When Republican strategist Joe Pounder was working on Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign, he recalled hosting a “morning messaging call” every day to talk about new developments and how Romney himself would tackle them while staying true to his “North Star” goals of the campaign.
“I think in those moments, helping the candidate craft a message that is based upon fact, that is based upon their record, that is based upon tone that is true to the candidate, is really important,” Pounder said earlier this month at an event hosted by the George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.
Pounder, who is the founder and CEO of Bullpen Strategy Group, leads a group of consultants who work with companies and candidates on their campaigns. He previously served as senior adviser to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign and Rubio’s Senate campaigns.
He worked at the Republican National Committee as a research and communications director, and for other candidates’ campaigns, including John McCain and Romney’s 2008 presidential bids. He also served on the White House’s communication team under President George W. Bush.
Ethical challenges faced by campaigns
Pounder spoke about the ways political consultants must be mindful of ethics when working with a candidate on a campaign, including with messaging.
“One hundred percent negative campaigns from the candidate don’t win elections, neither do 100% positive campaigns,” Pounder said. “So, messaging is always a challenge and can raise ethical concerns, like, ‘Am I saying something based upon fact?’”
There’s a strategy in how an individual’s campaign chooses to go about ethical decisions, he said.
In every campaign, there are battles over the budget and how money is being spent. Pounder noted that a consultant must act like a chief operating officer to make sure the budget is being ethically spent across all necessary areas. One team may want a certain percentage of the budget to be spent on their product, while another team will say they’re deserving of it.
A consultant will advise the candidate and campaign manager about where and how the money should be spent. Divvying up the budget could raise ethical dilemmas, potentially visible to the public, about what the campaign’s priorities are.
“I think one of the biggest ethical challenges for a consultant is ensuring that they’re always doing what’s right for the campaign and the candidate,” Pounder said.
How changing politics impacted campaign ethics
There has been a shift over the last two decades about how a political candidate must respond to moral issues, he said. Twenty years ago, an individual could opt to not put out a statement about mass shootings, abortion or other difficult issues. But, Pounder said, social media and technology changed that calculus.
“The candidate has to be very trusting of the team that they put together so that they can focus on the message and winning the voter every single day, and maybe not how much … is in the campaign bank account,” he said.
Pounder acknowledged that politics has changed since he worked on McCain and Romney’s 2008 campaigns. In the 17 years since then, politics in America has become more polarized, he said.
“I think your best political consultants are always mindful of, there are bright lines, and you need to color within those lines at the end of the day, because once you start getting a little bit outside, it can lead to problems down the road,” he said.
Peter Loge, the director of the university’s and media colleges’ Project on Ethics in Political Communication and host of the forum with Pounder, noted that when talking about political ethics, it’s important to consider a consultant’s role because one must “look at all corners of” political communication.
“Politics is big business in the U.S., as Joe pointed out, and the people who make a living in politics have certain ethical responsibilities or expectations, and it’s good to talk to people doing the work to find out how they think about the work,” Loge said following Pounder’s remarks.
“Where you allocate time and attention, where you spend money, tell us a lot about your values. If you’re focusing a lot on reaching out to young voters and saying that young voters matter to me, that means I’m spending less time on other voters,” Loge said. “If I’m going to spend more time talking about immigration or taxes, that means I’m going to spend less time talking about trade and foreign policy.”
A consultant’s role — advising a candidate when, where and how to spend their time, energy and money — is a visible decision seen by the public, Loge said.
“This is how people see the candidate, how they see themselves, how they view the country,” Loge said. “Our most precious commodities are time and attention. And money can help buy time and attention in the form of staff and resources, but ultimately, how you focus your time and attention tells me a lot about who you are and the ethical choices you’re making in the world.”
Controversy in consulting
While a consultant’s primary focus is supposed to be helping their candidate to win an election, some have made questionable decisions through the years.
The scandals, issues and other controversies stemming from decisions made by political consultants is seen on both sides of the aisle.
Democrats funded far-right Republican candidates in 2022 with the hope that this would help their candidates during that year’s midterm elections, Vanity Fair reported at the time.
The anti-Trump political action committee The Lincoln Project has had its fair share of controversies, including the 2024 revelation that roughly one-third of its funds were going to firms owned by senior operatives.
In 2015, Jeb Bush paid more than $50 million to political consulting firms looking to climb to the top of the Republican presidential primary. Despite spending a lot, Bush didn’t reap the benefits like his consultants did.
Political consultants earn commissions and fees on the work they’re helping to produce. Pew Research found a candidate’s political views and their ability to pay are primary drivers for a consultant to agree to work on a campaign.
Pounder acknowledged that consultants generally have their own firms and have a business model that has to sustain them when they’re not working on a campaign or issue advocacy. Loge agreed that it’s an important factor to consider when examining politics and a consultant’s role.
“Everybody knows there’s a lot of money in politics, and not a lot of people think about where that money goes, and a lot of it goes to just people doing the stuff,” Loge said.
To be a successful political consultant, Pounder argued, a firm must be grounded within an ethical framework.
“The firms that really endure are those that do stand within the ethical guidelines. That’s how they build enduring business models,” he said.