Eric Wilson discusses groundbreaking research from the Center for Campaign Innovation on using AI to analyze open-ended survey responses. In this special episode, producer Adam Belmar interviews Eric about testing four AI models—ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, and Gemini—to code voter responses in a battleground congressional district. Discover how AI can revolutionize campaign research by processing qualitative voter feedback faster and more affordably, plus practical implementation strategies for polit...
Aug 13, 2025•23 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Political strategist and novelist Robert Moran joins Eric Wilson to discuss his new book " Lincoln 2.0 ," a political thriller exploring AI candidates in future elections. They dive into whether voters would accept a digitally resurrected Abraham Lincoln running for president, the technological requirements for AI candidates, and regulatory challenges facing this emerging reality. The conversation covers real-world examples like Modi's digital avatar in India, AI debate prep possibilities, and t...
Jul 30, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 15
In this episode of Campaign Trend, host Eric Wilson sits down with Ron Nehring, Director of International Programs at the Leadership Institute and former national spokesman for Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign, to discuss the critical gaps in campaign technology for down-ballot races. Nehring outlines five key challenges facing campaign tech developers: building affordable message testing tools for local campaigns, segmenting voters by engagement level using the "core vs. crowd" framework, ...
Jul 16, 2025•27 min•Season 3Ep. 14
How does visual design influence voter behavior and campaign effectiveness? In this episode of Campaign Trend, host Eric Wilson speaks with Shane Helm, founder of RightPixel , about the critical role of design in political campaigns. They explore why campaigns often shortchange the design process, the importance of designing for voters rather than candidates or spouses, and how red, white, and blue still outperform trendy color schemes with American audiences. The conversation covers measuring R...
Jul 02, 2025•25 min•Season 3Ep. 13
How has corporate America's approach to Washington changed between Trump's first and second administrations? In this episode of Campaign Trend, host Eric Wilson speaks with Alex Conant, partner and co-founder of Firehouse Strategies, about the evolution from companies hiding behind trade associations to direct CEO engagement with the White House. They discuss the shifting role of lobbyists versus public affairs professionals, how companies are building broader coalitions of allies rather than re...
Jun 18, 2025•22 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Courtney Weaver, Executive VP at IMGE, cuts through the hype around influencer marketing in political campaigns. Discover why influencers aren't just celebrities with massive followings - they're trusted voices like teachers, veterans, and mom bloggers who've built authentic relationships with niche audiences. In this conversation with host Eric Wilson, learn practical strategies for incorporating user-generated content into your paid media mix, why you can't skip traditional digital advertising...
Jun 04, 2025•22 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Jordi Calvet-Bademunt, a senior research fellow at The Future of Free Speech and visiting scholar at Vanderbilt University, joins Eric Wilson to discuss AI regulations and their potential unintended consequences for free speech. In this eye-opening conversation, Calvet-Bademunt reveals how the anticipated wave of AI-generated deepfakes during the 2024 elections failed to materialize despite widespread panic from global institutions and media. The episode explores why AI is being treated differen...
May 21, 2025•21 min•Season 3Ep. 10
On today’s episode, we’re sharing a panel discussion I moderated early this month at the Leadership Institute’s ElectTech conference in San Francisco. It was an informative conversation about how technology can be used to provide scale alongside the more conversational tactics campaigns are embracing. Become a Friend of the Trend: https://campaigntrend.com/friends/ Caroline Strom , Client Partner for US Elections, X Bryan McPartlan , Sales Director, Prompt.io Scott Winn , COO, California Republi...
May 07, 2025•42 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Lara Aulestia is founder and CEO of 1060 Advisors , a paid media strategy, planning and buying company serving the public affairs and political industry. She has an extensive background in political media buying with past roles at iHeartMedia, Resonate, Xandr, and Warner Media. In this episode we dig into the need to layer media buys across platforms to achieve our desired reach and frequency objectives. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn...
Apr 23, 2025•22 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Our guest today is David Tennent, founder of CNCT, a platform to centralize social and professional opportunities for political staffers. 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...
Apr 09, 2025•24 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Our guest is Maya Hutchinson , the Founder & CEO of Battleground AI , an integrated advertising platform built for politics - effortlessly combining data, messaging, and ad creation in one place. Maya is a data-driven marketer with roots in Democratic politics. In this episode we discuss the tangible ways campaigns are using AI and how they can more fully tap into this emerging technology. 3 Steps to Smarter Political Advertising Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow...
Mar 26, 2025•25 min•Season 3Ep. 6
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...
Mar 12, 2025•23 min•Season 3Ep. 5
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 Gener...
Feb 19, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 4
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 2024 These progressive groups left X for Bluesky. Was it a mistake? The 2024 election exposed Republicans’ ...
Feb 05, 2025•20 min•Season 3Ep. 3
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...
Jan 22, 2025•19 min•Season 3Ep. 2
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 Follo...
Jan 08, 2025•26 min•Season 3Ep. 1
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...
Dec 31, 2024•13 min•Season 2Ep. 10
On this episode, we’re breaking down some key findings from the Center for Campaign Innovation’s 2024 Post-Election Survey. We’re joined by David Kanevsky of 3D Strategic Research who has been conducting this poll since 2020 to share additional insights from this research and helping us understand what they mean for campaigners. 10 Key Takeaways From Our 2024 National Post-Election Survey ( CampaignInnovation.org ) Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us ...
Dec 18, 2024•22 min•Season 2Ep. 9
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 o...
Nov 20, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 8
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: F...
Oct 30, 2024•20 min•Season 2Ep. 7
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 Subscri...
Oct 17, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Chris Faulkner who is a Senior National Strategist at Majority Strategies , one of the biggest consulting firms in the political space. Chris spent almost a decade as a Marine before getting into politics and he has worked on a LOT of campaigns. In this episode we diver further into the mechanics and strategy around early voting and vote by mail in the 2024 Election. Become a Campaign Trend Insider to support the podcast and get more analysis. Click here to join. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the ...
Oct 10, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Jessica Anderson is President of the Sentinel Action Fund , the only conservative Super PAC with a year-round ground game committed to turning out absentee, early vote, and "day of" voters. She was previously the Executive Director of Heritage Action for America. In this episode we discuss how Sentinel has adapted to the wildly unpredictable 2024 election, the strategy behind boosting early voting, and the role of personal voter contact. Click here to become a Campaign Trend Insider. Subscribe o...
Oct 02, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Katie Harbath is Chief Global Affairs Officer at Duco Experts . From 2011 to 2021, Katie was the Public Policy Director at Facebook where she led global outreach to elected officials, political parties, and campaigners around the world. In our conversation, we check in on Facebook’s role in the 2024 election. Anchor Change (newsletter) Become a Campaign Trend Insider and get even more news and insights. Subscribe here. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow...
Sep 18, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Our guest today is Matthew Mazzone a partner at Ascent Media Agency where he leads large scale branding and marketing campaigns. Before getting into agency world, Matt was the Director of Film and Visual Media at the Republican National Committee. In this episode we’re talking about virtual production – how it works and what it means for political ad makers. Watch Virtual Production In Action - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AmlMcfxzT8 Become a Campaign Trend Insider to get exclusive content a...
Sep 04, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Enjoy a brief explanation of the thought process and decision making behind this podcast's rebrand. Become a Campaign Trend Insider to support the podcast and get exclusive content: https://campaigntrend.com/join 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...
Aug 21, 2024•10 min•Season 2Ep. 1
The next time an episode hits your feed, the show will have a new name – the Campaign Trend Podcast. Campaign Trend is a journal at the frontier of political campaigning and the new home for all of the campaign-related content I create – including blog posts, newsletters, and podcasts. https://campaigntrend.com/ To get a mug, email me: eric@campaigntrend.com Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow us on LinkedIn Subscribe to our Newsletter Become a Campaign ...
Aug 07, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 122
Sean Cooksey is Chairman of the Federal Election Commission . The FEC sets the regulations for campaigning at the federal level. To put it bluntly, the business of politics follows their rules and there are real consequences to that. It’s an honor to have Sean on the show. He is former Chief Counsel to Senator Josh Hawley and former Counsel to Senator Ted Cruz. The Senate confirmed Sean as a commissioner in 2020. In our conversation, we get the insider’s perspective on how the FEC works, what th...
Jul 24, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 121
Our guest today is Doug Heye, a strategic communications advisor and political commentator. Doug was the communications director for the Republican National Committee during the 2010 election cycle and on Capitol Hill was Deputy Chief of Staff to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. In our conversation today we go behind the scenes on cable news, how Doug prepares for a hit, and what producers are looking for in a guest. Subscribe on YouTube: Visit the Campaign Trend Website: Follow us on X Follow...
Jul 10, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Armin Petschner-Multari is a digital campaign expert based in Berlin. He is the founder of The Republic , a think tank promoting center-right policies in Germany. In today’s episode, we’re digging into the recent European Union elections and what campaigners here in the U.S. can learn. 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...
Jun 26, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 119
