Brock Lowrance is the former senior advisor and independent expenditure director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), described as one of “the architects responsible for the GOP’s new Senate majority.” Lowrance sat down with the Harvard Political Review to discuss how the Republicans took back the Senate, the impacts of that recipe for success, as well as the role of a changing media landscape on political advertising strategy.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Harvard Political Review: You and your partners, when launching your firm, were described as “the architects responsible for the GOP’s new Senate majority.” What conditions from 2024 do you think contributed the most to the Republican majority?
Brock Lowrance: Our efforts at the NRSC were led by Chairman Daines, [but] it was a team effort. We came in with a very clear goal of doing whatever it takes to get a Republican Senate majority, whether it was 51, 52, 53, or 54.
One of the things that we really looked at, that had happened in the previous cycle, was these expensive primary battles where Republicans would spend millions and millions of dollars and come out battered for the general election. We took a very hands-on approach, working with different folks to make sure that the right candidate was coming out of these primaries.
That’s not saying that we were dictating. It was doing the tactics and strategies to make sure that we had the best Republican nominee we could. Some people like that approach. Others had issues with that approach. But at the end of the day, our job was to do whatever we needed to do to get the Republican majority, which we did.
The other thing that we put a very big focus on is we tried to find ways to maximize the hard dollars, money from the candidates’ committees. In 2022, Republican candidates were massively outspent by the Democrats, whether in the Senate or in the House races. We tried to develop strategy tactics to make sure that didn’t happen, utilizing things like joint fundraising committee advertising, hybrid advertising, these types of things.
HPR: You’ve had the opportunity to work on a wide array of races through different positions. What would be some of the characteristics that you saw in the candidates that you helped lead to victory versus those who were ultimately defeated?
Brock Lowrance: I think that a lot of times, political operatives or the media don’t get voters enough credit. At the end of the day, especially now more than ever, it’s not these candidates that were created in the box. Its authenticity, people who can connect with voters. It is people who have this realness about them.
If you try to create a candidate in a lab, so to speak, that’s not going to connect with voters. What was really exciting about the last cycle from the Republican perspective was that some of these newer voices were being brought into the process. Whether it’s Tim Sheehy, Bernie Moreno, or Rich McCormick, these were new, fresh faces. Tim Sheehy was the first Republican millennial elected to the Senate.
Whatever election you’re talking about, whether it be 2020 or now coming up 2026, there is this new generation of leadership that’s going to start entering in. I think the question will be, [for these candidates], are you the one able to help break some of the gridlock in Washington?
HPR: Whether it’s the declining power of cable, the shifting media habits of teenagers, or the rise of streaming, how do you think the changes in the media landscape affect political media strategy?
Brock Lowrance: The way people consume information is more fragmented than it ever has been: whether that’s from traditional media sources, television, or print, or from social media, or the new frontier, podcasts and things like that.
The way that people consume info is so much different, and then the way that one has to look at advertising to communicate with people is so different because it’s no longer what it used to be for our parents, which was to run a bunch of TV ads and that would be enough. The growth of things like streaming, non-linear television, OTTCTV [Over-The-Top Connected TV], things like that, but then at the same time, the new part of the equation that people are really interested in is kind of podcasts.
Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio talked about really doubling down and utilizing things like this. These folks have their own communities and have their own messenger. I think about where we are from, when I first started doing this in advertising tactics. I never could’ve thought we would be where we are right now. There are going to be more innovations that come along. But it is a much more complicated, multifaceted approach than it was in the past.
HPR: Where do you see the future of the Republican party heading — challenges, opportunities, individuals who you think would be leaders who not only could effectively govern, but also could strengthen its electoral prospects?
Brock Lowrance: Whether it’s the Republican Party or the Democratic Party over the course of the last eight years, there’s been dramatic shifts in the electorate. Starting with the Republicans’ Tea Party movement in 2008, there has been a generational shift in certain demographics that Democrats thought they could count on, but no longer can. Now, they’ve looked to someone like Donald Trump or [some] other Republican leaders to carry that mantle.
A lot of you see these Democratic demographic shifts in key states. For example, in Ohio, which used to be a little more purple to left-leaning, is now ruby red. I think the challenge we face is that we’re a very polarized country, both on the left and the right. At the same time, the most important thing is making sure good people are running for office, and that we create a system where they want to run and are able to do so.
Right now, it’s very difficult. If you want to run for office, you have to realize your life will be upended. Everything about you will come out. But at the end of the day, we need to find ways to ensure the right people are running for office and that they have every opportunity to do so.
