BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Michael Duncan, founding partner at Cavalry
How/where are you celebrating your birthday and with whom? “I’ll be celebrating with my wife and the Cavalry team. There will be plenty of pizza from The Italian Store and probably some karaoke after a few glasses of wine.”
How did you get your start in your career? “I moved out to D.C. right after college in 2009 and found my niche in digital politics. This was during the nascent stage of the Tea Party movement, and platforms like Facebook were just starting to open up advertising. There was a ton of opportunity for young conservative digital folks to get real-world experience building grassroots operations at scale on the internet. That experience eventually led me to the consulting side of political campaigns and advocacy.”
What’s an interesting book/article you’re reading now or you’ve recently finished? And why? “I just finished ‘The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires,’ which follows the evolution of media from the radio to the internet. With our fractured media landscape, it’s a fascinating look at how gatekeepers throughout history have tried to monopolize the distribution of information.”
What’s a trend going on in the U.S. or abroad that doesn’t get enough attention? “Twitter has banned political ads. Google has greatly restricted ad targeting. I think these changes will reduce the ability of grassroots candidates and causes to build communities around issues that their supporters care about. It will make it harder for candidates to raise small-dollar donations online. The internet has been a huge democratizing force in our politics, and reducing its efficacy is a big mistake.”
How’s the Trump presidency going? “There’s never been a more interesting time to be involved in digital politics than during the Trump presidency. Voters are motivated and engaged in our politics. Candidates see the success of President Trump’s approach on social media, and they’re willing to be way more creative than ever before.”
What’s a fun fact that people in Washington might not know about you? “I’m a huge true crime junkie. Podcasts, documentaries, books, etc. I can’t get enough of it.”
