“Early Returns” from Election Day 2018 in Chicagoland
On Election Day 2018, I headed to the Chicago exurbs to take part in a congressional get-out-the-vote (GOTV) effort. I’ve posted before about my previous work as a political field organizer, and in the final stretch of Campaign 2018, I was eager to dust off my clipboard and connect with voters. What began with a […]
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Let the Fun Begin
It’s the day after the election, and let the campaign begin. Yes, that’s right, less than four months to go before a historic Chicago mayoral election. Just when you thought you were spared more political ads. Let’s take a look at what we know, and what we don’t know. We know that Chicago and Illinois […]
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Why Your Vote Matters
Since public affairs is a core service we offer at Grisko, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to win hearts and minds. Public affairs, broadly defined, takes a political campaign approach to win approval of, or try to stop, a matter of policy. We develop and test messages, form coalitions, raise awareness […]
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Notes from the Field (Organizer)
About a month from now, America will vote in the high-stakes 2018 midterm elections. If you have turned on a TV recently, you know that campaigns are working hard to grab your attention and earn your vote. Five years ago, before my days at Grisko, I was a part of that great American voter outreach […]
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To Connect With Your Audience—Be Yourself
It was 2004, and the former Vice President, Al Gore, had flown into St. Joseph, Missouri to rally the troops on behalf of the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, John Kerry. At the time, I was Kerry’s Communications Director in the Show Me State and had prepared a speech for him. While I had never met […]
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