You hit the nail on the head re: campaign finance hits. When I am starting a new project it's usually one of the first things I work on because it's relatively simple to assemble and is a super easy to understand hit for voters. Also, crucially, reporters can easily understand it and write about it in an effective manner, which is sometimes just as important (if a reporter understands it easily they will probably write the story!)
I had a really similarly esoteric hit on a campaign about four years ago. I was obsessed with getting it over the finish line and it just never quite got there. It'll sit in my back pocket as a bar story until the end of time.
What are the examples of actually complex scandals that sunk candidates? Like of course everything can be boiled down to a simple phrase. But what are the times where something actually really hurt a pol even if it needed a bit of math?
Hillary's emails? The actual claims were pretty baroque but ultimately boiled down to "she's a lying liar." Maybe corruption cases like Bob McDonnell, Chris Collins, and Duncan Hunter kind of fit the bill. John Edwards combined sex and campaign finance violations. But all of these share the benefit of having a legal investigation to validate them.
You hit the nail on the head re: campaign finance hits. When I am starting a new project it's usually one of the first things I work on because it's relatively simple to assemble and is a super easy to understand hit for voters. Also, crucially, reporters can easily understand it and write about it in an effective manner, which is sometimes just as important (if a reporter understands it easily they will probably write the story!)
I had a really similarly esoteric hit on a campaign about four years ago. I was obsessed with getting it over the finish line and it just never quite got there. It'll sit in my back pocket as a bar story until the end of time.
What are the examples of actually complex scandals that sunk candidates? Like of course everything can be boiled down to a simple phrase. But what are the times where something actually really hurt a pol even if it needed a bit of math?
Hillary's emails? The actual claims were pretty baroque but ultimately boiled down to "she's a lying liar." Maybe corruption cases like Bob McDonnell, Chris Collins, and Duncan Hunter kind of fit the bill. John Edwards combined sex and campaign finance violations. But all of these share the benefit of having a legal investigation to validate them.