Money in Politics
Welcome to the Money in Politics Podcast, hosted by Andrew Blumenfeld! Join us for interesting conversations and takes on one of the most significant and misunderstood elements of our political system: money. You will hear from a variety of perspectives-- such as professional fundraisers, major donors, compliance experts, candidates and their campaigns, and the leaders of some of the most influential organizations in Democratic politics. If you work in or around politics- or just care about the health of our democracy!- this podcast is for you. Do you have a question about the podcast or want to recommend a topic for future episodes? Shoot us an email at hello@calltime.ai
Episodes
47 episodes
Season 2 Finale
In what feels like a lifetime ago, we launched season two of the Money in Politics podcast in the summer of 2020. Since then, we have spoken with record-setting fundraisers, political journalists, Joe Biden's pollster and his senior media advis...
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Season 2
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Episode 24
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4:02
Corporate Money in Politics
The issue of corporate political giving is a fairly persistent topic in campaign finance these days, but it took on renewed interest in the wake of the insurrection on Capitol Hill on January 6th. In the aftermath, corporations, ranging from Ai...
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Season 2
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Episode 23
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29:55
Money in Data
Technology is increasingly becoming available to campaigns that want to leverage the power of data and machine learning to give them the insights necessary to win a modern campaign. By analyzing millions of data points, software is able to dete...
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Season 2
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Episode 22
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31:45
Money in Messaging
The 2020 elections demonstrated, once again, that you can have all the money in the world and still not win. There are many factors that influence the outcome of an election, and while having enough money to bring your message to all of your po...
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Season 2
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Episode 21
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36:29
Spending on Digital Media
A large and ever-growing piece of a campaign's budget is spent on digital advertising. While we have talked before on the podcast about the efficacy of using digital ads to fundraise, we've only scratched the surface on the other side of that d...
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Season 2
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Episode 20
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38:51
Media + Money + Politics
The media plays an important role in our politics and the quantity and nature of media coverage a campaign receives can dramatically impact their ability to successfully fundraise. But that is merely one of the many ways that the media, money, ...
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Season 2
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Episode 19
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29:49
Fundraising With Digital Media
One of the fastest-changing landscapes in politics is digital media. Whether it is connected TV or ads on social media, there are more ways than ever to reach voters and donors. But while there are certainly some high profile examples of nation...
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Season 2
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Episode 18
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37:44
A Conversation with Joe Biden's Pollster
Understanding voters’ attitudes is an important part of an effective campaign. After all, if a campaign is going to spend significant sums of money to get their message out there, they need to be sure that they are crafting their message in a w...
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Season 2
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Episode 17
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41:23
Opposition Research
Despite its importance, the topic of opposition research often exists in the shadows. Whether, and how, campaigns choose to spend money on research can play a huge role in the outcome of an election, and unsurprisingly, money and fundraising of...
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Season 2
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Episode 16
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33:19
Money in Lobbying
When people hear the phrase "money in politics," they may think about the role of dollars in campaigns. But another concept probably comes to mind: lobbying. Many associate lobbying with something sinister, such as decision-makers being paid to...
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Season 2
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Episode 15
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37:35
The Role of Fundraising in Democratic Primaries
Richard DeShay Elliott is the elections analyst at PrimaryCast, a new project that looks at past trends and current election cycle data- such as fundraising figures- to make predictions about Democratic primaries in every state. PrimaryCast for...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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37:22
The Campaign Fundraising Job Board
Political campaign work is tremendously cyclical. Campaigns do not operate in perpetuity, and some don't even make it to the day of the election. All of this contributes to frequent job searching for campaign finance staffers. But while there a...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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4:45
How-To: Don't Ghost Your Donors
This is a special message to candidates. On this "How To" episode of the Money in Politics podcast, Andrew shares best practices for thoughtfully concluding your fundraising for a cycle in a way that honors the relationships you’ve built and re...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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14:47
Buying Your Donors
Figuring out who to reach out to and finding their current contact information may be one of the most important, yet hardest, aspects of building and cultivating your donor database. Grassroots Analytics offers campaigns a relatively straightfo...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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31:51
Fundraising for Political Technology
We have talked a lot on this podcast about the different kinds of political fundraising, and we have similarly talked about the role of political technology. Yet we have never talked about fundraising for political technology. Jeremy S...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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38:43
Money in Politics at the Supreme Court
Contrary to a popular misconception, super PACs were not created by the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Citizens United. They were actually born out of a federal court of appeals decision in the case of SpeechNow.org v. F...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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31:34
How-To: Using Deadlines to Your Advantage
Deadlines, whether they are real or artificial, can be incredibly powerful fundraising tools. Donors are as procrastination-prone as anybody else, and a properly utilized deadline can create a compelling sense of urgency and make the donor feel...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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8:04
Breaking Fundraising Records in a Red District
Phil Ehr is running for Congress in Florida's 1st Congressional District against incumbent Representative Matt Gaetz. Ousting an incumbent is difficult enough under normal circumstances, let alone when they are one of President Trump's most voc...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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34:44
Fundraising for Latino Candidates
If you've listened to the podcast before, you'll know that we like to discuss how people of all identities experience the process of political fundraising. After all, money can ultimately determine who is considered a "credible" candidate. Ther...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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28:36
A Loophole: Foreign Money in Politics
Issue One, a crosspartisan organization that brings together Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, recently published a report detailing a concerning loophole that can allow for anonymous money to flood our electoral process. Michael Beckel...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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32:03
Misusing Campaign Funds and Taxpayer Dollars
It seems that all too often, we find ourselves reading another scandal about the ethical lapses of our elected representatives, and this past month was no different. Chris Marquette, a reporter for CQ Roll Call, recently reported that Rep. Sanf...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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22:36
Black Political Power & Fundraising
Black Americans are underrepresented at almost every level of elected office, from the state legislature to the United States Senate. Quentin Jones is the Founder and President of The Collective, a PAC that seeks to attain political equity for ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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26:46
Perspectives from a Professional Fundraiser
The 2020 election cycle has been a roller coaster for professional fundraisers as they have adapted to a global pandemic, an unprecedented presidential election, and new waves of racial justice activism throughout the country. Mather Martin is ...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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31:25
Draining the Swamp, with the Directors of HBO's 'The Swamp'
Welcome to season two of the Money in Politics podcast, and what better way to begin this new season than by diving directly into the deep-end of the swamp?! We're joined today by Daniel DiMauro and Morgan Pehme, the directors of a new HBO docu...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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43:56