Press

Ex-post facto election commentary from Democratic National Committee (DNC) member, Lindy Li, is making headlines. Li’s criticisms of Vice President Harris’s recent loss calls the recent operation a “$1 billion disaster,” while also suggesting she and other people were given false hope that Harris had a chance to win the election.

But Harris’ presidential defeat might not be so one-dimensional. As Democrats parse through lessons learned from the campaign and ways to interpret last week’s results, Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist with vast experience in presidential election independent expenditure efforts, suggests the party’s autopsy should be holistic and all-encompassing.

“We need to at least start off with an all-of-the-above approach to why we lost and how we regain our footing.”

Read the full story in The Hill.

President-elect Donald Trump has a long to-do list ready for his first 100 days, with a first-day focus on executive orders to close the border and slash regulations.

Topping the list of legislation is tax reform and tax cutting, including renewal of the tax cut plan he pushed through in 2017 during his first presidency. And with a new and more conservative Congress set to take up the Trump plan, companies around the nation are being advised to play ball and help, but also to look out for themselves.

“If you don’t tell your story, someone else will. Now’s the time to make a plan to be prepared,” said former Capitol Hill staffer Jeff Grappone, the Executive Vice President at Washington’s ROKK Solutions public affairs firm.

Read Jeff’s insights in the Washington Examiner. 

Democratic strategist and ROKK Partner Kristen Hawn joined Balance of Power to discuss the outcome of the presidential election and the future of the House of Representatives. See the full conversation on Bloomberg.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean gives NPR a fresh take on Trump’s election success. Full analysis here.

Businesses and CEOs are “in for a rollercoaster no matter who is president,” PRovokeGlobal delegates heard this week, during a session considering how companies can position themselves post-election.

“I have five draft statements for election night in my inbox right now looking at various scenarios, including there not being a clear decision that night,” Michael Steel, Senior VP of Communications at Business Roundtable, said.

Regardless of the uncertainty, the panel – which included ROKK Solutions Co-Founders and Partners Ron Bonjean and Rodell Mollineau – agreed that companies should be geared up for social unrest and take into account the lessons of the last eight years.

“In terms of social unrest, we should anticipate that, it’s part of the planning process that organizations need to have,” Bonjean said. “Don’t do something you’re not willing to follow through on, that’s the lesson of the last eight years.”

Mollineau added: “If you look at companies on the centre left like Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s, and companies on the centre right like Chick-FilA, they never waver on what they believe. “They are – I don’t want to say bulletproof – but there’s really no daylight between their principles in 2018 and 2024. It’s hard to pick them apart.”

Read more insights in PRovoke Media.

On the stump, Donald Trump likes to tell his supporters he needs a “landslide” win in 2024 so that his victory will be “too big” for Democrats “to rig.”

But off the campaign stage, the former president’s team is striking a more measured tone. 

The GOP nominee’s stronger performance this cycle in RealClearPolitics’ battleground-state and national polling averages compared with 2016 and 2020 indeed has Republicans feeling confident in their chances — albeit less bullish on a landslide win than they were a few months ago when Trump was running against Joe Biden. 

Ron Bonjean shared his thoughts in National Review about Trump’s chances to win last night’s election.

Democrats for years have struggled with working-class, populist voters, ceding precious political territory to Republicans. This year, a slate of congressional races could help reverse the tide — or intensify it, even beyond Election Day.

Democratic lawmakers like Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana, and Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Mary Peltola of Alaska and Marie Gluesenkamp of Washington, represent working-class communities and are running tough reelection campaigns this year. With Republicans’ tissue-thin House majority and Democrats’ one-seat Senate majority, their races are among those at the heart of both parties’ paths to congressional control.

ROKK Senior Vice President and Democratic strategist John LaBombard shared his thoughts with ABC News, providing expertise as a former Senate aide to red-state Democrats. 

He emphasized “the importance of having go-to figures in the national party where those folks can stay to their constituents, ‘we’re not just another national Democrat. We understand working people. We understand and can speak to these issues.’ And it helps the Democratic Party to be a bigger tent and be more appealing and less toxic to winnable voters.”

Read the full article including additional insights from John LaBombard on ABC News.

With the presidential election less than two weeks away, both VP Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump are making their closing economic pitches. ROKK Partner and Democratic strategist Kristen Hawn spoke about the issue with Bloomberg’s Balance of Power. One of the issues Kristen focused on was the importance of bipartisan support for the next administration.

“For any big policy change, whether it’s minimum wage or the taxes that are going to sunset that we’re going to have to deal with at the end of 2025, whoever’s president of the United States is going to have to work with both chambers, likely both parties to get it done,” said Hawn.

Catch the full episode and additional insights from Kristen Hawn on Balance of Power.

For the first time in decades, the seat for Republican party leader is up for the taking. Republicans John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Rick Scott (R-FL) have all put their hats in the ring. The fight between tradition and embracing a new era for the republican party will center this contentious election.

In fact, they said, no matter who is elected as the next leader, they cannot decentralize power and democratize the GOP conference on their own.

Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, former top spokesperson to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference, said that “Senator Tillis is acting as a proxy for McConnell” who isn’t publicly discussing changes to the conference but is passionately arguing against certain reforms in closed-door meetings.

Learn more on this perspective from ROKK Partner Ron Bonjean as he speaks to the game plan of one of McConnell’s allies with FOX News.

Former President Trump’s historically influential endorsement could prove unconvincing in the Republican Senate leader race — if he chooses to offer one at all. 

Senate Republicans, including those who will be newly elected, will gather in Washington, D.C., shortly after the election in mid-November to hold a secret ballot to determine the next GOP leader. 

The next leader will succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history

Trump could choose to weigh in, but he could run the risk agitating Republicans in the Senate “would not appreciate being told who to support from anyone outside the chamber,” said Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, a former top spokesperson to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference. 

Any such endorsement could also prove moot if Trump doesn’t win the presidential election, which will be held roughly a week prior to the leadership vote. 

“We may not know the outcome of the November election for who controls the White House until after the race is over,” Bonjean pointed out. 

Read the full article including ROKK Solutions Partner Ron Bonjean’s analysis with FOX News.