- Spring 2024
Syllabus Description:
Instructors: Cathy Allen (cathy@connectionsgroup.org) and Randy Pepple (rjp1984@uw.edu)
Time and location: T/TH 4:30 – 5:50 pm, Savery 131
Office hours: T/TH 2:00-3:00 pm (Pepple), 3:00-4:00 pm (Allen), Gowen 048, or by appointment
Veteran political consultants and media pundits Cathy Allen (Democrat) and Randy Pepple (Republican) present students an opportunity to learn about the key components of political campaigns today and gain practical experience putting to use what they learn in class on an actual campaign.
The course is grounded in current campaign practices, so you'll be asked to choose an active candidate to monitor so you can identify the strategic moves and messages your candidate utilizes (or should) to better position him/herself to win. Among the learning opportunities you’ll have in this Special Topics course:
- Understanding the rise of digital campaigning as a major strategic tool – and seeing how it's taking far more of your campaign budget. Join a class that lets you (potentially) become capable of advising a campaign on how to improve social network-based campaigning, from Zoom campaign Meet & Greets to Tik Tok fundraising.
- Making communications your friend, by seeing that no matter what crisis knocks you off balance, successful campaigns need to be centered on a relevant, inspiring, and brief central theme from which the campaign grows. Find out how a candidate identifies, develops, and stays on their messages to advance that theme.
- Seeing (and hearing) how the role of image and voice grows more important in candidate success, as our post-COVID environment continues to change behavior (such as the reality that many voters see and evaluate candidates more often on tiny screens than other mediums).
- Fundraising is a skill everyone will need at one time or another in their lives, and this class can help you learn how NOT to fear or hate it. We will share insider tips that make "the ask" efficient and effective, especially online.
- Targeting, the real science of campaigning, is figuring out who is going to vote, how many of those voters you need to win, where they live, and how you will reach them. It is key to your candidate winning.
The class, now in its ninth iteration, makes students familiar with new (and old) strategic campaign planning tools which makes this learning experience important for students who might be interested in working in the growing number and variety of campaign jobs available every year.
Learning objectives
Elections have consequences – and the campaigns (and the people behind them) which persuade the right voters prompt those consequences. This course focuses on the nuts and bolts of building winning campaigns, but many of the lessons have broader applications to our lives, including:
- Strategic thinking
- Project management
- Persuasion skills and “daring to be brief”
- Raising funds for a cause
- Dealing with criticism/attacks
- Team building – and not over-reaching your team’s capacities
- Deploying the right technologies, not just the latest fad
Grading
Over the course of the quarter, students will have short weekly assignments based on lectures and the campaigns of the candidate of their choice. Attendance and participation in class is a must to succeed. There will also be two quizzes, one of them in class, and a final exam featuring an oral presentation to the instructors.
Unless otherwise noted, assignments are due before class begins at 4:30 pm on the assigned due date. Students must upload an electronic version of their assignment to Canvas by this time for full credit. If students would prefer more substantive comments on their writing, particularly on early assignments, they should submit a printed copy to one of the instructors on the due date as well.
Students will earn their grades based on the following class elements:
- Participation (10%): Students need to regularly attend class and be ready to join in discussions of the lecture topic and class materials for this class to be successful. Participation is based on attendance and contributions to class activities.
- Weekly assignments, based on lectures and candidate campaigns (20%): Due every Tuesday, starting Week 2.
- Quiz #1 (25%): Distributed at the end of the Thursday class in week 4, based on first four weeks of lectures. Quiz is due before the Thursday class in Week 5.
- Quiz #2 (25%): Distributed at the end of the Thursday class in week 8, based on lectures from weeks 5-8. Quiz is due before the Thursday class in Week 9.
- Final Presentation (20%): Appointments will be scheduled in 15-minute time blocks for individual presentations during finals week. Proposed dates: June 3-4.
Late Assignments. If you cannot complete an assignment on time or attend a quiz, you must notify the instructor ahead of time. If students advise the instructors of non-attendance due to illness or pre-approved schedule conflicts, they may have up to a week from the due date to complete the assignment. You are responsible for making arrangements for a new quiz date, if possible.
Late Penalty. Penalties are at the discretion of the instructors. The general policy is a 20% deduction if it is turned in within 24 hours of the due date, and a 50% deduction if it is turned in within 48 hours of the original due date. Assignments turned in later will generally receive a 0.
Grade Appeals. Students must submit a written (1 page) appeal within one week of the grade being posted. This appeal should articulate your understanding of the assignment or question, and why the grade is inappropriate. The instructor then has one week to respond and may assign a new grade (higher or lower) as part of the review process. Students then have the option of appealing to the department chair, which exhausts the grade appeals process.
Religious accommodations policy: “Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/). Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/).”
Readings
Required: Cathy Allen, Taking Back Politics: An Insider’ Guide to Winning (1996) Jalapeno Press (ISBN 0965311201).; This book covers the essential skills and strategies of modern campaigns, and various selections will be provided from it.
Other required reading materials will be available electronically or will be provided by the instructors.
The readings are listed in advance of the day they will be discussed (in other words, they should be read prior to that class period).
Week One - Mar. 26 and 28
Tuesday
CLASS OVERVIEW: The Evolution of Modern Campaigns (and your lecturers) 1970’s to present (Randy)
Thursday
What’s at stake in 2024 depends on where you focus: Federal/WA Statewide/WA Legislative/WA Initiatives (Cathy)
READING (materials are in Canvas, under the Files tab):
Doug Sosnick: A Look Ahead to the 2024 Elections, 12/23
John Ashford: Hawthorne & Company: Previewing 2024 Elections (read slides 35-50)
How to Choose Your Candidate: Information/Instruction (Cathy)
Assignment for Tuesday: Complete survey on today’s political environment (Will be made available after class).
Week Two - April 2 and 4
Tuesday
THE STRATEGY BEHIND PLANNING TO WIN: Learn about the strategic value of the Leesburg Grid and review the components of a campaign plan and discuss how to keep the document alive during the campaign. (Randy)
READING:
Bruce Mehlman, Q1 2024 Overview
Sun Tzu, Art of Warfare, On Assessments, p. 103-05.
Cathy Allen, Taking Back Politics, Chapter 4: Campaign Plan, p. 33-62
Thursday
IMAGE, VOICE, & CONFIDENCE (Cathy)
READING:
Taking Back Politics, Chapter 10: Speech and Image, p. 171-190
Lorraine Howell, Give Your Elevator Speech a Lift, (entire book, 48 pages)
Assignment for Tuesday: Tell us why you are choosing a particular candidate campaign to follow for the next eight weeks, identify your opponent(s), and the amount the campaign for this position cost the last time it was contested.
Week Three – April 9 and 11
Tuesday
POLLING & STRATEGIC RESEARCH: Utilize current state and national surveys to understand the value – and limitations – of political research. (Randy)
READING:
Crosscut, Elway Poll January 2024 (parts 1 and 2)
Taking Back Politics: Chapter 8, Polling and Research
Thursday
IDENTIFYING AND TARGETING YOUR VOTERS (Cathy & Frank Girolami, Director of National Targeting, Aristotle)
READING:
David Catanese, Too Close To Call, "I had to confuse my constituents", <davidcatanese@substack.com>
Aristotle, Best Election Strategies to Win an Election
Assignment for next Thursday, April 18: Identify the number of voters expected to vote in your candidate’s primary campaign, and the number of voters in your target audience – and show how you arrived at those figures.
Week Four – April 16 and 18
Tuesday
FUNDRAISING: Understanding “the ask” and getting it right (Cathy)
READING:
Taking Back Politics, Chapter 6, Fundraising, p. 93 – 12
Thursday
THE MESSAGE BOX: and other items for your campaign tool chest (Randy)
QUIZ I: The quiz will have one question each from the first eight lecture topics, from which you will choose three to answer in up to 300 words each. It will be released online at the end of class, and will be due by Tuesday, April 23, before the start of class.
Assignment for Tuesday: Record a verbal ask of less than one minute on behalf of your candidate (like a telephone message) or write a fundraising email or letter of no more than 300 words.
Week Five – April 23 and 25
Tuesday
PARTY POLITICS: What are the partisans up to? Each party has its positives and negatives, what they do best and not so well, who are the leaders and the fakers, what is the power they can bring to bear, and the realities of what is over-rated. (Randy)
Thursday
IDENTITY POLITICS: What is it? What family/tribe/team best describes your candidate’s base of support? The influencers: who runs, who gets the money, how the power crowd determines who they choose, and how do a candidate link their message with their identity? (Cathy)
READING:
Wikipedia, Identity Politics (definition)
Assignment for next Tuesday, April 30: Determine a helpful role for your candidate’s political party in your campaign and write a memo of no more than 300 words identifying how the campaign should secure that support.
Week Six – April 30 and May 2
Tuesday
LET'S GET DIGITAL: Why digital matters more every day (Randy)
READING:
Inside The Cave, power point deck, 93 slides (skim for perspective)
Thursday
THE SHRINKING REAL PRESS and how to get earned media in this market (Cathy and media guest speakers)
READING:
Taking Back Politics, The Press, p. 273-293.
A story from each of our speakers will be provided prior to Week 6.
Assignment for Tuesday: Identify a current element of your chosen campaign’s digital profile (web site, Facebook, emails, etc.), and write a one-page memo advocating a way to improve it to reach college voters.
Week Seven – May 7 and 9
Tuesday
ELECTION REFORM: and other Unintended Consequences (Cathy)
READING:
Seattle Ethics & Elections Commission, Democracy Voucher Program Info & Links
Kim Wyman, Election 2020: Controlling Chaos, p. 320 -336.
Thursday
PLOWING THE FIELD: Tactics for directly delivering your message (Randy)
READING:
Taking Back Politics, Chapter 11: Field Operations, p. 191-222
Assignment for Tuesday: You are charged with preparing a small group of volunteer supporters to go door-to-door for your candidate. How do you instruct them – the “how to’s” and the “don’t do’s”. How do they introduce themselves, advocate for your candidate, and answer the tough questions (what’s your candidate’s party, why should I vote, who’s your opponent, and who else is supporting her/him?).
Week Eight – May 14 and 16
Tuesday
KNOW THY ENEMY: The World of “Oppo” (Randy)
Assignment for next Tuesday: You’ll have a choice of six different negative attacks that have hit actual campaigns. Choose two and explain the key message for each, and whether that message was persuasively delivered.
Thursday
HANDLING NEGATIVE ATTACKS (Cathy)
READING:
Taking Back Politics: Chapter 18, Damage Control, p. 345-355.
QUIZ II –The quiz will have one question from each of the lecture topics from weeks 5 through 8, from which you will choose four to answer in up to 300 words each. It will be handed out at the end of class. Extra credit opportunities will be available. It is due before class May 21.
Week Nine – May 21 and 23
Tuesday
ETHICS: The Politics of Your Values, from Aristotle to Today’s Voters (Cathy)
The Steven Schmidt Case Study
The George Santos Case Study
The John Fetterman Case Study
Thursday
INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES and other ways that candidates don’t really control their own campaigns. (Randy)
Assignment for Tuesday:
Identify an existing organization which supports your candidate, and write a short memo on how why the campaign should expect that group to do an independent expenditure which could help your campaign.
Week Ten – May 28 and 30
Tuesday
VIEW FROM THE CANDIDATE (Randy & Rob McKenna)
Thursday
WHAT DID YOU LEARN THAT WE MISSED – AND PREP FOR YOUR FINAL (Randy and Cathy)
Assignment for Tuesday:
Identify an item from the presentation by former Attorney General Rob McKenna which surprised you, or introduced you to something new, about campaigning. Tell us why you found this new information interesting.
Proposed Final Schedule
Individual presentations about your chosen campaign – 5 minutes each, followed by Q&A.
Monday, June 3, 11 am - 3 pm, and Tuesday, June 4, 11 am - 3 pm
(20-minute time blocks, with arrival 10 minutes before your scheduled start time)