Panelists share insight into the legislative branch of the government during the “Off the Record” event organized by the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in 2023. This year’s event, which offers a behind-the-scenes look at presidential campaigns, will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. May 1 at Pacers Square in Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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When election season rolls around, the campaigns for important offices play out in public every day.
Attack ads bombard people on television and other media. Debates give candidates a stage to hammer home their qualifications and state their cases for winning. Yard signs and billboards are everywhere.
But behind the scenes, it’s an entirely different world.
That world comes into focus during a special event organized by the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site on May 1. “Off the Record: Blazing the Campaign Trail” is a panel event bringing together staff and strategists experienced in presidential campaigns. The event, which will be 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday at Pacers Square at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, will feature untold stories, unique insights and insider anecdotes from their times working on varying campaigns.
“We’re bringing in expertise. We’re bringing in prominent Hoosiers who have served at the highest levels of the branches of government in different capacities,” said Charlie Hyde, president and CEO of the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site. “As fellow Hoosiers, they’re able to be candid and share stories in a way that’s understandable, relatable and approachable in the sense that it doesn’t feel like something that’s so far apart from our daily lives.”
This year’s participants are Erin Easter, mayor of West Lafayette, who worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign; Mike McDaniel, executive director of governmental affairs for Krieg Devault and a veteran of George W. Bush’s presidential campaign; and Adam Wren, a national political correspondent with Politico.
Moderating the event will be Morgan Snyder, senior director of public relations and Film Indy for Visit Indy.
“As an organization, we’re non-partisan; we’re not political. Our mission is to truly encourage participation in the American system of self-government,” Hyde said. “We’re trying to approach that in a way, convening a panel and having a moderator who’s able to facilitate these conversations in a way can feel comfortable to opening their minds and thinking through what’s being shared.”
This will be the fourth year for “Off the Record,” which was created by the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site to engage people in the three branches of government, Hyde said. With the site being the home of Indiana’s only U.S. President, organizers wanted to put together a program that allowed people to understand the executive, legislative and judicial branches that are the foundation of our county, but to do so in a way that was approachable.
By engaging the governmental process, people would be more prepared to choose our leaders, Hyde said.
“Benjamin Harrison said, ‘Independency of thought is the first requisite of the responsible citizen,’” he said. “He was really calling people to make their own judgments from the facts at hand.”
Over the years, “Off the Record” has included a wealth of experts, from Justice Theodore R. Boehm, a former member of the Indiana Supreme Court, to Mel Raines, former chief of staff for Rep. Susan Brooks and current president and COO of the Indiana Pacers.
The panelists at this year’s event continue that rich tradition, Hyde said.
“We’re putting forward a broad array of experience, representing across the political spectrum but also having different political experiences while blazing the campaign trail,” he said.
While the event is going on in the heart of election season — during a presidential election year, no less — organizers are being mindful to not focus on the races on the ballot in 2024, but rather to share perspective from their own experience in the past, Hyde said.
“For the purposes of this conversation, the current campaign is not under consideration. That’s something our moderator will make clear from the onset — this is not about the current presidential campaign,” Hyde said. “It’s really getting insight, drawing from these lessons firsthand from the panelists and more broadly from historical experience that might inform considerations and conversations we’re having today.”
IF YOU GO
“Off the Record: Blazing the Campaign Trail”
What: A panel event bringing together staff and strategists experienced in presidential campaigns.
Who: Participants are Erin Easter, mayor of West Lafayette, who worked on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign; Mike McDaniel, executive director of governmental affairs for Krieg Devault and a veteran of George W. Bush’s presidential campaign; and Adam Wren, a national political correspondent with Politico.
When: 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday
Where: Pacers Square at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis
