‘Political Olympics’: Some attendees say convention is ideal job-networking arena

Conventions aren’t just about nominating candidates and rallying the faithful.

For political up-and-comers, they are also giant job fairs that offer the opportunity to impress the people who can help them rise.

{mosads}And for Washington lobbyists interested in offering a helping hand, conventions are a good place to make connections with the political leaders of tomorrow.

“Politics is all about networking, and this is the biggest network that exists in politics,” said Rachel Storch, a 35-year-old state representative from St. Louis who attended the Democratic convention last week in Denver.

“It’s like a political Olympics.”

Much of the political talent in the country — the people who have risen through the ranks and have years of experience managing campaigns, raising money for candidates and dissecting complicated policy questions — is located inside the Beltway. But candidates, almost universally, come from outside of it.

Conventions bring the two together for the benefit of both.

In 2000, Storch was an aide to Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was then running for Senate, when she attended her first convention in Los Angeles. After Carnahan died in a plane crash later that fall, Storch served as deputy chief of staff to his wife, Jean, who won the Senate seat.

“The connections I made eight years ago were people who were helpful to me when I ran for office,” said Storch, who is serving her third term in the statehouse.

Storch says she would “love” to run for higher office “if the opportunity is there,” although she has no immediate plans to do so. But last week gave her the chance to meet campaign officials, political strategists, lobbyists and even members of the media — connections that could come in handy if she does decide to continue her political career.

Anthony Johnson, a 26-year-old Democratic delegate from Montana, said he met people last week whom he now feels he can call on to give him advice about his current job: getting Democratic candidate Steve Bullock elected as attorney general in Montana.

Johnson is also planning a D.C. fundraiser and now knows “people who would be interested in attending.” It isn’t all about money, though. Johnson said he met several reporters as well and now has a list of new names to send press releases to about the campaign.

If conventions are about the raw business of politics, they are also about raw business, and some lobbyists attend with an eye on the bottom line.

{mospagebreak}One Republican trade association lobbyist who asked not to be identified told The Hill that he attends state delegation events to see not only members of Congress, but also state political party leaders, state legislators, mayors and local political aides.

“Local elected officials are the next members of Congress,” the lobbyist said.

“We know most everyone in Washington,” said Patrick Murphy, a Democratic lobbyist at Capitol Management and fundraiser who helped sponsor several delegation parties last week. “It’s who’s next. What is the next Congress or the next Senate going to look like?”

{mosads}The face-time put in during weeks like this one, and the subsequent political donations, could pay off should that person win a congressional or Senate seat. Lobbyists insist there is no quid pro quo, but connections matter in a business where success sometimes depends on the ability to get a client a meeting with a lawmaker.

“They know you as someone who helped open the door for them when they were trying to get in,” Murphy said. “If they know who you are, it helps.”

But he added: “Then you have to make your case. A lot of times you are on the wrong side of the issue. Then it doesn’t help.”

Like other conventions — an electronics fair, for example — political gatherings like this one also offer more immediate business opportunities.

Increasingly, lobby shops solicit local and state officials to represent their interests in Washington. Often, it isn’t enough these days to rely solely on a congressional delegation to win earmarks or federal economic development grants and loans. Some lobbyists use the week to sell their firms to prospective clients, the mayors and governors who have a project that they’d like Washington to fund or an issue they’d like pushed.

Large trade associations sponsor events and parties and then distribute tickets to executives from their member companies who may be interested in pigeonholing a particular member of Congress or state politico.

Conventions, of course, aren’t all business. Even with the new ethics rules, there are plenty of parties to attend. For four days, delegates have a chance to meet and mingle with people who are very much like them, which may be the best thing about the week.

Storch said, for example, that while she values the networking opportunities, she didn’t look forward to the Denver convention in such a calculated way.

“To me, the whole thing is just fun,” she said.