Increasing numbers of women are now running for public office, and that’s a good thing. But what about the consultants who work to get them elected? In this episode of The Lean to the Left Podcast, we to talk with a couple of young progressives who are cracking that glass ceiling, and they've got a lot to say.
Zee Cohen-Sanchez and Amani Wells-Onyioha head up a new campaign advisory company, Sole Strategies. We’ll talk about why more women need to be represented in politics –as candidates and as strategists who help them get elected.
A woman-owned and run business, Sole Strategies was created to help flip seats across the country and has quickly made an impact on the political landscape, grossing over a million in revenue in its first year. As its name implies, the firm has a heavy focus on people-to-people grassroots campaigning, combined with heavy use of digital media.
Zee, the company’s founder, and Amani, operations director, have been the engine behind this breakthrough startup and continue to disrupt the status quo of campaigning.
Zee is executive director of the firm and has worked on several people-powered campaigns in the last decade, helping flip seats across the county. After Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign, she committed to helping truly progressive candidates …. who don't accept corporate money … win seats across the nation.
Amani is operations director. Her job is to keep the Sole Strategies boat afloat. Working behind the scenes with Zee, she makes sure operations run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Discovering her passion for politics during her time in undergrad, it’s been Amani’s dream to see progressives get elected throughout the country and see real change in America.
During the episode Zee and Amani answer these questions and more:
Who have been some of your clients?
What’s your criteria for choosing who to work with?
What’s different about your company’s approach compared to other campaign consulting firms?
What’s the outlook in terms of electing increasing numbers of progressive women to higher office?
Why are women so underrepresented and undervalued in politics?
It’s toxic in Congress – look at the infighting even among GOP female representatives – aka Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) and Nancy Mace (SC) on Islamophobia. During the dist-up, Mace responded to Greene by using emojis labeling her as “batshit crazy”.
What do you think about the Democrats seeming inability to effectively message re major advances they are making, such as infrastructure and Build Back Better, and defending against GOP attacks re inflation, etc.?
Take a listen. Zee and Amani and the young guns who work with them may well be the future for the new wave of progressive candidates running for office over the next few years.
Listen to the episode: