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Articles by David Plouffe
Plouffe Warns Cooper Donors: Don't 'Rest Easy' in North Carolina
Skip to stories Breaking •Football Referee Suspended Indefinitely After Grabbing High School Star•Rain Tapers Off as Isaias Moves East•Track Gas Prices Across the U.S. by State and County•Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 Futures: Live Price Trend and News•Mega Millions Jackpot: Did Anyone Win?
What It Will Take to Win the 2028 Democratic Presidential Primary
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. What It Will Take to Win the 2028 Democratic Presidential Primary Aug. 17, 2026, 1:37 p.m. ET Credit...Daniel Ribar for The New York Times Mr. Plouffe is a veteran Democratic political strategist.
Always Be Posting: The New Rules for Democratic Candidates
Many candidates’ daily campaign schedules today look very much as they have for most of my career. Speeches to community groups, interviews with journalists, fund-raising events and meetings with local party activists, with lots of driving in between. That won’t cut it anymore. A successful campaign in 2026 must operate like a full-time production studio. Candidates and incumbents should center each day on content creation. That does not mean uploading the same video to every platform.
The Old Way of Campaigning Won’t Cut It Anymore
Opinion|The Old Way of Campaigning Won’t Cut It Anymore https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/05/opinion/politics-midterms-tiktok-attention-content.html You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Guest Essay April 5, 2026 CreditCredit...Joanne Joo Many candidates’ daily campaign schedules today look very much as they have for most of my career.
Democrats Will Lose in 2028 Unless They Change Course Now
In election after election last year, Democrats had big wins everywhere. Voters who swung hard to President Trump swung hard back. These moments are incredibly rare. Trust me. It may be discordant, then, to believe the party is still in crisis. It’s much easier to hope that the storm has passed, that the deep unpopularity of Mr. Trump and the MAGA movement and the mess they are creating will be enough to right the ship. I certainly wish it were so.
Opinion | David Plouffe: To Win Everywhere, Democrats Must Change Everything
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. In election after election last year, Democrats had big wins everywhere. Voters who swung hard to President Trump swung hard back. These moments are incredibly rare. Trust me. It may be discordant, then, to believe the party is still in crisis.
Opinion | Democrats Will Lose in 2028 Unless They Change Course Now
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. In election after election last year, Democrats had big wins everywhere. Voters who swung hard to President Trump swung hard back. These moments are incredibly rare. Trust me. It may be discordant, then, to believe the party is still in crisis.
Straight Talk Live Part 2 | 2020 Elections: Results + Observations
Our guests discussed the results and share their observations from one of the most anticipated U.S. presidential elections in modern history. Cindy McCain introduced the conversation moderated by Alex Wagner with featured guests: Rick Davis, Maggie Haberman, David Plouffe and Trevor Potter.
What Biden Needs to Do to Beat Trump
What Biden Needs to Do to Beat Trump To win, he has to find a way to get beyond the basement tapes and project himself into our ever more digital world. Read Full Article »
David Axelrod and David Plouffe: What Biden Needs to Do to Beat Trump - The New York Times
Joe Biden’s most memorable moments on the campaign trail have come through spontaneous, intensely moving encounters with people who, like Mr. Biden, have endured searing struggle and loss. His authentic sense of empathy is a quality uniquely suited to this agonizing moment. Now Mr. Biden is mired in his basement, speaking to us remotely, like an astronaut beaming back to earth from the International Space Station. The former vice president is a man of vast experience in government.
Review | An Obama adviser summons a volunteer army to defeat President Trump
By any measure, Barack Obama and his team ran one of the best political campaigns in modern history in 2008. The historic election was so overwhelming — Obama won 28 states and the District, received almost 53 percent of the popular vote, had a margin of 9.5 million votes over Republican Sen. John McCain, and earned 365 electoral college votes — that even those who supported McCain would have trouble denying the election’s significance and decisiveness.
COOL TOWN | Kirkus Reviews
A carefully constructed history of how Athens, Georgia, became a cultural hot spot. Everyone’s heard of R.E.M. These days, fewer are familiar with the B-52’s, and almost no one outside the musical cognoscenti knows the Flat Duo Jets and Pylon. All of these bands, writes Hale (American Studies and History/Univ. of Virginia; A Nation of Outsiders: How the White Middle Class Fell in Love With Rebellion in Postwar America, 2011, etc.), were ingredients in the cultural stew in which she grew up.
THE NRA | Kirkus Reviews
by Frank Smyth ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2020 A gun-owning investigative journalist’s history of the National Rifle Association. Smyth admits he’s a “Fudd,” a derisive NRA term for a gun owner who supports gun regulations. As befits that nuanced stance, the author offers a measured, scrupulously researched political history that shows how the NRA has evolved from an organization promoting rifle marksmanship to an unrelenting foe of all limits on guns.
BETWEEN EVERYTHING AND NOTHING
by Joe Meno ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2020 Ambitious exposé of the troubled immigration system as seen through the lens of two African migrants’ experiences. Meno, a professor of creative writing and prolific fiction writer, tracks the grueling journeys of his complexly rendered protagonists, Razak and Seidu, both from Ghana, one fleeing a murderous family dispute, the other a promising soccer player facing persecution after being outed as bisexual.
SLOW-COOKED THOUGHTS
Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. In fact, the word “woke” appears nowhere within its pages. Rather, it is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action.
THE NEXT GREAT MIGRATION
Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. In fact, the word “woke” appears nowhere within its pages. Rather, it is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action.
SOCIAL CHEMISTRY
Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. In fact, the word “woke” appears nowhere within its pages. Rather, it is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action.
MITCH, PLEASE! | Kirkus Reviews
Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. In fact, the word “woke” appears nowhere within its pages. Rather, it is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action.
THE UPSWING | Kirkus Reviews
A top-notch addition to the why-America-is-in-such-a-mess genre. Writing with Garrett, Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard and winner of the National Humanities Medal, portrays a prosperous nation driven by technological innovation but burdened by massive, concentrated wealth and widespread poverty: Corruption and sex scandals fill the media; politics is gridlocked; xenophobia and white supremacist violence are rising; substance abuse runs rampant.
SWAY | Kirkus Reviews
The authors have created a sort of anti-Book of Virtues in this encyclopedic compendium of the ways and means of power. Everyone wants power and everyone is in a constant duplicitous game to gain more power at the expense of others, according to Greene, a screenwriter and former editor at Esquire (Elffers, a book packager, designed the volume, with its attractive marginalia). We live today as courtiers once did in royal courts: we must appear civil while attempting to crush all those around us.
GREAT STATE | Kirkus Reviews
A Canadian scholar of Chinese history offers a fresh look at China’s engagement with the outside world over centuries in the form of 13 illustrative stories. In this academic yet mostly accessible work, Brook makes two significant revisionist arguments about China and its history.
LITTLE AMERICA | Kirkus Reviews
Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. In fact, the word “woke” appears nowhere within its pages. Rather, it is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action.
THE CUBANS | Kirkus Reviews
Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. In fact, the word “woke” appears nowhere within its pages. Rather, it is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action.
14 MILES | Kirkus Reviews
by DW Gibson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2020 A two-year on-the-ground investigation of “The Wall” and how it is affecting lives on both sides of the border. From 2017 to 2019, Gibson spent his days documenting the planning and construction of the 14-mile portion of the wall along the border between San Diego County and Tijuana.
UNION | Kirkus Reviews
On road trips across the country, two friends confront their deeply held beliefs. Making their book debut, former Marine Blashek, now an investor in New York City, and Haugh, a journalist who was an intern in the Obama White House and served on the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff, recount the evolution of their friendship, and their views about America, as they traveled to 44 states over the course of three years.
MURDER, INC. | Kirkus Reviews
A consumer advocate sounds an alarm about everyday safety risks in this exposé of corporate and other practices that endanger Americans. Goldhaber draws on decades of designing warning labels, consulting for government agencies, and testifying as an expert witness to reveal ongoing consumer and workplace safety problems.
DAVID PLOUFFE - A CITIZEN'S GUIDE TO BEATING DONALD TRUMP - KSCJ 1360
Author: David Plouffe Book: A CITIZEN’S GUIDE TO BEATING DONALD TRUMP Publishing: Viking (March 3, 2020) http://kscj.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/David_Plouffe_to_air.mp3 Synopsis (from the Publisher): As seen on CBS This Morning, PBS NewsHour, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Pod Save America and more A voter’s playbook on making a difference in the 2020 election and beyond from the most recognized and most successful political strategist in the country If you’ve asked yourself the...
"A Citizen’s Guide To Beating Donald Trump" By David Plouffe
David Plouffe served as the campaign manager for Barack Obama's primary and general election victories in 2008. He was the architect of the strategy for both elections. Prior to running the Obama campaign, Plouffe served as a leading Democratic Party media consultant from 2001 to 2007, playing a key role in the election of US senators, governors, mayors, and House members across the country.
A Citizen’s Guide to Beating Donald Trump
A voter’s playbook on making a difference in the 2020 election and beyond from the most recognized and most successful political strategist in the country If you’ve asked yourself the question, what more can I do to make sure Donald Trump does not continue to occupy the Oval Office on January 20, 2021?–then this book is for you.
How Celebrities Can Leverage Their Influence for Good in 2020
Aquick word to campaigning celebrities. You’re probably not one of them, but to Angelina, Brad, LeBron, George, Jennifer, and all you other A-listers who may be reading this—if you do happen to be tuned in, I implore you to think more expansively about how you can use your creativity and prodigious social media assets to further the cause you support. Like it ornot, you can create waves, not ripples, waves.
A Citizen's Guide to Beating Donald Trump by David Plouffe: 9781984879493
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER As seen on CBS This Morning, PBS NewsHour, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Pod Save America and more A voter’s playbook on making a difference in the 2020 election and beyond from the most recognized and most successful political strategist in the country If you’ve asked yourself the question, what more can I do to make sure Donald Trump does not continue to occupy the Oval Office on January 20, 2021?–then this book is for you.
KILO | Kirkus Reviews
Title notwithstanding, this latest from the National Book Award–winning author is no guidebook to getting woke. In fact, the word “woke” appears nowhere within its pages. Rather, it is a combination memoir and extension of Atlantic columnist Kendi’s towering Stamped From the Beginning (2016) that leads readers through a taxonomy of racist thought to anti-racist action.
David Plouffe Says Talking to Kids About Politics Is Like Talking to Kids About Sex
Having spent my entire adult life working in politics, I sometimes have to check myself from trying to treat the 2020 elections as an extended civics lesson for my kids. It’s kind of like talking to them about sex. You may want to avoid the whole topic, but because it’s a good bet they’re hearing about it everywhere else, you feel like you should say something. Especially now. Depending on where you live, or what channel you watch, you may feel as if we are headed for another civil war.
HAD I KNOWN | Kirkus Reviews
A compilation of the polemics and journalism of Ehrenreich, showcasing her stylistic evolution and social prescience. The author is well known for her barbed magazine pieces and bestselling books (most notably, Nickel and Dimed), but she earned her chops as a freelancer.
THIS IS CHANCE! | Kirkus Reviews
A natural catastrophe inspires ordinary people to extraordinary heroism. Like the aftershocks of the earthquake that rocked Anchorage in 1964, this immersion in a barely remembered disaster shows how thematic implications continue to reverberate.
We're Spending $75 Million to Help Dems Close Gap
We're Spending $75 Million to Help Dems Close Gap The 2020 campaign has begun, but only Trump is on the field. We're going to change that starting now by spending $75 million to help Democrats. Read Full Article »
Trump campaign is an online juggernaut. To win 2020, Democrats must close this gap now.
Propelled by insecurity, egotism and more than a passing interest in getting re-elected, President Donald Trump has been running a general election campaign since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. This is unprecedented, but should not be a surprise. Over the past three years, he has shown a willingness to use every lever of government to support his personal political aims, and his campaign apparatus has already been reaching voters day in and day out.
Proposal gives more Michiganders with criminal records a fresh start
David Plouffe and Mark Holden Published 8:00 a.m. ET Sept. 27, 2019 Proposed legislation would offer expungement to more Michiganders who have criminal records. Under certain circumstances, expungement would be automatic. (Photo: Paul Sancya, AP) Think back over the past 10, 20, 30 years. If you’re like most of us, there are probably a few facepalm moments and a couple of choices you wish you hadn’t made.
Clear more criminal records to give people a fresh start
Hundreds hope to have their criminal records cleared at clinic Huge lines surrounded the Urban League building at Wednesday evening's cleaning of criminal records workshop at Urban League, which drew hundreds of people trying to clear their criminal records.
Clear more criminal records to give people a fresh start
Hundreds hope to have their criminal records cleared at clinic Huge lines surrounded the Urban League building at Wednesday evening's cleaning of criminal records workshop at Urban League, which drew hundreds of people trying to clear their criminal records.
How technology can help build a more equitable justice system
By David Plouffe6 minute Read Over the past several years, many of us have come to rely on technology to make more informed decisions about our lives. Some of them help us day to day–like which roads we should take on the way home, or what foods we should eat, or how we should manage our workouts. Others are more consequential. In hospitals, doctors are using technology to follow how their patients fare, not just over days and weeks, but years.
Top Policing the USA columns of 2018
From protesters demanding the release of rapper Meek Mill, to the passage of the FIRST STEP Act, to midterm election results that gave Florida's former felons the right to vote and the prosecution of Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke for the murder of black teenager Laquan McDonald, 2018 included incredible milestones in prison reform and painful reminders of the nation's continued need to make progress when it comes to fighting implicit bias and bettering cop-community relations.
Top Policing the USA columns of 2018
From protesters demanding the release of rapper Meek Mill, to the passage of the FIRST STEP Act, to midterm election results that gave Florida's former felons the right to vote and the prosecution of Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke for the murder of black teenager Laquan McDonald, 2018 included incredible milestones in prison reform and painful reminders of the nation's continued need to make progress when it comes to fighting implicit bias and bettering cop-community relations.
Ex-criminals being pushed out of the workforce is hurting our economy
David Plouffe and Mark Holden, Opinion contributors Published 1:49 p.m. CT Nov. 28, 2018 Nearly half of all children have a parent with a criminal record, and the US is losing $87 billion a year in GDP by not employing them. An inmate stands at his cell door at the maximum security facility at the Arizona State Prison in Florence, Ariz.(Photo: Matt York/AP) Our nation’s failed experiment with overcriminalization has burdened between 70 million and 100 million people with criminal records.
Letters: Denying jobs to former felons is economically foolish
David Plouffe and Chan Zuckerberg Published 5:28 p.m. MT Nov. 27, 2018 In this Friday, Dec. 16, 2016 photo, prospects for employment in the oil field are beginning to have positive signs as indicated by this hiring sign in front of the Halliburton facility in Odessa, Texas.(Photo: Mark Sterkel/Odessa America via AP) Our nation’s failed experiment with overcriminalization has burdened between 70 million and 100 million people with criminal records. That’s nearly a third of the population.
Shutting former felons out of opportunity is economically foolish
Our nation’s failed experiment with overcriminalization has burdened between 70 million and 100 million people with criminal records. That's nearly a third of the population. Millions are marked with a scarlet letter that can lead to a lifetime of closed doors. And closing opportunities — in housing, education and, more than anything else, employment — isn't just morally wrong, it's bad economic policy.
Shutting former felons out of opportunity is economically foolish
Our nation’s failed experiment with overcriminalization has burdened between 70 million and 100 million people with criminal records. That's nearly a third of the population. Millions are marked with a scarlet letter that can lead to a lifetime of closed doors. And closing opportunities — in housing, education and, more than anything else, employment — isn't just morally wrong, it's bad economic policy.
Shutting former felons out of opportunity is economically foolish
Our nation’s failed experiment with overcriminalization has burdened between 70 million and 100 million people with criminal records. That's nearly a third of the population. Millions are marked with a scarlet letter that can lead to a lifetime of closed doors. And closing opportunities — in housing, education and, more than anything else, employment — isn't just morally wrong, it's bad economic policy.
Shutting former felons out of opportunity is economically foolish
Our nation’s failed experiment with overcriminalization has burdened between 70 million and 100 million people with criminal records. That's nearly a third of the population. Millions are marked with a scarlet letter that can lead to a lifetime of closed doors. And closing opportunities — in housing, education and, more than anything else, employment — isn't just morally wrong, it's bad economic policy.
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