Politico
2024 campaign portfolio.
In 2024, I ran for Georgia’s 56th State Senate District—to represent East Cobb, Roswell, and Woodstock—and in the process created the “best-run and most effective campaign in the Georgia State Senate.” Here are a few of my successes and favorite moments:
Our results.
Our campaign, by the numbers.
I’m deeply proud of the campaign we built together. We ran what many called the best-run and most effective 2024 campaign for the Georgia State Senate, and the results reflect the strength of our movement. We launched a high-impact campaign that engaged 189,000 residents and activated 110,000 potential voters, ultimately earning 45,557 votes—a record for Democratic turnout in our district, even against tough top-of-ticket headwinds.
Fundraising.
Starting from scratch & running against a seven-time incumbent.
From the very beginning, our SEC filings demonstrate a consistent trend—our campaign succeeded in engaging with individual donors across all three counties in the 56: Cherokee, Cobb, and Fulton. And while our campaign benefited from some institutional donations, the lion’s share of our fundraising came from an expanding cohort of individual donors.
Learning new things.
Bringing a growth mindset to Georgia’s State Senate.
Folks asked me how I thought I was qualified to run for State Senate. I had two answers: Firstly, I was already a professional problem solver. Secondly, I have a growth mindset. In that vein, I asked my children and friends to help me demonstrate my enthusiasm and open-mindedness to learning new things.
Day of a Thousand Doors.
A signature canvassing event, including Stacey Abrams.
On Saturday October 20, 2024, Micheal Garza and I had the best day with Stacey Abrams, Nell Goza, Parker Short, and more than a hundred volunteers who turned out for the largest mass canvass the suburbs of East Cobb, Roswell, and Woodstock have ever seen from a state campaign!
Roswell’s Youth Day Parade!
Possibly the most fun you can have with your kids and 10,000 neighbors.
This past weekend's Youth Day Parade in Roswell was probably the high point of the campaign (so far) for my family. We joined 40+ volunteers and three dogs on a custom-built float and shared a mountain of candy with the kids along Woodstock, Canton, and Mimosa. We had the most amazing time!
Opposition marketing.
Our opponent couldn’t run on his record. So we decided to.
There had been 48 school shootings in Georgia since John Albers became chair of the Senate Public Safety Committee. As the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, our campaign purchased www.senatorjohnalbers.com and turned it into a detailed takedown of our opponent's record on gun violence in our schools.
Canvassing.
Still the most effective way to persuade voters.
When I started my State Senate campaign, I’d never lit dropped or canvassed a single home. And 12-months after announcing our campaign, I was absolutely staggered to realize our team or more than 160 volunteers had broken records and canvassed over 14,000 homes! As part of that effort, we’d even hosted the largest canvassing event in North Metro Atlanta history—1,200 doors, 1,000 calls, and 700 postcards in a single day!
Talking climate issues.
A conversation with Georgia Conservation Voters.
During the campaign, I had the chance to sit down with Georgia Conservation Voters’ Mia Delamar as part of their “Meet the Candidate” series. We discussed a wide variety of climate topics, including economics development, our regional water quality and water war issues, energy grid diversification, and incentivizing dual land use and solar buy backs. We also discussed some personal topics, including my family, my experience surviving stage-three colon cancer, and my passion for improving constituent engagement.
Dungeons & Democrats.
A signature event that blends politics & play.
On August 25, 2024, our campaign brought a one-of-a-kind event to East Cobb: Dungeons & Democrats: The Campaign Campaign. Part dinner theater, part tabletop adventure, the evening reimagined how candidates can connect with voters by stepping into a game instead of onto a podium.
Votestock.
An innovative spin on the campaign kickoff.
Shortly after candidate qualifying in March, our campaign joined forces with our brother and sister campaigns—Antonio Daza, Micheal Garza, and Tracey Verhoeven—for a joint kickoff event in Woodstock: VOTESTOCK!
Making debates great again.
Get to know your candidates & the truth (courtesy of pop-up video fact checking).
In addition to simply sharing these videos, I’ve spent time fact-checking each of our statements and unscripted responses. I’ve performed this critique for two reasons: Honesty and transparency are cornerstones of a healthy constituent experience. And to show I’m open to being fact checked.
Transparency as content strategy.
Doing the right thing is good for constituents and SEO.
While the goal of this content campaign was transparency, an expected but pleasant consequence was our campaigns domination of organic search engine results. Because I began producing daily legislative content during the 2023 Special Session, I was leading my opponent in relevant search results by qualifying in March 2024!