200+ Campaign Staffers Reveal Young People Demand Diversity and Progressive Policies in the Workplace
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Former Warren and Ossoff campaign staffer Morgan Searcy releases today One Year in Politics, a new political science book. The 216-page book presents data, charts, and interviews to impact upcoming Democratic campaigns focused on equity.
Searcy’s book is an exclusive look inside American electoral spaces. One Year in Politics is a collection of 200+ first-time campaign staffers’ experiences across 150 different employers from the 2020 election cycle to benefit future Party efforts and strategies. Digital and print copies can now be purchased at politicsproject.com.
One Year in Politics documents the benefits and hurdles of campaign work. The motivations of staffers’ involvement, influence of women staffers, extreme burnout rates, Gen Z voter outreach, and the perspectives of being a BIPOC staffer in Democratic politics are covered in One Year in Politics. Here, in brief, are some of the key findings and themes:
- Among interviewees, a majority were unsure if the campaign or organizations they worked for represented or aligned their political beliefs (70%).
- At the end of the 2020 cycle, 45% of interviewees wished their employers aligned their personal, more progressive, political views.
- Women outnumbered men as first-time staffers even with having less female representation in elected offices.
- Despite the Party’s growing focus on BIPOC voters, the majority of first-time staffers in 2020 identified as white (78%).
- First-time BIPOC staffers share detailed stories of their struggles with microaggressions and racial mistreatment directed toward them— their white counterparts repeatedly acknowledged their privilege in not experiencing differential treatment.
- Almost all first-time staffers experienced burnout as a result of electoral work (90%).
The book is a response to the short-term nature of electoral systems. Searcy noticed staffers and their campaigns could not build upon or benefit from knowledge and work from past cycles. She started the book to challenge the Party to learn from their staffers’ experiences and use that knowledge to improve campaigns in future years. For example, in 2020 45% of first-time staffers had two or more consecutive jobs; these ‘serial campaign staffers’ (some with 5+ roles in the cycle) witnessed their teams becoming more successful as the cycle’s insights were exchanged.
One Year in Politics is a must-read for those engaging in the 2024 election cycle. The book is a comprehensive,practical guide for Gen Z and future campaign leadership to maximize the lessons from 2020’s races in the upcoming election year, driving for better practices, transparency, and diverse representation in future Democratic work spaces.
Quotes from the author:
“One Year in Politics is a new approach to talking about equity in Democratic systems by uplifting young peoples’ perspectives using data and design. The transparency created with this book and research will aid in implementing healthier practices for safer workplaces in political campaigns and beyond the industry.”
“I was raised in Alabama, in a home and community that didn’t openly talk about politics. So, in some ways, it surprises me to be here opening a report on improving Democratic campaigns and political spaces. But on the other hand, I found myself free from a young age to form values outside my environment,” Searcy writes in the introduction.
Author Bio: Morgan Searcy, is a creative lead, researcher and strategist with a background in politics and graphic design. She directs a global creative consulting studio that provides long-term solutions through progressive, concept-first values. One Year in Politics is one of the studio’s initiatives.
Pull Quote
The transparency created with [One Year in Politics] will aid in implementing healthier practices for safer workplaces in political campaigns and beyond the industry.
Media Contact
Briana Baldwin-Johnson, Elkordy Global Strategies, 1 (313) 930-5866, [email protected], https://elkordyglobal.com/
SOURCE Morgan Searcy
