Brandon Macsata serves as Managing Partner of The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc. – a national political and public affairs consulting firm specializing in grassroots media campaigns and political fundraising. He is widely recognized for ability to connect national, state and local stakeholders interested in influencing public policy and the political process. Macsata has extensive experience working with political candidates, national and statewide trade associations, and other corporate entities.
The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc. provides professional consultation on political strategies, public policy, communications & marketing strategies and media relations. The firm also offers grassroots advocacy training to better exchange organizations in the legislative process. Starting in January 2005, The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc. also started its fundraising activities for political candidates, political action committees, trade associations and non-profits.
First diagnosed as HIV-positive in March 2002, Macsata has dedicated much of his professional and personal life advocating for persons living with HIV/AIDS. He currently serves as CEO of the ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+), a national non-profit organization working to improve the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. From November 2003 to March 2006, he authored a weekly news column on national HIV-related stories for The Weekly News in Miami, Florida. He is also a former ADAP recipient.
He also serves as Executive Director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR), and General Consultant to the US Business Leadership Network.
Macsata formerly served as the Executive Director of the American Congress of Community Support & Employment Services (ACCSES), a national trade association representing the interests of community, non-profit agencies providing supports and services to persons with disabilities. During his tenure with ACCSES, he served on the NISH Board of Directors and co-chair of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Fiscal Policy Task Force.
Prior to moving to Washington, DC in 2000, he opened a 100-bed assisted living care facility in Wilmington, North Carolina. Serving as the facility’s assistant administrator, Macsata worked closely with families, community leaders and state agencies to advocate for seniors.
In his current capacity as Managing Partner of The Macsata-Kornegay Group, Inc., Macsata has worked with the Disability Service Providers of American (DSPA), ACCSES-DSPA Alliance (now ‘ACCSES’), US Business Leadership Network (USBLN®), One Percent Coalition, CCDH (formerly Community Committee for the Developmentally Handicapped), Brevard Achievement Center, ARC Broward, UCP of East-Central Florida/WORC, MACtown, Title II Community AIDS National Network (TIICANN), Illinois Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, RESPECT of Florida and United States International Council on Disabilities (USICD).
Macsata’s passion for improving the lives of persons with disabilities started with his association with Carolina Canines for Service, Inc., a non-profit organization that trains and places service dogs at no cost to the recipient. In 1999-2000 he served as the President of their Board of Directors.
Macsata has advised candidates for political office, and has also run for office himself at the local and national levels. In 1995, he was just 79 votes short of beating a 22-year incumbent and becoming the youngest person ever elected in the State of North Carolina. In 2000, he formed an exploratory committee to run for the U.S. House of Representatives before ultimately deciding against running for that office. He is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in political science.
In 1984, singer-songwriter Tina Turner asked “What’s Love Got to Do with It” in her breakthrough solo album. This year, political observers find themselves asking the same thing about the massive infiltration of social media into political campaigns—“What’s Social Campaigning Got to Do with It?” As we see it, the answer is pretty simple for candidates running for the U.S. Senate: the difference between winning and losing.
You don’t have to look far to witness the power of social campaigning. The January special election in Massachusetts demonstrated the success of social media and other tools. His technology-driven messaging and fundraising activities fueled Scott Brown’s upset victory, in part. While many campaigns are probably familiar with Facebook or Twitter, there are many other applications that need to be incorporated into a winning effort.
Campaigns are successful when the candidates socialize with their supporters and target voters, but it will not be enough for campaigns to craft a powerful message and push them through the traditional media channels.
What then are the implications for candidates that want to be the victor on Nov. 2, 2010?
In the 10 states where leading political prognosticators deem the Senate seat a “tossup” (Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania) an analysis of social media tools being employed by the various candidates from Jan. 29-Feb. 6, 2010, revealed some striking results.
While most candidates appear to have embraced the most well-known social media tools—such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube—and e-mail sign-up and a grassroots action center, there is varying utilization of other important web communication tools that could prove especially helpful in a tight race—namely blogs, Digg, Flickr, LinkedIn, SMS/text messaging and widgets, just to name a few.
“Today’s environment is a place where candidates and causes cannot simply push messages anymore,” summarized Marc Ross, principal and founder of 2ndSix, a leading social-media consulting firm. “Candidates and causes must do and act. They must engage, connect and interact with voters across every platform, channel and device. As candidates and causes seek to do and not just push, the end users and message recipients should not be able to differentiate between online and offline—this is the place your campaign needs to be.”
According to Ross, highly competitive campaigns will need to participate directly in conversations with voters and provide them with more meaningful value exchanges.
The Senate race in Colorado provides a perfect example, where incumbent Democrat Michael Bennet—who must first survive a primary challenge—faces a tough general election matchup. Bennet’s vulnerability is evidenced by the primary challenge of Andrew Romanoff, as well as competitive nature of three Republicans vying to challenge him—Lt. Gov. Jane Norton, Ken Buck and Tom Weins.
According to the latest poll released by Rasmussen Reports (Feb. 5), Republicans in Colorado are faring better than their Democratic counterparts—but for the most part, all signs point toward the Centennial State being a close election. While Norton is leading Sen. Bennet by 14 points, she leads Romanoff by just 7 points; meanwhile, Weins and Buck post small single-digit leads over both Bennet and Romanoff, but mostly within the poll’s margin of error. The bottom line is that this snapshot further demonstrates the need for candidates in this state to utilize every available campaign communication tool possible.
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