- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Mark Campbell
Mark Campbell
GOP Campaign Strategist
Winter 2022 Pritzker Fellow
Seminar Series: "2022/2024 The Coming Election Storms: What Can Be Learned from Glenn Youngkin’s Groundbreaking 2021 VA Gubernatorial Election Victory?"
Dr. Campbell has a winning career spanning over four decades. Mark’s client list is extensive and includes presidential candidates along with hundreds of federal, state, and local candidates and campaigns.
Campbell has won numerous tough “down ballot” races in swing areas even when the top of the GOP ticket got crushed. Campbell has also won races in Democrat strongholds including Jersey City, Philadelphia and northern Virginia. Dr. Campbell served as National Political Director for Ted Cruz for President. Most recently, Dr. Campbell served as the Campaign Manager for the tight left-leaning Virginia Gubernatorial race representing Glenn Youngkin. The race received international attention as a bellwether race to foreshadow voting patterns in a post-Trump election era.
Mark has served as a national GOP spokesperson and has appeared often in the media. Dr. Campbell has taught hundreds of political party leaders in emerging democracies around the world the art and science of connecting with voters, on behalf of the International Republican Institute and the Leadership Institute.
Dr. Campbell received his B.A. from the University of Tennessee with honors (1981), his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from SMU (1982) and his Ed.D. from the University of Pennsylvania (2004).
Mark served as Director of Small Business in Pennsylvania (1985-86) and as Senior Vice President at Fairleigh Dickinson University (2000-2004). Mark also served as a Senior Advisor to The International Association of University Presidents (2010-2013).
Seminars
"2022/2024 The Coming Election Storms: What Can Be Learned from Glenn Youngkin’s Groundbreaking 2021 VA Gubernatorial Election Victory?"
There are three big-picture general predictors of possible electability. What are they? Can they be anticipated and manipulated? Campaigns - are they art or science?
Have elections recently become more parliamentary? Are they based on party affiliation and less on individual candidates and their qualities?
Are there undecided voters active on social media such as Twitter? Yes or no? What is the impact of said media on campaigns, their staff and the press/media?
What is a command focus? Can it be learned or is it a gift? The true role of the candidate as a messenger and leader in today’s political environment.
Special Guest: Amanda Iovino, Vice President, WPA Intelligence
What are the modern roles in campaigns today? How important is "the campaign staff?" Is a clear chain of command and span of control important? How are these military terms deployed in a campaign? "It's Groundhog Day;" what problems always occur again and again?
Opposition research: dark art or search for the truth? How does opposition research really work? Why? Can you decipher what "facts" are really telling you?
Special Guest: Tom Davis, former Republican Congressman (VA-11) and Chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (1999-2002); and former IOP Pritzker Fellow (Fall 2018)
Visual mediums: how does what voters see impact what they do? What role does stereotypical imaging or word choice play in persuasion? What is the importance of "branding" as it relates to message development? What is message discipline?
Is writing a campaign plan important? When do you change the plan? Suggestion: run every campaign like a business and every business like a campaign. Can you pivot to other issues without destroying earlier work?