King Speaks on Lobbying
Posted Feb 14, 2025
Today, Union alum Ericka King, the Director of National Affairs and Government Relations for Kentucky Farm Bureau, spoke to Dr. Evans' State and Local Government class about lobbying.
She told students that protests and boycotts only get you so far in securing policy change. Without follow-up and follow through, your cause will likely fade away. Successful groups have stakeholders involved – people with the time, knowledge, connections, and resources (especially financial) to pursue the change you want to see. This is where interests groups and lobbyists come into play.
She said that, generally, there are two main types of interest group. There are associations that are either professional associations or issue specific groups and membership organizations like Kentucky Farm Bureau. She then talked about how lobbyists are of two kinds. Contract lobbyists work for a firm or themselves and have multiple clients and are always looking to sign more clients. In-house lobbyists work for organizations, associations, universities, large companies – and they have no other clients. She is an in-house lobbyist.
Overall, she claimed that a lobbyist’s greatest resource is his/her network and ability to build and maintain relationships. Without these relationships, one cannot speak to officials when they need to bring an issue before them. This means, many times, that you interact with officials on a non-policy basis as a means of building that relationship. If a lobbyist just shows up when they want something, that communicates that the lobbyist is using that person. She talks about how she shows up to meetings around the state and in DC to interact with people, even if she is not lobbying per se.
She then talked about the general process for accomplishing your policy goal. First, one must identify the issue. Each lobbyist must make sure they know exactly what the problem is they want to fix. Second, determine if it is federal or state issue (sometimes it can be both). Third, clearly define your “ask.” Have a clear, tangible solution for your issue. And don’t forget to develop background documents with facts to support your ask. Fourth, identify the stakeholders or who is impacted by the issue. Identify these people and connect with them because they will be your coalition of support.
Fifth, find a legislative champion. Groups need a member of Congress or the general assembly to carry the issue for you in the legislature. They might be from your district or state, or you might have to find someone from the committee of jurisdiction (e.g., House or Senate Ag Committee). Regardless, they need to have a reason to buy-in. Sixth, get your bill (or regulatory language) drafted. Seventh, mobilize your coalition to build support for your bill (or whatever your ask is). This mobilization may involve stakeholders calling, writing, or visiting legislators to get bill cosponsors and securing votes of support (or votes of opposition, depending on the issue). Finally, keep the coalition engaged to get your “ask” across the finish line.
She then explained how she worked with other groups to get disaster relief for farmers across the finish line in about three months in 2024. She said that it usually takes more time, but they were able to build enough support and use the votes of members from farming districts to force the Congress to provide relief.