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Q: Tell me a little about yourself and where you’re from.
My father is a pastor and former air force sergeant , so I’ve moved around quite a bit. I grew up overseas in Spain and Italy, but when we came back to the states I lived in Florida and then went to school in Tennessee. While attending Tennessee State University, I started out as a canvasser and from there got promoted to doing college outreach. I then went to work for the Governor and also worked on the state hill for a bit doing policy and lobbying before switching to the campaign side of things. I’ve worked some big IE races for people like Harry Reid and Kay Hagan; however, my claim to fame is winning upset campaigns where we’ve been outspent by big money, including the biggest upset in history in an R+14 district in Mississippi in 2008.
Q: What was your secret to success?
Connecting to people true concerns. Working across the country has taught me there are David’s than Goliath’s and that most folks just want to be heard regardless of their political leanings.
Q: Was there a specific moment you first became interested in politics?
The big moment for me was the Gore election and realizing how much strategy went into an election. At the time I was a college athlete and I felt that campaigns offered a similar competitive nature to what athletics offered. I love the challenge of a campaign, because it’s all about outsmarting and outworking your opponents. I view every new candidate and campaign as a new game, and you’re only as good as your last victory.
Q: Why did you decide to join PTP?
I’m really big on using tested data to prove your theories, and some of the strategies I’ve been using for a long time I know from anecdotal evidence that it works, but every time I have to explain it I have no data to back it up. So what I appreciate about PTP is how not only are we testing new things in order to find out how we can improve our strategy, but also we’re also backing it up with academic research in order to show that it actually works. Being able to test the efficiency and effectiveness of the tools we use on the campaign, and then using these studies to help other people is really important.
Q: What was the most memorable encounter you’ve had with someone while working in the field?
Two moments come to mind. First, when I was working with Bernie Sanders, one of the things that people didn’t give credit to was that at some point we went from attracting mediocre crowds to huge stadium sized crowds. I’ve seen big rallies before but most of those were hard work where you’re calling asking people to come, asking everyone in your phone. With Bernie wed literally decide like two days before and yet massive crowds would still come. It was an interesting perspective being an organizer. That part of the craft was impressive. So for example, when we were in LA we packed this soccer stadium for a rally that we only knew about the day before. Those moments were huge for me because it showed that people were really hungry and anxious to be engaged, and that they were so passionate that they’d come and wait in line for hours like it was a big concert.
The other moment was while working in rural Mississippi earlier in my career, I was standing with the former Governor of the town who was responsible for integrating Mississippi schools, and he was just so excited that someone was finally coming into his state to make a difference. The contrast between that race and bigger places I’ve worked, like New York City, was obvious and made me realize you never think about how in the same country there are places where people have such a different perspective. In one county in Mississippi there’s still no running water, in 2016!
Q: Who inspires you in politics and why? Who do you see a potential future leader of the Democrats?
From my perspective I think Keith Ellison will lead that charge, but also there could be someone like Andrew Cuomo who I think will make their mark in the next four years. Putting on my big thinking-hat, probably someone young who will be energetic with enough experience, perhaps like Cedric Richmond out of Louisiana who’s the chair of the CBC. Also maybe one of the Castro brothers, who’s been around for awhile but understands the game by now. There are also a lot of progressive mayors and governors who will eventually make good presidential candidates.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do in Nashville?
Eat. Monell’s or Prince’s hot chicken.
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
Aikido and go to the movies. I’m a big movie buff.
