Political Trade Secrets: Winning Campaigns | Elections

Latest Episodes:

🌴 First in the South Politics: South Carolina’s 2026 Primaries, Trump, Redistricting, Murdaugh & the Road to 2028 Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: First in the South Politics: South Carolina’s 2026 Primaries, Trump, Redistricting, Murdaugh & the Road to 2028

President Trump’s endorsement of Pamela Evette just rocked South Carolina’s wide-open governor’s race, but the fallout may be even bigger than the endorsement itself.

In this episode of Political Trade Secrets, Dustin Olson is joined by Will Folks, founding editor of South Carolina’s top political news outlet, FITSNews, to break down the closing days of the 2026 South Carolina primaries, the Trump endorsement, the Henry McMaster JR. running-mate controversy, the growing blowback inside the GOP, and what it all means for the race for governor.

From there, the conversation pulls back the curtain on the deeper power structure shaping South Carolina politics: McMaster's failed Republican redistricting push, Lindsey Graham’s survival strategy, Jim Clyburn’s political machine, the Murdaugh retrial, and why South Carolina’s “First in the South” presidential primary remains one of the most important political proving grounds heading into 2028.

This is not just a South Carolina politics episode. It is a behind-the-scenes look at how endorsements, money, scandals, media narratives, political machines, and raw political power collide in one of the most consequential states in American politics.

The episode explores:

• How Trump’s endorsement of Pam Evette could reshape the South Carolina governor’s race

• Why Gov. McMaster getting Pres. Trump to announce his son Henry McMaster Jr. as Evette's running-mate controversy is getting blowback inside the GOP

• What the latest South Carolina polling reveals about current frontrunner Alan Wilson, darkhorse Rom Reddy, Nancy Mace, Ralph Norman, and Pamela Evette

• Why Will Folks says South Carolina is not just “Uni-Party,” but “Uni-Branch”

• What the failed redistricting push reveals about Henry McMaster, Jim Clyburn, and the South Carolina political establishment

• How Sen. Lindsey Graham keeps surviving Republican primary challenges

• How the Murdaugh murder retrial following jury tampering exposes deeper problems inside South Carolina’s legal and judicial system

• Why South Carolina’s 2026 primaries could shape the 2028 First in the South presidential primary

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🇺🇸 Last Full Measure of Devotion—Stories Behind Memorial Day May 21, 2026

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🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Last Full Measure of Devotion—Stories Behind Memorial Day

Join host Dustin Olson and guest J. Mark Powell—author, syndicated columnist, and former television network journalist—for a thoughtful Memorial Day conversation honoring Americans across generations who gave what Abraham Lincoln called the “last full measure of devotion” for our country.

Drawing from Powell’s new book, Witness to War: The Story of the Civil War Told By Those Who Lived It, the conversation explores real human stories from the front lines of the Civil War and the sacrifices that helped shape America’s traditions of remembrance.

This episode reveals why honoring the fallen is not just about history, patriotism, or rows of white headstones in national cemeteries—it is about real people, real families, and the real sacrifices that shaped the nation.

The episode explores:

• How the massive loss of life during the Civil War helped shape the origins of Decoration Day and eventually Memorial Day

• What real letters and firsthand accounts reveal about death, grief, sacrifice, and daily life during the Civil War

• How Americans processed loss on a scale the nation had never experienced before

• Why Memorial Day still matters today—from Civil War remembrance to Korean War veterans and modern military sacrifice

• The traditions Americans use to honor the fallen, from national cemeteries and Taps to modern moments of remembrance

• Why patriotic holidays help cultivate national character, identity, gratitude, and civic memory

🔹 Order Witness to War: The Story of the Civil War Told By Those Who Lived It by J. Mark Powell on Amazon!

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📊 PART TWO: Data-Driven Field Strategy: From the 2000 Florida Recount to the 2013 RNC Autopsy May 06, 2026

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🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: 📊 PART TWO: Data-Driven Field Strategy: From the 2000 Florida Recount to the 2013 RNC Autopsy

Join host Dustin Olson and guest Chris McNulty—Fmr. RNC Political Director and National Sales Director at In Field Strategies—for part two of their conversation as they pull back the curtain on some of the most consequential behind-the-scenes moments in modern Republican campaign history.

From the chaos of the 2000 Florida recount and the so-called “Brooks Brothers Riot,” to the GOP’s post-2012 rebuild after Mitt Romney’s loss, to the field testing and voter-contact strategies that helped Republicans win back the U.S. Senate in 2014, this episode reveals how campaigns actually learn, adapt, and win.

The episode explores:

• What really happened inside the 2000 Florida recount—the so-called Republican Thugs of the “Brooks Brothers Riot,” SCOTUS decision on Bush v. Gore, and more

• How the RNC rebuilt after Romney’s 2012 loss, including lessons from the ORCA debacle, the 2012 autopsy, and Reince Priebus’ leadership

• How microtargeting, quality voter data, and direct contact became central to modern campaign strategy

• Why contacting voters multiple different ways isn’t annoying, but is actually necessary to get results

• What Chris McNulty thinks Republicans should do heading into the 2026 midterms

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👷‍♂️ Brand Politics—How Democrats Lost the Working Class & Why Latinos Are the New Soccer Moms Apr 29, 2026

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🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Brand Politics—How Democrats Lost the Working Class & Why Latinos Are the New Soccer Moms

Join host Dustin Olson and Chuck Rocha—Democratic strategist, founder of Solidarity Strategies, former Labor organizer, and leading expert on Latino marketing—as they pull back the curtain on cutting-edge campaign messaging and advertising techniques.

From connecting with minority voters through true cultural competency to rebuilding trust with working-class Americans, this episode reveals messaging that actually drives votes and exposes what both parties are getting wrong—and what they could do differently—as the midterm elections loom.

The episode explores:

• How Democrats drifted away from blue-collar voters and how they could win them back

• The secret to why both Trump and Chuck’s client Bernie Sanders resonate with voters

• What Democrats and Republicans should do heading into the 2026 midterm elections

• Why Chuck believes Latino voters are the new “soccer moms” of politics

• Where campaigns are failing with multilingual audiences

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📊 PART ONE: Data-Driven Field Strategy: The Mechanics of Winning Elections & The Role Parties Play Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: 📊 PART ONE: Data-Driven Field Strategy: The Mechanics of Winning Elections & The Role Parties Play

Join host Dustin Olson and Chris McNulty—Fmr. Political Director at the RNC and National Sales Director at In Field Strategies—as they pull back the curtain on how Republicans won back the US Senate in 2014, how Ohio transformed from purple to red, and what running campaigns is actually like.

From field operations before modern data to the systems, structure, and strategy that determine who wins, this episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at campaigns and political parties.

The episode explores:

• Why direct voter contact still wins elections, and how it can be enhanced in a data-driven world

• Timeless principles of GOTV from Abe Lincoln to John Wayne (yes, that’s right) to today

• The role “party bosses” like the legendary Chairman Bob Bennett played in campaigns

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⚖ Controlling the Narrative: What Politics Can Learn From Trial Attorneys Apr 15, 2026

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🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Controlling the Narrative: What Politics Can Learn From Trial Attorneys | Why would a Democrat say Trump understands commanding attention and shaping narratives better than other politicians?

Join Dustin Olson and Donte Mills—national trial attorney, Temple law professor, and Democrat analyst—as they pull back the curtain on how persuasion actually works in courtrooms, campaigns, and the media—and why controlling the narrative often matters more than the facts themselves.

The episode explores:

• Why the same set of facts can lead to completely different outcomes

• Why many trials are effectively decided before the judge ever picks up the gavel

• The one thing Donte has done in his career that 99% of other lawyers never have

• How Donte’s work with celebrities like Kevin Hart transformed the entertainment industry

• What high-profile cases like Johnny Depp’s reveal about the hidden media battles for the Jury’s mind and the court of public opinion

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👥 How Field Operations Win Elections: Plus Organizing Presidential Debates, National Conventions, & Ballot Access Apr 08, 2026

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🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: 👥 Winning with Field Operations: Plus Organizing Presidential Debates, National Conventions, & Ballot Access | How do you knock 2.4 million doors in 10 weeks?

Join Dustin Olson and Ryan Price—Veteran, GOP Strategist, and President of Echo Canyon Consulting—as they pull back the curtain on the real field-organizing mechanics of winning campaigns, from ground game to the biggest stages in politics.

The episode explores:

🚪 The story behind Elon Musk’s America PAC knocking millions of Pennsylvania doors in the final months of 2024, and what it actually took to execute

🗳️ How low-turnout elections like Virginia’s Gerrymandering Special Election are pure GOTV battles, making canvassing a secret weapon

🏛️ Organizing Republican National Conventions, Presidential Debates, and getting McCain for President on the ballot in all 50 states

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🗳 The Independent Strategy to Reshape the U.S. Senate: Can Independents Break the Two-Party System? Apr 01, 2026

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🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Can Independents Break the Two-Party System? Join host Dustin Olson as he talks with Todd Achilles—Army veteran, former Idaho state legislator, and Independent U.S. Senate candidate—for a candid conversation on the growing Independent movement and what it might take to break the two-party gridlock in Washington.

From the incentives shaping the political system to the growing overlap between unlikely political allies on issues like corporate concentration, we pull back the curtain on why voters may be open to Independents—and why the system itself fights to keep them from even competing.

The episode explores:

💡 What it takes to build a campaign without traditional party infrastructure

💡 How third-party and Independent movements are trying to give voters another option

💡 Whether Independents can act as a balancing force—or fulcrum—in a partisan Congress

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🫏 The Dem They Didn't Know What to Do With: What Really Happens in Southern Democratic Politics Mar 25, 2026

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🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: The Dem They Didn't Know What to Do With—What Really Happens

Inside Southern Democrat Party Politics? Join host Dustin Olson as he sits down with Dr. Aditi Bussells—former Columbia, SC City Council member, Democrat strategist, and healthcare policy expert—for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the realities of running, governing, and surviving in today’s political system.

From navigating party pressure while trying to govern independently to building bipartisan support that ultimately hurt her politically, Bussells exposes the internal tensions, incentives, and unwritten rules shaping modern campaigns.

This isn’t just theory. It’s how politics actually works.

The episode explores:

💡 Where both parties fall short on healthcare

💡 How Mamdani and Trump capture energy—and attention

💡 Why Democrats keep losing on “unsexy” issues like voter ID and public safety

💡 How government incentives unintentionally sustain problems like homelessness

💡 Why voters often agree more than party leaders, but the system amplifies division

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📲 Politics in the Age of Algorithms: How Technology & Media Fragmentation Are Changing Elections Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Politics in the Age of Algorithms, Tech, & Media Fragmentation—Join host Dustin Olson and Eric Wilson, executive director at the Center for Campaign Innovation, for how these forces are reshaping modern political campaigns. Drawing on years of campaign experience and new research into voter behavior, they unpack why the old campaign playbook needs a system update—and what campaigns must do to adapt.

From the broadcast to algorithm-driven media shift, to the surprising power of relational organizing and the fundamentals campaigns still can’t ignore, this episode pulls back the curtain on how elections are actually won in the digital era.

The episode explores:

💡 Why many campaigns are still using a broadcast-era strategy in an algorithm-driven world

💡 The surprising turnout impact of relational organizing and personal outreach

💡 The 4 campaign fundamentals that still determine who wins and who loses

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