Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) says about a slur on his opponent, "I don't care if it's true. I just want to hear him denying it." This is a reference to a statement attributed to Lyndon B. Johnson, who allegedly referred to an opponent as having carnal knowledge of farm animals. When an aide said he couldn't say that because it wasn't true, Johnson replied, "I know but I just want to hear him deny it."
The Ides of March is March 15, notable as the day on which Julius Caesar was assassinated. In Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," before being stabbed to death, Caesar is told by a Soothsayer: "Beware the ides of March."
Leonardo DiCaprio dropped out of the role of Stephen Meyers, but he stayed on as executive producer through his company Appian Way. Chris Pine was then considered before Ryan Gosling was cast.
Some of Governor Mike Morris's (George Clooney) campaign posters are inspired by Shepard Fairey's iconic "Hope" poster, used during Barack Obama's campaign in 2008. The AP photograph that Fairey used in "Hope" was taken at a 2006 press conference in which then Sen. Obama shared a stage with fellow Senator Sam Brownback and George Clooney, who had just returned from Sudan. In fact, George Clooney was cropped out of the original image of the "Hope" poster.