Case Study Political Consulting

Political consultancy is a challenging role. There is no downtime, even if it isn't election season, consultants are constantly upskilling in so many different areas of campaigning. The continuous education to help others reach their end goal is a vocation. One person who feels inspired by this industry is Zachary Freeman. Based in Alaska, Freeman has already established himself as one of the foremost consultants within the state.

Working with providing his candidates with excellent resources so they can help conservative values move to the top of the field in the upcoming primaries is already in motion. We were lucky to catch Zach for a quick chat during the week and find out why he does what he does and more importantly, why he cares so damn much!

Why did you get into the field of politics and more specifically, political consultancy?

I've always been fascinated by people who complain about their situation but choose to do nothing about it. I suppose I found my way into this field because I was so greatly offended by apathy. Call me idealistic, but I think we, as people, have a responsibility to be good stewards of authority, and to go to battle and win for the ideas that we believe will move society down the right path. Every day, I get to deliver tools and strategies to brilliant, authentic men and women in their quest for public service, and that's an honor for me. Plus, I'm intensely competitive, so winning is always nice.

Can you tell us about any campaigns that have inspired you over the last number of years, either from the US or abroad?

Campaigning really is a sport and, at least for geeks like me, if you can look at it objectively, you'll learn a lot. For example, objectively, Bernie Sanders' grassroots campaign for President was probably one of the most impressive operations in American political history. They built and energized a base of people (that would have otherwise been a relatively unmotivated group of voters) by picking up hundreds of thousands of tiny micro-donations. Honestly, I wouldn't have voted for him, but Bernie deserved to win the nomination because he outplayed his opponent. And on the other side, say what you want about the man and his policies, but I actually think Donald Trump is one of the most brilliant tacticians I've ever seen. His talent for staying on message and for getting under the skin of his political opponents is awe-inspiring. People think he's a stupid moron, but I couldn't disagree more -- no idiot I've ever met has the smarts to upend an entire political dynasty and media establishment with a phrase as simple as, "Make America Great Again."

We are already over half way through 2020, has there been many learnings for you so far?

I think I learn about a hundred new things every day, and I need that. I show up every day wanting to get better at my job, and wanting to be better at this craft. This year has been a good reminder that, although technology and data help us greatly, there still isn't a substitute for hard work -- and it's okay to expect that of candidates. I don't mind taking a loss for you if you left it all out on the field (pardon the persistent sports analogies).

Huge thanks to Zach for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions, it's always refreshing to see political operatives talk about the reality of modern campaigns and recognize that there is no replacement for hard work.

In 2020, the political industry was upended by the Global Covid_19 pandemic. It has proved an extremely tough time for candidates and consultants alike. Many have used this time to grow their support networks and on-board new members. If you are interested in using this time to learn about new features and functionality of Ecanvasser, please book in below!