Election University Podcast

In Episode 17, our hosts talk with China Dickerson of Dickerson Strategies and Deputy Political Director of NARAL Pro-Choice America about the topic of diversity and the Democratic party. In our 3-part series from the AAPC's Pollie Conference in Nashville, China joins the Election University Podcast after her conference speech to discuss how political folks can do better in their candidate recruitment, their staff hiring and their retention of people of color in campaigns and government. 

In today's episode of the Election University Podcast, our hosts talk with Minnesota's Congressman from the 5th CD and Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Keith Ellison. Is there a blue wave coming in November 2018 and, more importantly, will Democrats seize the opportunity? Congressman Ellison walks us through message discipline, running for office, and his thoughts on this year's elections. 

In Episode 15, we talk with opposition research consultant, Jake Wagman of Shield Research on the what opposition research is, how you can do it, and why you should do it on yourself and your staff. No one wants to be caught off-guard on the campaign trail. You may not want your election to devolve into mudslinging but it's best that you arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. 

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a global environmental group that started in the 1960s, talks with the Election University Podcast hosts to discuss ways to use environmental messaging on campaigns. We talk with Morgan Pinnell, EDF's political affairs manager, about their new Campaign Academy - four free training modules for candidates who want to learn how to message their campaigns with an environmental bent. If you're a candidate who wants to incorporate pro-environmental messages into your campaign, you're going to want to listen to this episode and get signed up! 

The Purple Campaign, a non-profit dedicated to ending workplace sexual harassment, is partnering with the Election University Podcast to discuss ways to end harassment and assault on campaigns. In our 13th episode, we talk with Purple Campaign co-founder, Jessica Patterson, to discuss what sexual harassment is, the education campaign around raising awareness and the steps needed to end it once and for all. Plus, we discuss the two free tools campaigns can use to set clear standards on the campaign trail: a sample Campaign Code of Conduct and an sample Employee Agreement.

Now-Senator Doug Jones in deep Alabama - a trend of things to come or a fluke situation? Democrats have picked up more than 40 seats across the country since the 2016 election, many in red districts where President Trump won by more than ten points. In our 12th episode we speak with the former Executive Director of Idaho and Arizona's Democratic Party, Maria Weeg, who has seen waves before and offers great insight and advice to candidates on what they can do to optimize this environment.

In our 11th episode of the Election University Podcast, we review "VoterCircle," a low-cost relational organizing platform that leverages campaign supporters' address books to connect with voters. VoterCircle CEO Sangeeth Peruri walks us through his own contentious school board race which inspired this new campaign tool. He shares how VoterCircle was used extensively both in the big Virginia wins and also in Doug Jones' huge upset in Alabama's special election in 2017. 

In our 10th episode, we talk with Celeste Headlee, famous TedTalk speaker, NPR journalist and author of "We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations that Matter." Her TedTalk of the same title has been viewed more than 12 million times and has been rated a "must-view" by Glassdoor and CNBC. She shares with our listeners the results of extensive research on how to communicate more effectively and what introverts can do to succeed in a business where the pressure to network, persuade, and build relationships rules.

In today's episode, we hear from Tennessee media consultant John Rowley of CounterPoint Messaging on the basics of how to do video when your campaign has little-to-no budget. We also discuss the rise of digital advertising vs. traditional TV advertising. John gives our listeners some great advice on how to tell your story with a visual. 

The Blue Wave of 2017 in Virginia produced many fantastic wins for Democrats, including a top target in Jennifer Carroll Foy's race for House Delegate in the 2nd District. In today's episode we discuss the basics of fundraising with her fundraiser, Diondra Musgrave. Diondra helped now-Delegate Carroll Foy raise nearly $500,000 between cash donations and in-kinds in a short period of time. She shares her expertise on specific ways first-time candidates can raise the funds they need to win their races. Plus, we hear what it was like on election night when Democrats won 15 seats and nearly flipped control of the House of Delegates. 

In our seventh episode, we talk to Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou about how this remarkable 32-year old raised nearly $500,000 and knocked on 9,000 doors to win her historic race in New York's 65th District. This is part one of a multi-part series highlighting young candidates who break the traditional campaign molds and overcome tough obstacles to win their races.

In our sixth episode, we discuss a thought-provoking, slightly controversial study out of Stanford University with its author, Assistant Professor David Broockman. The study, titled "The Minimal Persuasive Effects of Campaign Contact in General Elections: Evidence from 49 Field Experiments," generated quite a few headlines when it was published. In this episode, we drill down on what it means for campaigns, what the exceptions are, and how campaigns can adjust their campaign dollars accordingly.   

Ally Coll Steele, Hillary Clinton's Deputy National Voter Protection Director for the 2016 Presidential race walks us through what she saw during the 2016 election. She also shares her insight into what she's concerned about going into the midterms and what local campaigns can do to protect voters. 

Our 4th episode is dedicated to all those partners, spouses, SOs, offspring and other family members by featuring advice from two fantastic political spouses: Charlyn Daugherty, wife of Republican Travis County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty and Steve Williamson, husband to Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal from Washington's 7th Congressional District. Politics is hard on candidates but it also can be hard on the folks closest to their political orbit: the partners and family. Charlyn and Steve share their experiences with us about how they handle the wild ride that is electoral politics. Plus, we here stories on how Charlyn won an Emmy and Cleo Award for her work on her husband's campaign and how Steve got the Dalai Lama to wear his baseball hat!

Wikileaks, John Podesta, DNC emails, Russia hacking...those are only the concerns of a Presidential campaign, right? Wrong. In our 3rd episode, we talk with Benjamin Caudill of Rhino Security Labs about why your personal & campaign information is just as valuable to hackers. More importantly, we discuss what you can do to improve your own security. With some simple free & low-cost tools, we can take your campaign security from a low level of protection and quadruple your level of security. This episode is Part 1 of a two-part series on cybersecurity. 

Our second episode of Election University's podcast features advice from two of President Obama's 2008 field directors, Rory Steele and Chelsea Waliser, on how to get a job in politics. With a combined three decades of work in politics, our guests walk us through informational interviews, what your resume should look like, and how to nail the interview process. 

Welcome to the first episode of Election University's podcast with your hosts Jason Bennett and Reiny Cohen. Our weekly podcast is for candidates, staff, and other interested politicos who want to learn more about campaigns. In this first episode, we cover what Election University is and what we hope to accomplish with our podcast.