Case Study: 2010 Illinois Lt. Governor

Lieutenant Governor Meltdown

In 2010 in Illinois an unknown candidate named Scott Lee Cohen won the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor. Cohen turned out to be a disaster: He was a pawnbroker with a history of domestic violence and other legal problems. The entire Democratic Party was caught by surprise and struggled to deal with the nomination.

Everyone, that is, except for Will Caskey’s client. A concerned Democratic organization hired Will the morning after the primary with a simple goal: find out as much about Cohen as fast as possible. They weren’t disappointed: Will’s research provided crucial insight into the unfolding crisis and gave several Democratic leaders the information they needed to get ahead of the news cycle and communicate, both internally and in the press. Cohen dropped out a week after winning the primary, and Democrats managed to hold onto key races that November, including governor and the Supreme Court.

Research doesn’t always mean dismantling your opponent (although that certainly helps). It also means knowing things in advance and acting instead of reacting. We get that job done, and Democrats are better for it.