Basic Info

First Name

Joshua

Last Name

Holton

Username

joshuaholton

Additional Contact Information

Pronouns

he/him/his/himself

Website

muckrack.com/joshua-holton

Progressive Profile

Current Employer

WMNF Community Radio

Current Occupation

News anchor/reporter

Tagline

I'm an experienced political consultant with a decade of experience in campaign management, journalism, sales, and training.

Bio

I spent my youth volunteering at WMNF Community Radio in Tampa Florida’s first community radio station.

I’ve been a registered Democrat my whole life. In 2004, I enrolled at Loyola University New Orleans, studying Political Science. I worked my first door-to-door canvassing job in 2005 on behalf of Sierra Club’s campaign to oppose commercial developments built over wetlands.

I evacuated for Hurricane Katrina to USFCA in San Francisco, and returned to post-Katrina New Orleans afterwards to complete my degree program.

After a decade in private sector leadership roles, in 2020 I covered the George Floyd Solidarity protests in Tampa, winning the Jen Germaine News Volunteer of the Year for my reporting for the second time.

The Florida For All coalition commissioned me as a lead researcher to develop a county profile through which they could establish a Theory of Change for Hillsborough County.

By the end of 2020 I became a member of the Democratic Executive Committee and the Environmental Caucus.

November 2020 I acted as Regional Director for Hard Knocks Strategies on behalf of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, helping restore the right to vote for formerly convicted persons who have served their time.

Impact

In late 2022 I completed a pilot program for VoteRev Action Fund in FL for the primary, and then launched the NC office for the general election. Both offices sent a combined total of 40,000 reminders to vote via friend to friend digital reminders while testing new voter outreach innovation methods.

I helped secure the trifecta in MN by coordinating with the Democratic Farmer and Labor Party and six other offices in Minnesota to knock more than 30,000 doors in Moorhead, thus flipping the state senate and state house blue, while reelecting Gov. Tim Walz. This “trifecta” was the first time Democrats won full control of state government in nearly a decade.

After MN, I led a team in Athens, GA; one the top two teams out of six in GA that sent 10,000 texts (40,000 for all including other offices) in the weeks leading into the GA runoff election. We were nonpartisan, but Clarke County was 3 points more Democratic in the runoff than the general election. Raphael Warnock won by a hair, and our GOTV efforts boosted GA turnout for that race.

Last June I helped a town in rural Ohio get wind energy on the ballot for a vote after it has been rejected prior; so that way county residents can decide whether or not to approve clean energy infrastructure in their area.

In the month prior to that, as Deputy Field Director I helped Representative Lucy McBath win her 2022 Democratic Primary election in Georgia amidst the most highly contested congressional race in the state this year. We won by a 31% margin.

In March I helped Josh Lafazan get on the ballot for congress in NY CD3. If he won his primary, he would have been the youngest congressmember at 27 years old. Unfortunately he lost his primary (we were only contracted for ballot access, not his general field campaign.) And Robert Zimmerman, who had defeated Lafazan, lost to George Santos. Lafazan is now raising $350,000 to remove George Santos from office.

Last year I helped House Delegate Dawn Adams win both her Democratic Primary and her general reelection campaign in Richmond, VA as Field Director. She is currently the only LGBTQIA+ members of the VA House of Delegates, one of the oldest governing bodies in the western hemisphere to uphold representative democracy.

 

 

 

 

Mission

I would like to work with progressive nonprofits as a Regional or State Field Director, or alternatively as a Project Manager. I recently received my Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Project Management certifications in order to bring process improvement to my operational approach.

I’m also open to working in PR or communications. Given my experience in multimedia and sales, I feel that I would be uniquely equipped to assist with campaign communications and outreach.

My goal is to help progressive values gain a foothold in the national conversation, and allow us to elect officials and support laws that ensure equity, justice, and peace for all people.

Work History

Employer

Tampa, FL

Occupation

Regional Field Director

Start Date

September 17, 2020

End Date

November 6, 2021

Employer

Tampa, FL

Occupation

Assistant Director

Employer

Gainesville, FL

Occupation

Assistant Director

Employer

Florida Public Interest Group

Occupation

Tampa, FL

Occupation

News Reporter

Volunteer History

Organization

Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee

Role

Member of Environmental Caucus

Organization

Nathan B Stubblefield Foundation

Role

Volunteer Community Elected Board Member

Organization

WMNF News

Role

News Reporter

Education

School

University of South Florida Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education

Degree

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

School

University of South Florida Office of Corporate Training and Professional Education

Degree

Project Management Certification

School

Loyola University New Orleans

Degree

Political Science