Pro Politics with Zac McCrary

Kati Card, former DSCC Chief Digital Officer on All Things Digital Fundraising

Zac McCrary

Kati Card is coming off two stints as Chief Digital Officer for the DSCC and is now a Senior VP at the digital firm MissionWired. Kati talks her initial path to politics, a key internship with Senator Hillary Clinton, spending time around Senators Reid, Schumer, and Cortez Masto, working on big campaigns and in Senate offices, and spending two cycles as Chief Digital Officer at the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. In addition to talking through her own trajectory, Kati provides a smart tutorial on all things digital fundraising.

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IN THIS EPISODE

Kati’s roots in upstate New York and how an internship set her on a path to work in politics…

Kati’s memories as a 21-year old working with iconic US Senators…

How early work in research and press prepped Kati to work in digital politics…

How Kati pivoted to work in digital and what digital politics looked like in 2015…

How running a digital operation differs on a campaign versus as part of an official Senate office…

The most digital-savvy Senators Kati has been around…

Kati shares memories and stories of what makes Senators Reid, Cortez Masto, and Schumer unique…

The 90s jam band about whom Chuck Schumer is surprisingly conversant…

Kati speaks to the strength of leading Democratic operatives Scott Fairchild and Christie Roberts…

How Kati synced up with her current firm, MissionWired…

Kati breaks down who low-dollar Democratic donors are, what they look like, where they get their information, and how they like to give…

Why Twitter is indeed real life for digital fundraising staffers…

The best time of day and best day of the week to make digital fundraising appeals…

Kati’s best practices and myth-busting about digital fundraising…

Will digital fundraising continue to spike on campaigns?

The Trump factor among Democratic low-dollar donors…

The Dobbs impact on 2022 (and beyond) digital fundraising…

Kati’s “biggest takeaway” on GOP digital fundraising appeals…

Kati’s thoughts on the types of operatives who are best-suited for digital politics…

Kati’s crystal ball on trends in digital fundraising…

Kati’s strangest work habit…

AND Cory Booker, CNN, James Carville, cash crops, Hillary Clinton, dark money, the Dobbs’ Decision, Tammy Duckworth, faxing tweets, John Fetterman, the Finger Lakes, following the floor, Lindsay Graham, Jamie Harrison, Maggie Hassan, Ted Kennedy, Carl Levin, Ann Lewis, Anne Lewis, MSNBC, Dave Matthews, Mitch McConnell, Amy McGrath, Chris Murphy, the New York Times, Mehmet Oz, response rates, SMS, Bernie Sanders, the Senate Democratic Policy and Communication Center, silly TV, teams of one, technical complexities, total goofballs, turning 30, Raphael Warnock, Elizabeth Warren, the Washington Post…& more!