)Schwarzenegger Re-election ('06)One Tough Nerd (Rick Synder '10)Demon Sheep (Fiorina '10)I’m Not a Witch (Christine O'Donnell '10)Huntsman Motorcycle Presidential Announcement ('12)King Roy (Sonny Perdue '02)

Dr. Annie Andrews has an incredibly unqiue political story...a pediatrician turned House candidate turned founder of the new organization Their Future, Our Vote. In this conversation, she demystifies what it takes to become a practicing medical doctor, mines her background studying gun violence, talks her jump to become a candidate for Congress in 2022, what it's like to run for House as a first-time candidate, & the decision that led her to start a new advocacy group focusing on a "kids first agenda".(To donate to support The Pro Politics Podcast, you may use this venmo link or inquire by email at mccrary.zachary@gmail.com)IN THIS EPISODEWhat drew Annie toward the field of medicine from an early age…What goes into becoming a medical doctor…The historic Republican inclinations of the medical community…Why there is a temptation for doctors to be apolitical…Two of the political figures she most identifies with…Her background researching gun violence and what she knows on the topic that most might not…Annie on the challenge of child hunger…What led her to jump into the SC-01 congressional race in 2022…What surprised her about running for Congress…How she overcame her aversion to “small talk” as a candidate…How her medical background made her a different type of political candidate…Some of the “conventional wisdom” advice she ignored…The groups that did the most to help her campaign…The origin story of her new organization, Their Future Our Vote…What is the day-to-day role as a founder of a new advocacy organization…Annie’s most unconventional work habit… AND 314 Action, Cory Booker, Joe Cunningham, daily trauma, Dollar General, doomscrolling, Everytown, food deserts, giant binders, Renee Harvey, Instacart, internet trolls, lovely notifications, the MCAT, Nancy Mace, moderate white suburban women, Moms Demand Action, Barack Obama, organic chemistry, Parkland, Tim Scott, Liuba Grechen Shirley, sticky notes, subtexts, sugared beverages, Vote Mama, Elizabeth Warren, weirdo rates, western Kentucky & more!

Richard Norton Smith is a renowned historian, a former director of five presidential libraries, & author whose latest work - Ordinary Man - chronicles the life and career of Gerald Ford. In this conversation, we talk the insurgent rise of Ford as he takes on the local GOP machine, his ascent through the House GOP of the 50s and 60s, the fortuitous events that led him to become Vice President and then President upon Nixon's resignation, his very narrow loss in 1976, & why the Ford Presidency and his enduring impact on America is much more consequential than often realized.(To donate to support The Pro Politics Podcast, you may use this venmo link or inquire by email at mccrary.zachary@gmail.com)IN THIS EPISODEWhat made Ford the “first post-New Deal President”...One of the rare times Ford lost his temper in politics...Ford’s “political father figure”, Senator Arthur Vandenberg…The story behind Ford’s first insurgent bid for Congress…The secret society within the House that helped propel Ford’s career…The story behind Ford’s attempt to become Richard Nixon’s running mate in 1960…The never before disclosed “deal” that nearly gave House Republicans the majority in the early 1970s…The one politician who could’ve disrupted Ford’s path to become Nixon’s VP in 1974…The proposed “constitutional coup” that could have replaced Richard Nixon with a Democratic President…Two meetings with the same influential senator only days apart demonstrate Ford’s quick growth in office…The political damage done to Ford by his pardon of Richard Nixon…Two late factors that might have cost Ford in his narrow loss to Jimmy Carter…The political impact of First Lady Betty Ford in the 1976 campaign…Ford’s leftward drift after he left the White House…Richard reads a bit of what he feels is Ford’s best speech as President…Two of Richard’s favorite recommendations for off-the-beaten-path historical sites around DC… AND Bella Abzug, Sprio Agnew, Carl Albert, apartheid, asterisks, Doug Bailey, bar stools, the Bicentennial, Phil Buchen, butcher knives, the CIA, Chevy Chase, Dick Cheney, concealed resentments, John Connally, docile acceptance, Bob Dole, Tom Dewey, English muffins, Barry Goldwater, grizzly bears, Jesse Helms, the Helsinki Accords, Leon Jaworski, Billy Kidd, Leslie King, Henry Kissinger, Tom Korologos, Mel Laird, Henry Cabot Lodge, Russell Long, The Marshall Plan, Sara Jane Moore, non-descript committee rooms, OSHA, Old Bulls, John Rankin, Ronald Reagan, the road to Damascus, Nelson Rockefeller, John Rhodes, Rhodesia, the Rules Committee, Bob Schieffer, Phyllis Schlafly, Hugh Scott, scoundrels, George Shultz, ski chalets, Oliver Sipple, Ted Sorensen, Robert Taft, transitional figures, Harry Truman, the UAW, the Warren Commission & more!

Antjuan Seawright is a veteran political strategiest, founder of Blueprint Strategy, & political contributor to CBS News. In this conversation, he talks growing up with roots in rural South Carolina, early lessons from mentors Congressman Jim Clyburn and DNC Chair Jamie Harrison, the work he's done with the DNC, DSCC, & DCCC...and his best practices and insight on how candidates, campaigns, and organizations can most effectively communicate with Black voters.  (To donate to support The Pro Politics Podcast, you may use this venmo link or inquire by email at mccrary.zachary@gmail.com)IN THIS EPISODE….Antjuan’s roots as a son of the South, growing up in South Carolina…The difference between change and progress…Antjuan’s 5th grade introduction to politics…The “transformational” experience in the Congressional Black Caucus political bootcamp…Antjuan speaks to the role the CBC plays in our political system…Antjuan’s insight as to how longtime South Carolina Fritz Hollings set the stage for Joe Biden’s success in the state in 2020…Antjuan talks lessons learned from his mentor, Congressman Jim Clyburn…The story behind the Clyburn 2020 Biden endorsement…The direct correlation between yoga and Jim Clyburn…Antjuan breaks down the strengths of DNC Chair Jamie Harrison…How Antjuan started his firm, Blueprint Strategies…The Antjuan Seawright 101 on how campaigns should engage with Black voters..Antjuan on the GOP’s evolving tactics regarding Black voters…Lessons he’s learned about being an effective communicator as a CBS Political Commentator…Antjuan talks the impact of his weekly radio partner, Rev. Al Sharpton…Antjuan remembers advice from the late Congressman John Lewis…Antjuan’s early thoughts heading into the 2024 election cycle…AND alley oops, Heyward Bannister, John Fetterman, Friday snacks, Kamala Harris, Jamie Harrison, high-touch campaigns, Darrell Jackson, Hakeem Jeffries, Doug Jones, Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles, John Lewis, Barack Obama, Omega men, political deployment papers, Cedric Richmond, the school of hard knocks, Josh Shapiro, South Carolina State University, Sunrise Communication, survival votes, TV lawyers, TWAs, tectonic plates, Bennie Thompson, Herschel Walker, Raphael Warnock & more!