Politics Project is an extension of Morgan Searcy’s creative and consulting studio, which provides long-term solutions with progressive values and concept-first approaches. This initiative supports creative and research projects relating to Democratic and progressive politics.
Submit your ideas to collaborate with Politics Project.
One Year in Politics is the first project in the Politics Project collective. The work responds to the short-term nature of electoral systems that prevent staffers and campaigns from building knowledge and benefiting from prior experiences. Morgan’s research provides an inside look at working in electoral spaces from the personal stories of recently graduated, first-time campaign staffers working with American Democratic efforts in 2020.
Campaign staffers explain both opportunities and challenges of single-cycle campaign work while advocating for more transparency and equity in future electoral settings.
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One Year in Politics has been in the making since early 2021. Morgan shared an initial call for participants on Twitter in January 2021 and then throughout other campaign alumni networks. The project initially received responses from 250+ Democratic recently graduated first-time campaign staffers of the 2020 cycle.
Narrowing the focus on the youngest demographic entering political Democratic and progressive spaces allowed for a deeper analysis of workplaces from the ground up. These young adults could also give insight into the Party’s future leaders. From there, Morgan started drafting the report versions while building her creative studio. Irina Alejandro joined as One Year in Politics was close to publishing to help manage and support the project.
It was essential to finalize the project in mid-2023 for the opportunity to improve workplaces and hiring in the upcoming election cycle. Looking at these staffers' experiences helps retain past findings to advocate for more transparency and equity in future Democratic electoral work.
Sales of the research will offset the project's expenses and support future work.
Project Credits:
Morgan Searcy
Interviewees: Nelowfar Ahmadi, Alex Ames, Caroline Beohm, Megha Bhattacharya, Liam Bodlak, Ethan Chase, Peter DeBaugh, Hannah Ezell, Hannah Gaffney, Luke Holey, Nicole Jevons, Kiera Manser, Kaitlyn May, Amelia Montooth, Marcus Nelson, Jade Ngengi, Megan Pappalardo, Gabbi Perry, Elliot Richardson, Jace Ritchey, Hazel Rosenblum-Sellers, Ellen Smith, Rachel Thompson, Sojan Thrasher, Ezekiel Uriel, Natalie Valenzuela, Dawson Vandervort, Michael Watson, and others.
Data and Project Support: Irina Alejandro
Copy Editing: Amy Schubert
Reviewed by: Raquel Breternitz, Kiayna O’Neal, Colleen Murphy, and Tim Norton
Design & Creative: Morgan Searcy, Joan Comellas
Web Developer: Jackson Glass
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Campaign staffers explain both opportunities and challenges of single-cycle campaign work while advocating for more transparency and equity in future electoral settings.
One Year in Politics has been in the making since early 2021. Morgan shared an initial call for participants on Twitter in January 2021 and then throughout other campaign alumni networks. The project initially received responses from 250+ Democratic recently graduated first-time campaign staffers of the 2020 cycle.
Narrowing the focus on the youngest demographic entering political Democratic and progressive spaces allowed for a deeper analysis of workplaces from the ground up. These young adults could also give insight into the Party’s future leaders. From there, Morgan started drafting the report versions while building her creative studio. Irina Alejandro joined as One Year in Politics was close to publishing to help manage and support the project.
It was essential to finalize the project in mid-2023 for the opportunity to improve workplaces and hiring in the upcoming election cycle. Looking at these staffers' experiences helps retain past findings to advocate for more transparency and equity in future Democratic electoral work.
Sales of the research will offset the project's expenses and support future work.
Project Credits:
Morgan Searcy
Interviewees: Nelowfar Ahmadi, Alex Ames, Caroline Beohm, Megha Bhattacharya, Liam Bodlak, Ethan Chase, Peter DeBaugh, Hannah Ezell, Hannah Gaffney, Luke Holey, Nicole Jevons, Kiera Manser, Kaitlyn May, Amelia Montooth, Marcus Nelson, Jade Ngengi, Megan Pappalardo, Gabbi Perry, Elliot Richardson, Jace Ritchey, Hazel Rosenblum-Sellers, Ellen Smith, Rachel Thompson, Sojan Thrasher, Ezekiel Uriel, Natalie Valenzuela, Dawson Vandervort, Michael Watson, and others.
Data and Project Support: Irina Alejandro
Copy Editing: Amy Schubert
Reviewed by: Raquel Breternitz, Kiayna O’Neal, Colleen Murphy, and Tim Norton
Design & Creative: Morgan Searcy, Joan Comellas
Web Developer: Jackson Glass
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