Hal Malchow has over thirty-five years of experience in politics, having worked for four Democratic presidential nominees and a long list of Senate, congressional, and gubernatorial candidates. Hal Malchow’s pivotal role in introducing data science to American political campaigns and measuring the impact of voter communication tactics changed the way campaigns are run. In his latest novel, No Popes in Heaven, Hal Malchow draws upon his experience to highlight the absurdities of our political system and the negative consequences of well-meaning reforms for our democracy. We sat down with him to hear all about his new book.
How to Have an Effortless Pre-Election Cycle Vacation
Practice self-care this pre-election cycle with a vacation! We are officially on the cusp of the 2018 election cycle. Most primaries are either completed or happening in the next few weeks. The warmer weather provides the perfect time to get in a pre-cycle vacation. This list will provide five ways to take self-care and ensure an effortless pre-election cycle vacation:
7 Questions on Harnessing the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Meg Ahern is a social and behavior change expert working in international development, and author of the new guide, The Science of Influence: Harnessing Neuroscience and the Social Sciences
for Effective Democratic Campaigns. She focused her dissertation at Michigan on the role of emotion and social context in perception, cognition and memory, and did her postdoc in the sociology of knowledge at The University of Chicago. Since 2014, Meg has been working in international development in DC, where she's focused primarily on gender equality, social inclusion, and organizational development for USAID, UNICEF, and the Global Partnership for Education at the World Bank.
*Originally written by Joe Fuld and updated by Elena Veatch 4/3/18
When you get into politics, it’s hard to resist the all too common tunnel vision of focusing only on politics. But be careful – binge watching Veep or The West Wing is not going to help you run a better campaign or organization; nor will reading solely political books.
The fact is, you are running a business. And while we like to think of politics and business as totally separate realms, it’s tough to run any political operation without a Business 101 crash course. So, take a break from the latest Clinton campaign staffer or Obama aide memoir you are probably reading, and check out some of our non-political book recommendations. Below are ten non-political books that will be helpful to any politico running a campaign, a non-profit, or really any operation.
Paul Lage is the President and CEO of Gill Studios, which includes Gill-line: the largest producer of political yard signs, decals, and bumper stickers in the country. We asked Paul for some industry tips to help campaigns navigate the process of designing and printing yard signs and other campaign materials.
1. What are some of the greatest challenges of being in the political yard sign and bumper sticker business?
Is persuasion still possible? Political scientist Joshua Kalla answers our questions
Joshua Kalla is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley whose research focuses on American political behavior and opinion. Along with Stanford’s David Broockman, Joshua Kalla co-authored a study on voter persuasion that made a splash in the media and in progressive circles in September 2017. In this study, Kalla and Broockman argue that voter persuasion through traditional campaign communication methods (such as direct mail, canvassing, and digital advertising) have essentially no persuasive effect on voters during general elections. We asked Kalla about his recent work and its implications for campaigns.
When it comes to social media, some folks are really active, some aren't. Some have a following and some don't. But if you want to use social media to advance your organization or campaign's goals, connecting with your key influencers is a great way to grow your following, and expand the reach of your message. Here are our tips to connect with social media influentials and other social media leaders:
No matter how many advocacy campaigns you have done, people will always have a ton of questions about advocacy metrics to judge how successfully those campaigns were run, and if they were effective. They'll ask me questions like:
How many petitions were signed?
How many patch-through calls were made?
How many folks called their legislators? How many constituents visited their legislator?
How many supporters do we have in key legislative districts?
Top 5 Political Tactics to boost your political campaign website:
The political website: it’s a requirement for any candidate for office, but that doesn’t mean it should be just another item to check off your to-do list! Being intentional when setting up your website by keeping a few key political tactics in mind will ensure that you are providing voters with an enjoyable, engaging, cohesive experience.
A few political tactics to keep in mind when designing your political website:
Write a Political Speech for Strategic Communications
Write a Political Speech - All candidates for political office should have a strategic communications plan in place, but not all candidates need to worry about writing lots of speeches for their campaign. For local office races, you may only find yourself wishing you had a speech during your announcement and on election night. In those moments, don’t panic! Writing a basic speech is easier than you think.
Our team is made up of amazing creative, organizational, and political consulting talent committed to achieving political and advocacy goals. We have worked for candidates and causes, big and small, all across the country.
