How Political Consulting Became a Multibillion Dollar Racket

Adam Sheingate, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University, just released his new book Building a Business of Politics: The Rise of Political Consulting and the Transformation of American Democracy. The book takes a critical look at the rapid growth of profitability and influence in U.S. political consulting industry, especially in a post-Citizens United world where the money spigot runs untapped. In a recent New York Times op-ed, Sheingate explained how and why the amount of money spent on ad buys—where consultants make their money—in 2016 will eclipse that in any previous election.

This week, The American Prospect talked with Sheingate about his book and the impact of consulting on the American political process. This interview has been edited for style and clarity.

What did you set out to do with this book and what did you ultimately find in your research?

I want people to think about politics from the perspective of a consultant. We normally think about it from the perspective of candidates; we might think about contributions from donors; we certainly think about voters. But we don’t give enough attention to the people whose businesses survive based on the money they earn in politics, so I wanted to focus attention on that perspective.

I think once you do that, you find some of the characteristics of politics are reflections of the incentives of the consultants who run the campaign. The heavy reliance on media is partly due to the fact that it’s the way to make the most money.

You lead off the book by introducing Mentzer Media, which is one of the most prominent consulting firms for GOP campaigns. The firm has made more than $1 billion in campaign ad buys, most recently placing $245 million in ads for Mitt Romney’s 2012 super PAC. You also briefly highlight the large market share that GMMB, another consulting firm, enjoys on the Democratic side. In 2012, it handled $435 million in spending—90 percent of which came from Obama’s campaign.

How are consulting giants like these indicative of the modern political consulting industry?

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