Zayn Siddique and Betsy Ankney Talk Working on Campaigns

Columbia’s Institute of Global Politics (IGP) welcomed Zayn Siddique, former principal deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and Betsy Ankney, former political director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, for a workshop focused on the ins and outs of political campaign work on October 15. The discussion was moderated by Ester Fuchs, professor of international and public affairs and political science at SIPA. Fuchs is also the director of the urban and social policy concentration.

Siddique, an attorney at the firm Paul Weiss, was deputy policy director for Beto O’Rourke’s 2020 presidential campaign and previously advised O’Rourke in his 2018 Senate race. Most recently, he led debate prep for Governor Tim Walz and helped prepare Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential debate. Ankney managed Nikki Haley’s 2024 campaign and is executive director of the Stand for America PAC. She’s been an advisor to Haley since 2021.

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Ankney and Siddique discussed their paths into campaign work, experiences managing various state, city, and senatorial campaigns, and the upcoming presidential election. Both got their political starts in 2008 – Ankney as an intern with the Republican National Committee and Siddique knocking on doors for the Obama campaign. From there, Ankney worked on the Republican National Convention in 2008 and 2012 and later managed Ron Johnson’s 2016 senatorial campaign in Wisconsin and Bruce Rauner’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign in Illinois. The draw to campaign work for her was “figuring out how to sell policy,” she said. “That’s what our job is on campaigns.”

After finishing law school and a judicial clerkship, Siddique moved to Texas in 2018, where he worked for O’Rourke, drafting policy notes and helping him with debate prep. Siddique recalled joining him on long car rides to run mock debates. “He was like, ‘Get in the car. You drive. I’ll do events during the day, and we’ll do debate prep at night,” Siddique said.

He highlighted the importance of understanding policy and the need to sell it effectively in campaigns, echoing Ankney’s sentiments. “Campaigns are about ideas,” he noted. “You’ve got to have ideas you’re selling, and they have to be grounded in something you can deliver,” Siddique said. “From the first time I worked on the campaign until now, a big part of it has always been actually going out, knocking on doors, and what you ultimately are doing is begging people to take some time out of their day, to take part in their democracy, to give your candidate a shot.”

As the conversation turned to the upcoming presidential election, Siddique and Ankney acknowledged the last three weeks of the campaigns being crucial for turnout efforts. Policy matters less in the final weeks as the focus shifts to the field and getting people to the polls. “Campaigns at the end are all about turnout,” Siddique said.

“In these last days, what matters is ensuring every last mail-in ballot or absentee ballot is getting sent in, that people know where to go to vote, that people have plans to vote, and that you're knocking on doors, getting people out there,” he said.