‘Transgressions have changed so much’: Political strategist says old scandals no longer sink a campaign

Kathy Allen, a 30-year veteran political strategist and campaign manager, joined “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio to explain how the political landscape has changed regarding transgressions, believing a candidate’s rocky history that used to get them kicked out of the race is no longer viewed on the same level.

“I can tell you right now that the kinds of transgressions have changed so much,” Allen said. “We’re not talking about the same thing. Right now, it’s not a matter of sleeping with eight different people, and half of them are heterosexual. It’s not going to be that. What it’s going to be is spending money on things that they wanted to see or for the constituency. The lies now are not so personal and immoral as they are having to do with already showing a distrust of the public’s actual interest.”

Voters now care more about impact than a candidate’s personal life

Allen continued, stating that a candidate’s personal life isn’t necessarily what voters prioritize, and that voters are much more focused on the real impacts a candidate can make on their lives.

“What’s happening now, it’s a little bit higher generated because most people who are talking about anything to do with a personal life or anything to do with sex, drugs, being in jail, or having to do with just the most simple things that used to close a campaign down are so popular now that what happens is they are eliminated before they even get to file,” Allen said. “People just say, ‘Well, you know, Kathy, this is a nice person and would be a hell of an incredibly good candidate, but did you know?’

“When they tell me the ‘Did you know?’ say it’s three divorces, I’m sitting there thinking, yeah, but most people are going to say, ‘Three’s kind of a lot, but the fact is that three of my cousins have two different divorces,'” Allen continued. “So from that perspective, we sort of say, ‘No, I don’t want to know that, but what’s he going to do to make my life better?'”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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