Political Party with Adam Smith: A Democratic operative’s cautious optimism

Talk about a full plate. Florida’s most successful Democratic operative, Ashley Walker, is working nonstop to rev up get-out-the-vote programs in seven states amid a global pandemic, while living with a baby and a husband rooting for Donald Trump.

“We do not watch cable news,” she laughingly said of her and her husband’s TV viewing habits at home. “We would probably be sleeping in separate bedrooms if we did.”

Walker, a Partner at Mercury Affairs who leads the bipartisan firm’s Florida team and helped steer Barrack Obama to Florida wins in 2008 and 2012, is the latest guest on Political Party with Adam Smith.

“I am cautiously optimistic nationally about Biden’s chances, but I always caution folks in Florida everything’s close,” she said in the chat recorded last week. “Tt’s so close all the time, and I just don’t think either side can get too comfortable right now.”

Check out the full interview for Walker’s career advice to aspiring political consultants, how growing up in a rural Indiana union household, shaped her values, and the importance of respecting people on both sides of the aisle.