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Beckie Souleymane

Notice About Pollie Conference Hotel Room and Sponsorship Solicitation

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The only approved housing provider of AAPC’s discounted block of attendee rooms for the 2021 Pollie Awards & Conference is Caesars Palace. Caesars Palace will not call or email you to solicit room sales. If you are contacted by a different housing provider, please inform Beckie Souleymane at bsouleymane@theaapc.org. Booking through a non-approved housing provider infringes upon AAPC’s ability to meet our contractual obligations with Caesars Palace.

Additionally, no one other than AAPC staff will contact you regarding sponsorship or exhibit sales. If you are contacted by an organization who is attempting to verify or sell you an exhibit space or other sponsorship opportunity, please notify Beckie Souleymane at bsouleymane@theaapc.org.

Statement on Facebook Considering Political Ad Blackout

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AAPC today issued the following statement in response to Facebook considering a political ad blackout prior to the November election.

The American Association of Political Consultants urges Facebook, in the strongest terms, not to change ad policies with regard to political advertising for the 2020 elections. Facebook is an especially important platform in the weeks just before Election Day, when millions of voters will be weighing whether and how to vote during a pandemic.    

Facebook has become a major source of news and information for voters and now has a responsibility to Democracy. Thousands of state and local campaigns rely on the platform to make their case for election in a clear and affordable manner.  While presidential campaigns gather most of the headlines, they have the financial resources to reach voters through other means. The reality is that there are over half a million non-federal races from the state house to the local school board that rely on open and honest communications to tell their story. Without ads directly from campaigns, Facebook will cede their valuable platform to rogue actors and misinformation. 

All AAPC members sign and agree to abide by our Code of Ethics which includes these two points:

  • I will use no appeal to voters which is based on racism, sexism, religious intolerance or any form of unlawful discrimination and will condemn those who use such practices. In turn, I will work for equal voting rights and privileges for all citizens.
  • I will refrain from false or misleading attacks on an opponent or member of his or her family and will do everything in my power to prevent others from using such tactics.

Instead of stifling the speech of legitimate campaigns and candidates we urge Facebook to use the resources necessary to shut down illegitimate bad actors who seek to disrupt our electoral systems.  We stand ready to work with Facebook to develop strong policies to uncover and stop misinformation while protecting free speech for campaigns. 

 

 

 

 

DON’T MISS OUR NEXT WEBINAR, JULY 16TH

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Is Big Better than Boutique?

July 16th from 1:00-2:00pm EST

Free for members | $49 for non-members

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Note: If you are a nonmember, please select the “continue as guest” option.

We’ve all heard the phrase “Jack of all trades, master of none.” But does that old adage apply in the political consulting business? Come hear from industry leaders, who will share their own experiences and debate whether it’s better to be a full-service, one-stop-shop or a specialized boutique that does one thing and tries to does it well.

Moderator: Chris Gober

Speakers:
Fred Davis, Founder, Strategic Perception
Chris Massicotte, Partner & Chief Operating Officer, DSPolitical
Rob Phillips, Chief Operating Officer, Axiom Strategies
Kara Turrentine, Founder & CEO, Turrency Political

2018 Pollie Conference Website Now Live

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Get Ready for the Political Consulting Event of the Year!

Mark your calendar for the premier industry event heading in to midterms! Join us at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel from April 11-13, 2018 for the AAPC Pollie Awards & Conference. Registration officially opens next month, but you can check out some of the details for this can’t miss event now, including:

USPS & AAPC Joint Paper: Voters and Mail–5 Insights

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Eighty-six percent of registered voters check their mailboxes at least 5 times per week, according to a newly released joint paper from the United States Postal Service® and the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC). But how do Americans interact with their mail as they sort, read and process it?

After an election cycle where political mail volume and spending reached record highs, the Postal Service teamed up with AAPC to find out. Together, we produced a paper on American behaviors and attitudes toward mail and what it means for political campaigns.

Based on listening sessions with AAPC member political consultants, we heard the mail moment is more important than ever: “People are consistently inundated with information in the 24-hour news cycle,” says one Democratic political consultant. “Mail can be really helpful because it is physical and feels real. Voters slow down and will actually look at a piece of mail.”

“Our firm found that targeting with mail is more precise than with any other form of media.,” says a Republican political consultant. “It allows you to get hyper-targeted with messages. There can be a lot of waste in radio and TV advertising, the geographic targeting is not as precise as you can be with mail.”

From these discussions with AAPC members and recent surveys on how Americans interact with mail, we identified 5 insights every campaign must know.

To learn more, including how to convert these insights to opportunities, please see the newly released joint paper, “Voters and Mail:  Five Insights to Boost Campaign Impact.”

At the Postal Service, we are listening and learning to help you secure the best opportunities for reaching people through mail.  If you have an inquiry about direct mail, want to talk to a direct mail coordinator or need help designing a political mailer, please contact us.

ABOUT ELENA NEELY

Elena Neely is the National Lead for the U.S. Postal Service® Political Mail Outreach efforts.  Elena mobilizes a national team of specialists who consult with and support political campaigns, campaign strategists and political alliance mailing partners.  She manages USPS® strategic sponsorships with political associations and coordinates marketing and sales efforts to support the use of political mail.  The U.S. Postal Service helps political campaigns identify winning media combinations to Deliver The Win for their campaigns.

Contact Elena at eneely@usps.gov; follow Elena at www.linkedin.com/in/elenaneely

 

ELECTION POST-MORTEM WITH NATHAN GONZALES & MARK MELLMAN

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Just 10 days after the historic Election Day, AAPC brought together communications experts Nathan Gonzales, analyst for The Rothenberg Political Report, and Mark Mellman, CEO of the polling and consulting firm The Mellman Group, for a thoughtful election post-mortem. Nathan and Mark touched on the intricacies of polling and the impact of this election’s results on next year’s legislative agenda. In addition to the summary below, login or join AAPC today to watch the full webinar recording!

The Polls

Mark begins by putting polling into perspective. Historically, national polls have had a margin of error between 1-2-points. Back in 2012, the polls were off by more than 3-points, though they accurately predicted the Obama win. Alternatively, this year the polls were off by 2-points, but became a controversial topic because of the incorrect prediction of a Clinton win. Consequently, Mark does not question the efficacy of national polling but does think statewide polling could have been improved. And, while Mark agrees that polling is difficult and will continue to become more difficult, he concludes that there is no evidence from this cycle that suggests there is an insoluble problem with polling.

When looking at the exit polls, we see that while there was growth for both candidates, there was much greater growth for Trump, especially towards the end with more late deciders breaking for Trump rather than Clinton. We also see that there was a higher turnout in Trump areas and a lower turnout in Clinton areas than expected. Mark believes these variances in voter turnout could be attributed to voter suppression and voter complacency. Lastly, we see that the college educated white voter was heavily misjudged with Trump winning this voter group by 4-points.

What frustrates Nathan the most about the discussions surrounding polling this cycle is the question of “What’s the alternative?” While he is not opposed to reporting, and getting various input from across the country in important districts and states, he thinks it can be dangerous to base polls on anecdotes instead of data. The Rothenberg & Gonzales Political Report ratings are an exercise in data, which depending on the data, can provide misleading results. Perhaps if there had been more polling in key states like Michigan and Wisconsin, particularly later in the race, it would have been helpful in developing a more accurate narrative. Despite much of the data having mislead him this time around, Nathan remains optimistic about the state of polling because he knows partisan pollsters have a vested interest in getting accurate data to drive campaigns and make millions of dollars’ worth in decisions.

The Legislative Agenda

Nathan admits that he underestimated the power of not being a politician and how much that would appeal to a segment of Americans that were fed up with the status quo government and were ready for something new. Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders alike, tapped into these voters in the primary process. And we can expect to see more active democratic primaries than we have seen in awhile in the 2018 election which has already begun and will have an impact on the 2017 legislative agenda. Democrats hold the senate seats in 25 of the states up for election in 2018, ten of which are facing an election in a state that Trump won. Meanwhile, Republicans will experience their own challenges.

This election cycle marks the first time since we have been directly electing senators that the senate outcomes all matched up with the presidential outcomes. But it’s still not clear sailing for Republicans. The Republican civil war is going to continue. Republican senators in Trump states will be under increasing pressure as they navigate meeting the demands of their constituents, the Republican Party, and the Trump administration.

Questions

Nathan answered the following questions from the viewers:

1.  One of the unsung trends in American politics is the growing correlation between presidential and congressional voting. Do you think that trend is going to continue next cycle? Do you think we’ll see any democrats win in red states and vice versa?

2. What do you think this cycle does to the ever-growing national popular vote movement?

3. This campaign brought out a lot of less-than-civil discourse. Is there a chance for civil discourse in the future or is that a lost cause?

4. Have you seen any post-election research that quantifies the premium increases for the Obamacare policies that came out right before the presidential poll?

5. Did you see any new, different and effective techniques employed by the house and senate races?

6. Why do you think the Clinton campaign never went to Wisconsin and completely neglected rural America?

7. What’s your take on the increase in sharing of fake news stories on social media? Have you seen any data suggest that this may have had an impact in voter behavior?

8. What do you believe is causing polls to be skewed towards democratic candidates in statewide races?

Check out the full webinar recording to hear the answers to these questions!

A huge thank you goes out to our speakers for sharing their expertise with the AAPC membership! If you have any questions while watching the full webinar recording, please direct them to Jenn Cutri at jcutri@theaapc.org, who will reach out to the panelists on your behalf.

Member Spotlight: Bentley Hensel

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BENTLEY HENSEL

ACCOUNT COORDINATOR
CAMPAIGN SOLUTIONS

AAPC: How long have you been a member of AAPC?

Bentley: I’ve been a member since 2015 and attended my first Pollie Conference in New Orleans.

AAPC: What do you enjoy most about what you do in the political/public affairs arena?

Bentley: I wake up every morning knowing that I make a difference…and the swag. Swag is nice.

AAPC: What is your go-to good mood song?

Bentley: Currently, “Don’t Wanna Know” by Maroon 5 ft. Kendrick Lamar is pretty great. Also, “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” is my pump-up music!

AAPC: What AAPC opportunity are you most excited about?

Bentley: I’m really looking forward to next year’s Pollie Conference. The Pollies are always great!

AAPC: Where can other AAPC members connect with you?

Bentley: The best way is through twitter at @BFHensel

Our newly launched Member Spotlight feature puts you in front of the AAPC community so that you can expand your personal and professional network! We encourage all AAPC members, new and veteran, to take advantage of this opportunity to connect with other members. To be featured in our next Member Spotlight, contact Angela Pubal at apubal@theaapc.org.

Invest in Your Future Success Now

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Save 10% on a Two-Year Membership

 

2yr-membership

As an AAPC member, you know first-hand how important it is to align yourself with the unwavering commitment to the highest ethical standards of the political consulting profession that AAPC promotes. And now more than ever, as the historic 2016 election cycle comes to a close, connecting and learning with the best and brightest political professionals represented among our membership will be key for your continued success in 2017 and beyond. Take advantage of this opportunity to invest in your future, save some money–and enjoy the year-end tax advantage too!

  • Platinum Members SAVE $200

  • Gold Members SAVE $100

  • Individual Members SAVE $50

  • Academic/Associate/Young Professional Members SAVE $20

  • Students SAVE $12

Whether you’re up for renewal soon, or just purchased a new membership recently, take advantage of this opportunity now! Your two-year membership will begin once your current membership expires.

Contact Angela Pubal, Association Administrator, at apubal@theaapc.org for any questions you may have concerning your two-year membership.