I met Dave in 2016 when we were fellows at Harvard’s Institute of Politics together. It was a little like going back to college ourselves, but adultier and without midterms. The six of us fellows lived together on campus and spent all of our free time together, cooking dinner and staying up late talking politics in our PJs. And we did it all against the backdrop of a whole bunch of bewildered Harvard students who had been told that Donald Trump could never become president. Here’s a picture of Kochel’s oddly impressive bowling skills and our crew the day after the election.

But I knew of Kochel for almost a decade before that because he is everyone’s favorite GOP consultant. Literally. Everyone. If you meet someone who tells you they don’t like Dave Kochel, run. They are most likely about to eat your liver with some fava beans. And in Iowa, Kochel is really a rock star. He plays drums. In an actual band. They’re good.

More to the point, Kochel has worked on six presidential campaigns, including both of Mitt Romney’s runs and most recently Jeb Bush’s. In any given cycle, he could have a dozen or more races he’s actively involved in. In fact, he’s currently working on Sen. Joni Ernst’s race, which we discuss a little below. 

Sarah: You are in the direct mail business. What does that mean?