>>> MARK YOUR CALENDARS, TOMORROW NIGHT IS THE MAYORAL FORUM.

YOU CAN STREAM IT LIVE ONLINE OR WATCH IT AT 10 PM ON CHANNEL 11.

IT COMES AS THE ATTACK ADS ARE FLYING AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY THREE WEEKS AWAY.

JOINING US TO HELP US CUT THROUGH THE MESSAGING IS JASON, A POLITICAL SPEECHWRITER .

HE IS A SENIOR LECTURER AT THE NORTH UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW.

ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE YOU JASON.

IN A NINE CANDIDATE FIELD HOW DOES ONE USE MESSAGING TO STAND OUT?

>> YOU HAVE TO COME UP WITH A MESSAGE IN THIS KIND OF RACE THAT IS CONTRASTING AND BELIEVABLE TO STAND OUT.

STANDOUT ON TELEVISION AND DEBATES.

THAT IS WHY YOU HEAR SO MANY THAT SAY I AM THE ONLY CANDIDATE THAT HAS EVER BLANK.

YOU NEED SOMETHING THAT WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM EVERYBODY ELSE.

IT COMES DOWN TO MATH, MESSAGE AND MONEY.

YOU NEED TO HAVE A MESSAGE THAT IS CLEAR AND CONTRASTING AND BELIEVABLE AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE MONEY TO GET BEHIND THE MESSAGE.

>> YOU HAS ACCOMPLISHED THAT SO FAR?

>> IF WE HAD TO RATE THE MESSAGING GETTING MONEY BEHIND IT IT IS RENT IN JOHNSON.

THEY HAVE BEEN SPEAKING CLEARLY ABOUT THEIR KEY MESSAGES.

YOU WANT THE MESSAGES TO GO ACROSS PLATFORMS.

THEY HAVE DONE A GOOD JOB ON THAT.

STICKING OUT THE CRIME ISSUE EARLY ON HAS WORKED FOR HIM AND IN THE DEBATE HE LAYERED THAT WITH SOME OF THE MORE ODD PARTS OF HIS PERSONALITY WITH RECOMMENDATIONS AND BULLET POINTS.

IT COMES OFF AS NOT FEAR MONGERING WHICH IS IMPORTANT FOR THE COALITION HE WANTS TO BUILD IN JOHNSON MISSING SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM EVERY OTHER CANDIDATE ON THE STAGE.

HE GETS A QUESTION ABOUT POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND HE IS NOT TALKING ABOUT POLICE, HE IS TALKING MORE ABOUT INVESTMENT.

THAT IS HIS MESSAGE.

HE HAS BEEN QUITE ELOQUENT IN THE DEBATES.

>> STARK IDEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THOSE TWO.

I SAID THIS ALL ALONG.

IN A RACE LIKE THIS IN A GENERAL ELECTION IT COMES DOWN TO WHO CAN BUILD A COALITION.

NOT JUST ONE NARROW GROUP OF VOTERS BUT A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT GROUPS.

HOW DO YOU CREATE MESSAGING THAT GOES ACROSS A DIVERSE DEMOGRAPHIC.

>> PERSUASION IS NOT A ZERO-SUM GAME.

YOU CAN SPEAK TO DIFFERENT AUDIENCES IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF YOUR MESSAGE.

SOMETIMES IT WORKS AND SOMETIMES IT WATERS DOWN YOUR MESSAGE.

I WILL GIVE YOU ONE POSITIVE VIEW OF THIS.

ONE WAY A MESSAGE CAN CUT ACROSS.

THE ADS THAT ARE EARLY IN THIS CAMPAIGN.

TALKING DIRECT TO CAMERA AND COMES ACROSS WITH A HUMANITY.

THE MESSAGES THEMSELVES ARE ABOUT CRIME AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

THERE IS A LITTLE PIECE AT THE END OF THE INITIAL COMMERCIAL THAT TALKED ABOUT KEEPING SCHOOLS OPEN SO KIDS HAVE OTHER ACTIVITIES.

THAT SOUNDS DIFFERENT THAN THE NORMAL TOUGH ON CRIME MESSAGING.

SO HE IS BRANCHING ACROSS.

CONVERSELY WE LOOK AT SOMEBODY LIKE GARCIA.

HE TRIED TO SPEAK TO A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT AUDIENCES.

HAS NOT PUT A LOT ON THE AIR YET AND ALSO IN DOING SO HIS MESSAGES GOT MUDDLED AS TO WHY HE IS RUNNING AND WHAT HE WANTS TO DO.

>> HE HAS NOT BEEN ON THE AIR MUCH BUT THERE HAVE BEEN ATTACK ADS AGAINST HIM.

FOR EXAMPLE LIGHTFOOT HAS ATTACKED.

SHE HAS BROUGHT THAT UP IN THE DEBATES AS WELL.

DO YOU THINK THEY HAVE HAD RESIDENTS?

>> THEY HAVE, HE WAS LATE TO START, LATE GETTING BACK TO WASHINGTON AFTER THE KERFUFFLE ABOUT ELECTING THE NEW SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE.

DID NOT PUT ANYTHING ON THE AIR AND THEN WAS ATTACKED IMMEDIATELY.

WE GO BACK TO WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE.

COALITION BUILDING.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT HIS CAMPAIGN HE HAS STRONG LATINO SUPPORT THAT HE NEEDS TO WRENCH OUT INTO LAKEFRONT LIBERALS.

EVERYTHING THAT IS AGAINST HIM IS A SHOT AT THAT.

THAT IS TAKING VOTERS AWAY.

IF HE IS NOT SAYING ANYTHING POSITIVE, HE HAS TROUBLE BUILDING THE COALITION HE WILL NEED.

>> TURNING A POTENTIAL STRENGTH INTO A WEAKNESS.

HE HAS LIGHTFOOT AND GARCIA PAINTING HIM AS A REPUBLICAN, SOMEBODY WHO IS SQUISHY ON ABORTION RIGHTS.

DO THEY HAVE RESIDENTS?

>> HE HAS HAD THE ADVANTAGE SO FAR OF NOT BEING ATTACKED MUCH.

A LITTLE BIT IN DEBATES.

IT HAS COME UP A LITTLE BIT.

LIGHTFOOT WENT OUT THE OTHER DAY AND DID SOME PRESS CONFERENCES.

GARCIA HAS AS WELL.

ABOUT HIM BEING NOT SUFFICIENTLY PRO-CHOICE OR A DEMOCRAT.

THE CHALLENGE FOR HIM WILL BE IN THE CLOSING WEEKS.

NOW THAT SOME OF THESE CANDIDATE HAVE MORE MONEY.

WE WILL SEE A BUNCH OF ADS.

IN YOUR DEBATE TOMORROW NIGHT WE WILL SEE ATTACKS ON HIM REGARDING THE ENDORSEMENT FROM THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE AND NOW HE NEEDS TO STAND AND DEFEND AGAINST THOSE.

WHEN IT COMES UP IN DEBATES SO FAR HE HAS SHRUGGED IT OFF BUT I HAVE NOT BEEN IMPRESSED WITH HIS ABILITY TO EXPLAIN WHAT HIS POSITIONS ARE IN RELATIONSHIP TO SOME OF HIS ALLIES.

>> SO WE MENTIONED A FEW NAMES, THERE ARE OTHER NAMES, BUCKNER, KING, WILSON, SAWYER, ANYBODY STAND OUT ?

>> HAVING WATCHED SEVERAL DEBATES AND HAVING LISTENED TO THE RADIO DEBATES I THINK THE DEBATES HAVE HAD SUBSTANCE IN LEASE TELLING US WHAT THEY WILL DO OR SAY WHAT THEY WILL DO AND THEIR PERSPECTIVE ON THE CITY'S PROBLEMS.

THE PROBLEM THEY HAVE NOW IS TIME AND AIR.

THERE IS NOT ENOUGH OXYGEN IN THESE DEBATES AND THEY ARE NOT FUNDED TO GET ON TELEVISION IN THE PROBLEM WE HAVE HERE, WE LOOK AT LIGHTFOOT IN 2019, SHE WAS AT 2% IN EARLY JANUARY BUT THERE WAS A CATALYZING EVENT THAT HELPED HER RISE AND THAT WAS ALL OF THE ALLEGATIONS ABOUT AND BURKE AND THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES THAT WERE IN THE PRIMARY THAT YEAR THAT HAD CONNECTION TO HIM WHETHER IT WAS DALY OR MENDOZA AND THAT PLUS HER STRONG PERFORMANCES ALLOWED HER TO RISE.

>> YOU WONDER IF SOMETHING LIKE THAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE NEXT THREE WEEKS.

BEFORE YOU GO I WANT QUICK THOUGHTS ON WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE STATE OF THE UNION TOMORROW.

>> I WOULD EXPECT WE WOULD NOT HAVE A VICTORY LAP REGARDING THE LAST MIDTERMS BUT HE WILL PROBABLY TALK ABOUT THEM AND COUCH THAT IN TERMS OF THE SPEECH HE HAS BEEN GIVING THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS ABOUT THE STATE OF DEMOCRACY.

I WOULD IMAGINE IT WILL BE PHRASED IN THOSE TERMS.

MAYBE REFERENCES TO SOME ANTI-DEMOCRATIC FORCES THAT ARE STILL IN THE HOUSE AND CHARTING A COURSE FORWARD.

HIS EYES ARE ON NEXT YEAR AND THE YEAR BEFORE CANDIDATES RUN, THAT IS THE YEAR TO GET IN POSITION TO GET IN POSITION.

>> A LOT OF SPECULATION AS TO WHETHER AND WHEN HE WILL