Post-election panel held on campus
Following another unprecedented election season, the Institute of Government and Politics hosted a post-election panel in the David B. Haight Alumni Center on Jan. 13. Two founders of prominent Utah campaign firms spoke at the event.
The panel was moderated by Damon Cann, head of the USU Department of Political Science.
One speaker was Gabi Finlayson, who founded Elevate Strategies, a progressive general consulting firm.
In 2020, she worked on the campaigns of Pete Buttigieg and former President Joe Biden. She then managed several campaigns in Boston before returning to Utah in 2022 to found her firm, which has represented various state and local candidates, including Brian King in the gubernatorial election.
The other speaker was Matt Lusty. He is a founding partner of Election Hive, which has managed the campaigns of Republican candidates for local, state and national office. In 2024, his clients included Rep. Blake Moore, Sen. Mike Lee and Gov. Spencer Cox.
According to IOGP Director Jennifer Seelig, the panelists were chosen “based on their professional involvement in the Utah Governor’s Race as well as other political races throughout Utah.” The event was inspired by “curiosities expressed by students, faculty, staff and the public at-large about their perceptions and questions concerning political campaigns.”
Emma Blanscett, a sophomore studying political science, attended the panel after hearing about it from the IOGP and a former professor.
“What stood out to me,” Blanscett said, “was how both panel participants offered unique perspectives and advice, each shaped by the different political parties they support. They made it very clear where they agreed and disagreed.”
Both speakers discussed the significance of Phil Lyman’s write-in campaign and the strategies the other candidates developed around it.
“Two years ago, you would look at what was happening in Utah and say, ‘Yeah, it’s a pretty direct course for this governor’s race,’” Lusty said. “And it was anything but direct.”
Because the Cox campaign had to “fight this weird, on-our-right opponent,” Lusty said, “that changed how we thought about things, what kind of ads we ran.”
Finlayson’s firm decided to call Lyman, who had said he’d rather see King than Cox as governor, to ask him to appear in an ad alongside King.
“We wrote in a little line in that ad as a joke initially, but hoping it would catch on, that, you know, you can either vote for Brian King or you can write in Phil Lyman,” Finlayson said. “By the end of the ad shoot, he was like, ‘I’m going to run a write-in campaign.’”
According to Lusty, when the ad featuring King and Lyman was released, his campaign “had a really interesting decision.”
“In order for Brian King to be successful, he needs Phil Lyman to be strong with Republicans, and if he’s doing ads with them, we can kind of leverage that and just say, ‘This guy doesn’t want Republicans to be successful. He doesn’t want Republicans to win.’ And so, fewer Republicans are going along with it,” Lusty said.
“I found it interesting how there’s so much more to political campaigning than meets the eye,” Blanscett said. “I always just think of the ads and candidates that are promoted, not the people behind the scenes.”
The panelists had different outlooks on Utah’s political future.
“We really believe Utah will become a battleground state in the next 10 to 15 years,” Finlayson said. “We’re the fastest growing state in the country. We’re the youngest state in the country.
“And the demographics are shifting in our direction,” Finlayson continued. “We see younger voters, especially younger LDS voters, voting for Democrats in higher numbers than we’ve ever seen.”
Lusty said there was some truth to shifting demographics playing a role in Utah’s politics, but said Finlayson’s statement “was a very optimistic view for Democrats in Utah.”
He continued, offering a warning to Republicans who might feel emboldened by the party’s wins in 2024.
“If you do not fix what’s going on and if Americans do not feel like we’re in a better place, you will lose seats in 2028,” Lusty said. “If we don’t fix issues, I’m telling you, Republicans in 2028 are going to be out like you wouldn’t believe.”
Finlayson and Lusty agreed on the importance of creative campaigning, describing themselves as “professional problem-solvers.”
“There is a lot that you can do to prepare to do this type of work, you know: doing internships, making sure you have a full understanding of how campaigns work,” Finlayson said. “But part of it is just working with a lot of different types of candidates.”
Blanscett said she enjoyed the event. “I was truly intrigued and left the event wanting to learn more about campaigning,” she said.
“We were thrilled with the interest in the event,” Seelig said, “and are planning future events around Utah’s campaign cycles.”
The IOGP is currently planning its 2025 event series. Seelig said the organization “would be excited to hear from students, faculty and staff if people have interest areas they would like to see covered.”
If students are interested in working on campaigns, the IOGP offers various internship opportunities at local, state and national levels. Interested students can find more information about the IOGP by visiting usu.edu/iogp/, emailing iogp@usu.edu or calling 435-797-9618.