“In the old days, the opponents of our clients would hold press conferences denouncing our hiring—just our existence would be controversial,” says Jason Stanford, founder of Texas-based Stanford Research, a Democratic firm. “But there is a real openness now.”
In the News
Digging for Dirt
A Political Hired Gun for Democrats
Chris Bell’s governor campaign in 2006, to Farouk Shami’s in 2010, to Kinky Friedman’s race for agriculture commissioner — those are just a few of Jason Stanford’s travels in Democratic political circles. He is a political hired gun, a devout Democrat who does opposition research and often message development for candidates in Texas and elsewhere. …
Opposition Research: For Campaigns of All Sizes
’Tis the season of 20-year-old divorce records, drunken-driving arrests, criminal complaints by ex-lovers and college pranks turned sour. The trickle that started this spring and became a stream this summer is now a flood of dated court records and traffic tickets. No past incident is too small for glaring attention in an environment where an …
Friedman Camp Pulls in Former Foe Jason Stanford
The Kinky Friedman campaign has just landed opposition researcher Jason Stanford for its media relations, a sign that the Kinkster may be getting a bit more serious about the agriculture commissioner race. It also shows that alliances are fickle when it comes to politics. Stanford, a long-time Democratic strategist, was extremely critical of Friedman when …
Quality Opposition Research
It’s easy to think of opposition research as a thrilling, underhanded pursuit. But researchers are at pains to avoid that reputation. These are guys that spend their time in libraries and county offices, says Mike Rice. No dumpster diving here. Rice, the president of VR Research, appeared on a panel today with Jason Stanford, president …
You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide
Much of Democratic opposition researcher Jason Stanford’s work is done in a hermetically sealed world — locked in strange hotel rooms, legislative libraries and obscure courthouses, poring over documents and clues that can wound opponents. The information yield can include how much a rival candidate paid for a European vacation or the topic of a …
The Dirt: Opposition Research
When they do surveys on the most reviled professions, lawyers, HMO managers, advertisers, members of Congress, used car salesmen and Barry Bonds’ nutritionist top the list. It’s always been my opinion, though, that the only reason opposition researchers aren’t on that list is that few people know we exist. That’s what I do for a …
Opposition Research: Know Thine Enemies
Presidential campaigns hire a small army of people who quietly spend hours bent over file cabinets and microfilm, searching through tax records, divorce decrees, parking tickets and college papers. Opposition research, or “oppo,” as it’s called, is a multimillion-dollar business with investigators, consultants, pollsters and political activists — all combing through candidates’ backgrounds. “You need …
Accentuate the Negative
Want to say something about politics that makes you seem smart? Try this: “Negative attacks suppress voter turnout.” This is one of the most deeply held truisms in American politics. The Big Feet in Washington regard the casual relationship between negative campaigning and low voter turnout as an absolute truth. In his 1996 navel-gazer on …
Dirt-Diggers Descend on Bush Country
Jason Stanford, a longtime Texas politico, has suddenly become a hot commodity for visiting reporters. The reason: He once worked for the reelection campaign of former Gov. Ann Richards, and his job was to find every skeleton in the closet of her Republican challenger, George W. Bush. Now that Mr. Bush is running for president, …