Inside Campaigns

Elections through the Eyes of Political Professionals
William J. Feltus
Kenneth M. Goldstein - University of San Francisco, USA
Matthew J. (Jeremy) Dallek - George Washington University, USA
Inside Campaigns
March 2016 | 320 pages | CQ Press
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Description

Named a top ten Editors’ Pick in the September 2016 edition of Choice Reviews

Inside Campaigns: Elections Through the Eyes of Political Professionals offers readers a detailed, thoroughly researched examination of U.S. political campaigns.  Through the eyes of more than 100 campaign managers and political professionals, it takes a behind-the-scenes look at the ways campaigns are managed, the strategies that are employed, the roles played by both staff and the candidates, and all the ways campaigns affect election outcomes. The expert author team provides guidance drawn from actual campaign case studies and contributes their own data-backed assessment of the current state of modern political campaign management. They offer a trove of observations and war stories.  Interviewees include high-profile professionals such as David Axelrod, Ken Mehlman, James Carville, and Kevin Sheekey, as well as lesser-known political journeymen and women who manage America’s state and local campaigns. Democrats and Republicans are evenly represented, giving students a balanced, unique and valuable insight into how campaigns operate.

Contents

Chapter 1: Unafraid to Fail - The Craft and Science of Poltical Campaigns

  • A Tale of Two Managers
  • The Personal Side of Politics
  • Why Campaign Managers Do It
  • What Campaigns Do
  • Do Campaigns Matter?
  • Teaching Topics

Chapter 2: Political Math - Why Campaigns Matter

  • Debating Campaign "Effects"
  • What Does "Matter" Mean?
  • The Role of Fundamentals: From Demographics to Party ID
  • Partisan Composition of the Electorate
  • Share and Performance
  • The Case of Nevada
  • Ask Gore if the Margin Matters

Chapter 3: Political Historian and Data Scientist - Charting a Path to Victory through Information and Analysis

  • Tough Numbers in the Big Easy
  • Defining a Winning Coalition: Who Are Our Targets?
  • How Do We Reach Them?
  • What Do We Tell Them?
  • How Are We Doing?
  • What Are Our Opponents and Allies Doing?
  • The Secret Ballot Problem
  • Presidential and Congressional Campaigns: The Art and Science of Data Analysis
  • Targeting and Micro-Targeting: "Bells-and-Whistles" vs. "Old-Fashioned Grunt Work"
  • Focus Groups, Polls, and Other Forms of Information-Gathering
  • Determining Voter Blocs
  • GOTV
  • Summary

Chapter 4: Enterpreneur and Chief Financial Officer - Launching the Campaign

  • Spending and Margins
  • The Money Advantage
  • How Money Matters (Decisions)
  • "The Nightmare of All Campaigns" (Fundraising)
  • Hiring the Right Team (Staff)
  • Conclusion

Chapter 5: Marketing Wizard - How Do We Reach Them?

  • The Paradox of Politics and Marketing in the Digital Age
  • Political Brand Management: Knowledge is Power
  • What are GRPs? Learning the Basic Language of Media
  • How Many GRPs Does a Campaign Need? Exploding the Conventional Wisdom of "1,000 GRPs-Per-Spot"
  • In the Internet Age, Television is Still King
  • The Media Mix: Beyond TV
  • Manager Profile - Katie Merrill: Managing in the California Big Leagues

Chapter 6: Script Writer and Stage Manager - Crafting the Campaign's Messages

  • What Do We Tell Voters?
  • How the Message Matters
  • Why Campaigns "Go Negative"
  • "A Hugging Contest?" Why Negative Ads Affect Election Margins
  • When Going Negative Backfires
  • Going Negative in a Primary
  • Responding to Negative Attacks
  • Conclusion

Chapter 7: Spinmeister and Policy Wonk - Navigating the Media Landscape

  • Defusing Bad Press
  • The Shifting Character of the Media Landscape
  • "Hand to Hand Combat"
  • The Frustrated Policy Wonk
  • Cell Phones and Earned Media
  • "The Blogs Will Pick It Up Immediately" (Speed)
  • Working the Refs (Credibility)
  • Earned Media: An Imperfect Tool

Chapter 8: Field General

  • Who Do We Need?
  • How Do We Reach Them?
  • The Two-Step Process: Deciding to Vote; and Voting for or Against a Candidate
  • "Old-Fashioned Grunt Work"
  • Losing and Winning on the Ground
  • Manager Profile - Reed Galen: Just Say No

Chapter 9: Strategy Enforcer and Team Builder - Keeping a Day-to-Day Focus on the Long-Term Path to Victory

  • James Carville: Losing Before Winning
  • Clinton-Gore 1992: "The Best Campaign Ever"
  • Keeping the Campaign Team on Strategy with Signage
  • Inheriting a Team: The Turnaround Manager
  • How Are We Doing?
  • Strategy Enforcer in the Age of Super-PACs ("What are They Doing?")
  • Team Builder
  • Managing Consultants
  • "The Right Kind of Culture"

Chapter 10: Candidate Caretaker and Confidant - Handling Details and Building Trust

  • Becoming Indispensable
  • The Buffer and the Concierge
  • Building Trust: "Jimmy Here's What We Need to Do"
  • Building the Relationship
  • Honesty
  • Managing the Candidate's Family
  • Losing and Winning: When the Campaign Ends

Additional materials

Description

Named a top ten Editors’ Pick in the September 2016 edition of Choice Reviews

Inside Campaigns: Elections Through the Eyes of Political Professionals offers readers a detailed, thoroughly researched examination of U.S. political campaigns.  Through the eyes of more than 100 campaign managers and political professionals, it takes a behind-the-scenes look at the ways campaigns are managed, the strategies that are employed, the roles played by both staff and the candidates, and all the ways campaigns affect election outcomes. The expert author team provides guidance drawn from actual campaign case studies and contributes their own data-backed assessment of the current state of modern political campaign management. They offer a trove of observations and war stories.  Interviewees include high-profile professionals such as David Axelrod, Ken Mehlman, James Carville, and Kevin Sheekey, as well as lesser-known political journeymen and women who manage America’s state and local campaigns. Democrats and Republicans are evenly represented, giving students a balanced, unique and valuable insight into how campaigns operate.

Contents

Chapter 1: Unafraid to Fail - The Craft and Science of Poltical Campaigns

  • A Tale of Two Managers
  • The Personal Side of Politics
  • Why Campaign Managers Do It
  • What Campaigns Do
  • Do Campaigns Matter?
  • Teaching Topics

Chapter 2: Political Math - Why Campaigns Matter

  • Debating Campaign "Effects"
  • What Does "Matter" Mean?
  • The Role of Fundamentals: From Demographics to Party ID
  • Partisan Composition of the Electorate
  • Share and Performance
  • The Case of Nevada
  • Ask Gore if the Margin Matters

Chapter 3: Political Historian and Data Scientist - Charting a Path to Victory through Information and Analysis

  • Tough Numbers in the Big Easy
  • Defining a Winning Coalition: Who Are Our Targets?
  • How Do We Reach Them?
  • What Do We Tell Them?
  • How Are We Doing?
  • What Are Our Opponents and Allies Doing?
  • The Secret Ballot Problem
  • Presidential and Congressional Campaigns: The Art and Science of Data Analysis
  • Targeting and Micro-Targeting: "Bells-and-Whistles" vs. "Old-Fashioned Grunt Work"
  • Focus Groups, Polls, and Other Forms of Information-Gathering
  • Determining Voter Blocs
  • GOTV
  • Summary

Chapter 4: Enterpreneur and Chief Financial Officer - Launching the Campaign

  • Spending and Margins
  • The Money Advantage
  • How Money Matters (Decisions)
  • "The Nightmare of All Campaigns" (Fundraising)
  • Hiring the Right Team (Staff)
  • Conclusion

Chapter 5: Marketing Wizard - How Do We Reach Them?

  • The Paradox of Politics and Marketing in the Digital Age
  • Political Brand Management: Knowledge is Power
  • What are GRPs? Learning the Basic Language of Media
  • How Many GRPs Does a Campaign Need? Exploding the Conventional Wisdom of "1,000 GRPs-Per-Spot"
  • In the Internet Age, Television is Still King
  • The Media Mix: Beyond TV
  • Manager Profile - Katie Merrill: Managing in the California Big Leagues

Chapter 6: Script Writer and Stage Manager - Crafting the Campaign's Messages

  • What Do We Tell Voters?
  • How the Message Matters
  • Why Campaigns "Go Negative"
  • "A Hugging Contest?" Why Negative Ads Affect Election Margins
  • When Going Negative Backfires
  • Going Negative in a Primary
  • Responding to Negative Attacks
  • Conclusion

Chapter 7: Spinmeister and Policy Wonk - Navigating the Media Landscape

  • Defusing Bad Press
  • The Shifting Character of the Media Landscape
  • "Hand to Hand Combat"
  • The Frustrated Policy Wonk
  • Cell Phones and Earned Media
  • "The Blogs Will Pick It Up Immediately" (Speed)
  • Working the Refs (Credibility)
  • Earned Media: An Imperfect Tool

Chapter 8: Field General

  • Who Do We Need?
  • How Do We Reach Them?
  • The Two-Step Process: Deciding to Vote; and Voting for or Against a Candidate
  • "Old-Fashioned Grunt Work"
  • Losing and Winning on the Ground
  • Manager Profile - Reed Galen: Just Say No

Chapter 9: Strategy Enforcer and Team Builder - Keeping a Day-to-Day Focus on the Long-Term Path to Victory

  • James Carville: Losing Before Winning
  • Clinton-Gore 1992: "The Best Campaign Ever"
  • Keeping the Campaign Team on Strategy with Signage
  • Inheriting a Team: The Turnaround Manager
  • How Are We Doing?
  • Strategy Enforcer in the Age of Super-PACs ("What are They Doing?")
  • Team Builder
  • Managing Consultants
  • "The Right Kind of Culture"

Chapter 10: Candidate Caretaker and Confidant - Handling Details and Building Trust

  • Becoming Indispensable
  • The Buffer and the Concierge
  • Building Trust: "Jimmy Here's What We Need to Do"
  • Building the Relationship
  • Honesty
  • Managing the Candidate's Family
  • Losing and Winning: When the Campaign Ends

Additional materials

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Inside Campaigns

Elections through the Eyes of Political Professionals

William J. Feltus , Kenneth M. Goldstein , Matthew J. (Jeremy) Dallek
Cancel Print

March 2016 | 320 pages | CQ Press

Format Published Date ISBN Price

Named a top ten Editors’ Pick in the September 2016 edition of Choice Reviews

Inside Campaigns: Elections Through the Eyes of Political Professionals offers readers a detailed, thoroughly researched examination of U.S. political campaigns.  Through the eyes of more than 100 campaign managers and political professionals, it takes a behind-the-scenes look at the ways campaigns are managed, the strategies that are employed, the roles played by both staff and the candidates, and all the ways campaigns affect election outcomes. The expert author team provides guidance drawn from actual campaign case studies and contributes their own data-backed assessment of the current state of modern political campaign management. They offer a trove of observations and war stories.  Interviewees include high-profile professionals such as David Axelrod, Ken Mehlman, James Carville, and Kevin Sheekey, as well as lesser-known political journeymen and women who manage America’s state and local campaigns. Democrats and Republicans are evenly represented, giving students a balanced, unique and valuable insight into how campaigns operate.

Table Of Contents:

  • Chapter 1: Unafraid to Fail - The Craft and Science of Poltical Campaigns
  • A Tale of Two Managers
  • The Personal Side of Politics
  • Why Campaign Managers Do It
  • What Campaigns Do
  • Do Campaigns Matter?
  • Teaching Topics
  • Chapter 2: Political Math - Why Campaigns Matter
  • Debating Campaign "Effects"
  • What Does "Matter" Mean?
  • The Role of Fundamentals: From Demographics to Party ID
  • Partisan Composition of the Electorate
  • Share and Performance
  • The Case of Nevada
  • Ask Gore if the Margin Matters
  • Chapter 3: Political Historian and Data Scientist - Charting a Path to Victory through Information and Analysis
  • Tough Numbers in the Big Easy
  • Defining a Winning Coalition: Who Are Our Targets?
  • How Do We Reach Them?
  • What Do We Tell Them?
  • How Are We Doing?
  • What Are Our Opponents and Allies Doing?
  • The Secret Ballot Problem
  • Presidential and Congressional Campaigns: The Art and Science of Data Analysis
  • Targeting and Micro-Targeting: "Bells-and-Whistles" vs. "Old-Fashioned Grunt Work"
  • Focus Groups, Polls, and Other Forms of Information-Gathering
  • Determining Voter Blocs
  • GOTV
  • Summary
  • Chapter 4: Enterpreneur and Chief Financial Officer - Launching the Campaign
  • Spending and Margins
  • The Money Advantage
  • How Money Matters (Decisions)
  • "The Nightmare of All Campaigns" (Fundraising)
  • Hiring the Right Team (Staff)
  • Conclusion
  • Chapter 5: Marketing Wizard - How Do We Reach Them?
  • The Paradox of Politics and Marketing in the Digital Age
  • Political Brand Management: Knowledge is Power
  • What are GRPs? Learning the Basic Language of Media
  • How Many GRPs Does a Campaign Need? Exploding the Conventional Wisdom of "1,000 GRPs-Per-Spot"
  • In the Internet Age, Television is Still King
  • The Media Mix: Beyond TV
  • Manager Profile - Katie Merrill: Managing in the California Big Leagues
  • Chapter 6: Script Writer and Stage Manager - Crafting the Campaign's Messages
  • What Do We Tell Voters?
  • How the Message Matters
  • Why Campaigns "Go Negative"
  • "A Hugging Contest?" Why Negative Ads Affect Election Margins
  • When Going Negative Backfires
  • Going Negative in a Primary
  • Responding to Negative Attacks
  • Conclusion
  • Chapter 7: Spinmeister and Policy Wonk - Navigating the Media Landscape
  • Defusing Bad Press
  • The Shifting Character of the Media Landscape
  • "Hand to Hand Combat"
  • The Frustrated Policy Wonk
  • Cell Phones and Earned Media
  • "The Blogs Will Pick It Up Immediately" (Speed)
  • Working the Refs (Credibility)
  • Earned Media: An Imperfect Tool
  • Chapter 8: Field General
  • Who Do We Need?
  • How Do We Reach Them?
  • The Two-Step Process: Deciding to Vote; and Voting for or Against a Candidate
  • "Old-Fashioned Grunt Work"
  • Losing and Winning on the Ground
  • Manager Profile - Reed Galen: Just Say No
  • Chapter 9: Strategy Enforcer and Team Builder - Keeping a Day-to-Day Focus on the Long-Term Path to Victory
  • James Carville: Losing Before Winning
  • Clinton-Gore 1992: "The Best Campaign Ever"
  • Keeping the Campaign Team on Strategy with Signage
  • Inheriting a Team: The Turnaround Manager
  • How Are We Doing?
  • Strategy Enforcer in the Age of Super-PACs ("What are They Doing?")
  • Team Builder
  • Managing Consultants
  • "The Right Kind of Culture"
  • Chapter 10: Candidate Caretaker and Confidant - Handling Details and Building Trust
  • Becoming Indispensable
  • The Buffer and the Concierge
  • Building Trust: "Jimmy Here's What We Need to Do"
  • Building the Relationship
  • Honesty
  • Managing the Candidate's Family
  • Losing and Winning: When the Campaign Ends

Recent Product Reviews:

"Inside Campaigns takes readers into the world of campaign managers. Powered by scores of interviews and surveys of political professionals, the book considers the purpose, potency, and poetry of modern political campaigns in the US.Written by a team with both a scholarly pedigree and a hand in applied politics, Inside Campaigns is a deeper, more systematic approach than seen in several other volumes that do little more than transcribe the comments of political professionals. Instead, the authors take readers on a carefully laid out guided tour of major campaign tasks, such as voter targeting and message strategy. Though the typical campaign text is stuffed with data and wrung free of life, Inside Campaigns includes the drama and intrigue that courses through the topic. Run the negative ad or not? Put money into afield staff, or shift resources elsewhere? These are decisions that can elect candidates and determine whether campaign professionals will work again. An invaluable guide for college students considering a career in campaign politics and a useful work for any campaigns class." Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through professionals.
D. Niven, University of Cincinnati, September 2016 issue of CHOICE
“The strength of Inside Campaigns is its differentiation from most other books in this market. Extensive interviews conducted by the authors with campaign managers results in an insider view that isn’t typically present in a book written by political scientists. Feltus, Goldstein, and Dallek are able to juxtapose the theories typically used by political scientists with the knowledge given by campaign managers, providing readers with a unique 360 degree perspective.”
Travis N. Ridout, Washington State University
“I am impressed not only by the purpose of Feltus, Goldstein, and Dallek’s text—to bring real-world perspectives to the study of an immensely important part of campaigns and elections—but also by their fascinating take on the debate over the degree to which campaigns matter. Their argument is rational, powerful, and well documented, as is their distinction among structure, share, and persuasion in planning and executing campaigns. Well done.”
Malcolm Cross, Tarleton State University
“Feltus, Goldstein, and Dallek offer a comprehensive text on the role of campaign managers in devising campaign strategy and carrying it through. The use of testimony and statements from practitioners, both well-known and less well-known, provides the book with an air of authenticity. The integration of scholarship on the topic, with related anecdotes, case studies, and statements from actual campaign managers adds to the overall narrative and argument. Campaigns do matter, especially with the focus on the margins, and this is borne out in the text.”
Adam Silver, Emmanuel College

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