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But its not just about the 18-year-old girl. It was younger reporters, super-hungry reporters that really know how to use Twitter, people who can then go to a cocktail party and tell their friends they had a beer with this guy Pete Buttigieg three hours from now. Smith: All the good candidates are comfortable in their own skin. They just get swallowed up by the next news cycle, and never reach the voters who matter anyway. Inside the Shrinking Newsroom of the Paper That Shapes the PrimariesBy Tim Alberta. But I dont know whats inside him. And although Smith would never say it, it plays on political reporters' narcissism, too. ", Before they get in the car, I ask Buttigieg if Smith is being helpful in his campaign. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images. He announced he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination on January 23, 2019, and formally kicked off his campaign on April 14, 2019. Smith: Democrats love to bitch that we dont have a bench. Staff are presented alongside their positions in the campaign, their most recent positions prior to the campaign, and their Twitter handles. Oversaturation? Jason Bergman for POLITICO. Its really hard to do a hit piece on a guy who you are going to see the next morning over coffee and donuts, says Weaver. ), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo. "Joe Biden has had one of the most successful first two years of any president in recent history," Smith said. Pete has no battle scars. Wren: One of your legacies is the coaching tree, to use an apt football metaphor, that you left behind on the Pete campaign. It is my passion. There were very, very few women in positions of power. Trail Blazer | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine Smith starts texting me, wanting to know if Id seen the celebrities in the audience, including George Takei, Kal Penn and Kate McKinnon. Hes someone who is involved fighting childhood hunger. About Lis Smith Liswho has worked on over a dozen political campaigns has extensive experience in public affairs campaigns, media relations, and crisis communications at the local, state and national level. Most people do have earnest sides to them. I worked in politics nine years before I ever moved to New York. Andy Garcia on Twitter: "It took THREE journalists to come up with this That is not how she ran his race. I mean, for God's sake, we don't even pay that much attention to governors. I like to call myself the Forrest Gump of politics but in a positive way because I feel like I have been a random witness to just so many seemingly insignificant things that then turned out to be like big historic events. Keep in mind she was 22 at the time, Smith said. Smith: You never say never. She most. Elliot Spitzer (pictured), the election of Donald Trump and former Maryland Gov. The attack we had been dreading was coming. In what ways does your brand benefit from Petes, and in what ways does Petes brand benefit from yours? The New York tabs may have sharpened her game, but people who've known her for years say Smith came ready for the fight. [2] He suspended his campaign on March 1, 2020.[3]. You've talked a bit about identifying talent, particularly candidates who might get overlooked, like a Pete Buttigieg. Lis Smith is leading the charge in terms of media coverage for the Pete Buttigieg campaign. That maybe once he double-dipped his fry at Barnabys? And you are going to pay me to be really quick and really aggressive and to take on Mitt Romney? [The vice presidency] is probably the toughest, most thankless job in Washington D.C. Each was the political id the candidate couldnt, or wouldnt, express. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider I worked in states like South Dakota, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia. Lis Smith on rapid response to attacks in political campaigns Other candidates, they dont need to do it. In recent months you have made a name for yourself by working for this new crop of candidates out in the middle of the country: Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, Aftab Pureval and others. I am a liberal Democrat, but I was so into the McCain thing. The obvious thing to do would have been to take on high-paying, quieter corporate gigs, or to reenter politics with someone truly high profile. Is it your relationship with reporters and cable bookers? Its just a personal part of my book. The saga gave Smith an insight that most campaign operatives lack: what it's actually like to be that bug trapped under the magnifying glass. How hard-chargingNew Yorkoperative Lis Smith helpedturn an obscure Indianamayorinto a national name. A Democratic candidate in West Virginia is going to look very different from a Democratic candidate in New York, and we cant impose this one-size-fits-all thing and think that the Democratic Party is going to be a majority party. But it was one of those moments where I had to go with my gut. It takes the edge off a bit. After 20 campaigns flacking for candidates such as Transportation Secretary and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill,. This includes with her own boss. How Trump Took the Shine Off Washingtons Glitziest NightBy John F. Harris and Daniel Lippman. The more people see Bill de Blasio, the less they like him. It might not get you the votes, but I am not the political director. Lis Smith Says the Future of the Democratic Party Is Local: Q&a Biden warns of rights under threat from Trump and 'MAGA extremists' in 2022: Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God as Self: 2021: Mayor Pete: 2003: Real Time with Bill Maher as Self: Clear; She was the spokesperson for Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign. He's on his way into a black car to do Maddow. She puts the word fuck through every part of speech the word can be bent into: noun, pronoun, gerund, verb, term of endearment, sobriquet, epithet, honorific. After the fundraiser, Smith and Buttigieg climb into an SUV and head to 30 Rock. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. Now, to go back to the premise of your question, I think what we should be looking for is I'm not breaking any news here by saying that the leadership in Washington right now is a bit on the older side we should be elevating young candidates, elevating millennial candidates in their 30s and 40s. Hes someone who is very special to me, and I hope hes always a part of my life. Its really fun. I want people to know what its like behind the scenes. Across the street, Brooklyn hipsters of all ages and manner of facial hair are lining up around the block at a bowling alley/music venue to catch Buttigieg at a fundraiser. Pete made us all show up to give our 100 percent at work made us all better at our jobs. Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa shortly after officially announcing his bid for the Democratic nomination for president. Buttigiegs rise from unlikeliest of contenders to actual top-tier presidential candidate has been fueled in part, maybe in large part, by his astonishing success courting the press. If you read through the many, many profiles written of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg in the past several months, its hard not to notice just how many reporters happen to have had personal encounters with the candidate, often months before he was in the headlines. But it is kind of fascinating to watch., Smith met Buttigieg on the recommendation of Axelrod and former Maryland Governor Martin OMalley. Schmuhl, his campaign manager, says a typical scene from the trail for the three of them is arriving 10 or 15 minutes early to the airport gate, and while he and Buttegiegwho hes known since 8th grade in Indianatake a moment to relax for a minute before boarding, Smith will head to the airport bar with her laptop and phone and begins texting and emailing reporters and clapping back to critics on social media. Pete Buttigieg emerges as Democratic rock star proclaimed Business Insider during the race. Its about getting to know people and them getting to know you, Buttigieg says when I see him after the Brooklyn fundraiser, where he at least pretends to recall our earlier meeting and what we talked about. TV news executives are calling, she says, emailing, now complaining that Buttigieg isnt doing their shows often enough. Candidates and the people around them can get so spun up about things, and when you get spun up you make the worst mistakes, she says. Buttigieg adviser called Christine Blasey Ford 'looney tunes' - Fox News As voters look for someone who can beat Trump, the fact that the press corps appears to vouch for this curious character, a young liberal red-state mayor, means that voters can give him a second look too. The guy didnt have time to say hello before Smith could hear screaming over the line. Rather than going after Pete, Harris trained her fire on Biden.. Wren: One of the theses of Petes campaign was that mayors are on the front lines of democracy. After his loss in the primary, Smith went to work on the winning election campaign and then the transition of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Some are even in the White House, like Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher, who briefed the press not too long ago. Its sad, but our politics isnt built to deal with people who are reasonable. A few weeks ago, a couple of hundred people expressed interest in this event. | Scott Olson/Getty Images, Lis has an insurgent mentality, said Axelrod, a top aide for both of President Obamas campaigns. [1] She was the deputy campaign director for Martin O'Malley's 2016 presidential campaign. As someone who was a mayor who was on the ground, who knows how important this stuff is, hes a great messenger to send out there to these smaller media markets everywhere, where he can meet with the mayors, speak to them in their language, help make sure that theyre getting the resources they need. I cant believe you didnt know that! [1] She was the deputy campaign director for Martin O'Malley's 2016 presidential campaign. After 20 campaigns flacking for candidates such as Transportation Secretary and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, former Virginia Gov. In my book, I sort of get at this, but we are sort of an odd couple. On Sunday, Bill de Blasio put out a statement in a New York Post story in his own name defending himself against the portrait you paint of him in your book as obsessively paranoid. If you were working for him, and a book like yours came out authored by someone else, how would you have advised him to address the situation? He was thinking of running for chair of the Democratic National Committee. And you had Democrats out there saying, when they go low, we kick them in the face, and engaging in all this over-the-top rhetoric. [2] He suspended his campaign on March 1, 2020. After the fundraiser, Buttigieg is going to rush off to 30 Rock to do Maddow, then in the morning New Day on CNN, and then fly to Iowa, then do Morning Joe when hes back. PDF For Immediate Release - Politico She led Buttigieg on a series of one-on-one meetings over beer, coffee, lunch or cigars with what used to be known as the Gang of 500those reporters, producers and pundits who shape much of the nations political coverage. He lives in New York. Meet the DNC dark horse: Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg is shaking up the race for Democratic chair, added Salon. Click here to contact us for media inquiries, and please donate here to support our continued expansion. She has a 3-day-old copy of the New York Post in her bag. Click here. That was my philosophy. Through the DNC race and afterward, Smith treated the national political press like it was another constituency that needed to be courted. I love him. Smith did not let anyone featured in the book read it ahead of time, not even former principals like Buttigieg or Cuomo, whom she levels in the book in the way her beloved Cincinnati Bengals new right tackle Lael Collins might decimate an opposing player. And I do think that some of that savvy did come out of innovations they had to make during the 2020 campaign. Weve got that Joey Burrow swag, but he does have humility to him. Pete Buttigieg's Campaign Staff: 5 Fast Facts | Heavy.com I know that the media loves to pick up on a gaffe here or there but the more comfortable you are, the more interviews you do, the more comfortable you get in front of the camera, and the less little slip ups matter. But there's no doubt that there is no substitute for being in a scrum, and for having a traveling press corps with you every day, lobbing questions at you. Your knowledge of the process? "He has been dismissed and discounted at every turn, and still overperformed expectations. I should know: Last October, I had my own intimate, off-the-record encounter with Mayor Pete. Smith marched him to the front of where the national and New York press were gathered, telling him, Are you ready for your first gaggle? He stayed until the matter was exhausted. Oh really, you didnt know that? I think I am impressive because I am a violinist and I went to Dartmouth and I speak French and have traveled all over the world and, I dont know, I know a lot about great apes, she says. Wren: Tell me about that five percent credited to you. One thing I find incredibly admirable about him is what you see is what you get. The great media disruption comes for the Des Moines Register. Most people do have corny sides to them. Liz Truss is contesting a 12,000 bill for costs incurred relating to her use of the grace-and-favour Chevening estate she had access to as foreign secretary, the Mail on Sunday reported. #cjc2024. He did. Smith previously worked on campaigns for former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D. He was a once-in-a-generation talent, someone who perfectly met the moment. Her debut, "I Am Nasrine" was nominated for a BAFTA in 2013. So many flacks lose their mind over inconsequential things, and have no sense of, This is good press, this is mediocre press, and this is awful press. That is something you know once you have been through awful press.. It makes it much harder for candidates to get their message out, and it puts a premium on money versus having the best policy prescriptions, or being the bestcampaigner. Theyre out in country working on campaigns. If there is one thing that makes Smith unique, its not her knowledge of great apes or her particular skill eviscerating her opponents on Twitter; Its that her skin was toughened by a stretch of time in the rawest, roughest media environment of all, the NYC tabloid scrum. Now a veteran Democratic strategist, Smith is the woman credited with propelling the . Lis Smith is a Democratic campaign communications specialist and co-founder of 50 State Communications in New York. Theyre in the agencies. "What that looks like is going to a county that may be 80-20 . Buttigieg has gotten a number of lavish long-form features, so many that some have jokingly wondered whether Smith is getting paid by the profile. We were on the bus in New Hampshire the week we were playing each other and furiously checking our lineups. The Women Running 2020 Presidential Campaigns | Marie Claire This is what day one looks like. There is only so much you can do to bare your soul over a beer, but hopefully people get to know you on some level and more than they would one gaggle at a time. The one thing you saw on our campaign in 2020 is that everywhere we went, he was introduced by young leaders, young mayors. You know what people are going to react to, and you know that the tabloids, just like the political press, oftentimes just wants a little scalp and then they will move on., How the Intercept Is Fueling the Democratic Civil WarBy Steven Perlberg. CNN's Dana Bash speaks to Senior Political Commentator and former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, former Buttigieg campaign adviser Lis Smith, CNN Political Commentator David Urban and CNN . Retail politics matters much less if there are no local papers or local TV stations to go out and capture you on the campaign trail. Smith went to Dartmouth. . Click here. Since a lot of your book is about relationships in politics, could you start out by telling me about the time you met Bill de Blasio when you were volunteering for the John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign in New Hampshire? Petes hitting at this moment in part because of the legwork they did. In that moment, in retrospect, it seems like Harris couldve ended Buttigiegs campaign.