Avid readers include Rush Limbaugh, former senator Fred Thompson and … John Boehner." Erickson is known for a willingness to speak candidly about and challenge the Republican establishment as well as rally conservatives to push their agenda at both the federal and state level. He has used his position to help raise the profile of a number of conservative candidates across the country from Marco Rubio in Florida to Nikki Haley in South Carolina to Ted Cruz in Texas. The London Telegraph named Erickson the sixty-fifth most influential conservative in America in 2010. He is co-author of the book RedState Uprising. Each weekday morning, Erickson writes his "Morning Briefing" email, widely considered a must read among conservative pundits and activists. "The ability of [Erickson's Morning Briefing] to shape a message illustrates the power of the conservative network," according to Washington Post. The Hollywood Reporter describes Erickson as "the most influential conservative blogger on the Internet." Erick Erickson earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, majoring in History and Political Science. He earned his juris doctorate at Mercer's Walter F. George School of Law.