Verdugo Strategies is a for-profit political canvassing company that serves Democratic and left-of-center organizations, including Forward Majority and the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund. 1 2
Activity
Verdugo Strategies assists political campaigns and get-out-the-vote efforts by hiring canvassers. From March to June 2024, Verdugo posted 14 ads for canvassers and organizers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. 2
Clients
Verdugo has been employed by Forward Majority, a Democratic-aligned super PAC. In a January 2024 Reddit post advertising for canvassers for Forward Majority, a Verdugo employee identifying himself as “Elias,” wrote: “We ARE working to try to make Bucks County [Pennsylvania] a blue county, so if you are not comfortable with the Democratic agenda, this is probably not the best fit. I personally am not a Democrat, I am an anarcho-socialist, however I believe in political harm reduction, which for me means trying to keep the Democrats in office.” 3
Verdugo Strategies’ clients have included Forward Majority, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund, and Organized Empowerment. 1 2
Leadership
Greg Diamond is the chief operating officer of Verdugo Strategies. According to Verdugo’s website, Diamond has over 20 years of campaigning experience, including working for President Barack Obama, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro’s (D) presidential primary campaign. 4
Sarah Zutter has been the operations director of Verdugo since September 2022. In 2021, Zutter worked on the unsuccessful reelection campaign of Stamford, Connecticut, Mayor David Martin (D) and the unsuccessful Boston mayoral campaign of Joe Santiago (D). In 2020, Zutter was a field organizer for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. Also in 2020, Zutter unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives as a Democrat. 5
Daniel Whitley has been a regional director at Verdugo since January 2024. In 2022, Whitley was a senior associate at the Milken Institute, a center-left think tank founded and initially endowed by billionaire philanthropist and former securities trader Michael Milken, and worked for Mission Control, a political mailer company. From December 2021 to April 2022, Whitley was campaign manager and chief of staff for Brian Mannix’s unsuccessful run for U.S. Congress from New York as a member of the Forward Party. Earlier, Whitley was a delegate coordinator in Ohio. 6
Tony Espinoza has worked at Verdugo since early 2022. Espinoza previously worked as the deputy organizing director of Organizing Together 2020, a campaigning organization opposed to then-President Donald Trump. In 2019 and 2020, Espinoza worked on the unsuccessful presidential campaign of former South Bend Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D). Earlier, Espinoza worked for NextGen America, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the Colorado Democratic Party. 7
Jonathan Hughes has worked at Verdugo as a quality control associate since August 2022. Earlier, Hughes was an assistant field director at Working America, the community affiliate of the AFL-CIO. 8
Kobie Wells has worked as a campaign director at Verdugo since March 2023. Wells worked on former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams’s (D) unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022. 9
Elizabeth Sullivan has worked as an operations associate at Verdugo since September 2022. 10
Verdugo’s website states that it “especially [encourages] those with close ties to Black, Latinx, Muslim, Non-English-Speaking, disability, and LGBTQ communities to apply” for its employment opportunities. 11
References
- “Search: Verdugo Strategies.” Open Secrets. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.opensecrets.org/search?q=Verdugo+Strategies.
- “Verdugo Strategies.” Paylocity. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/All/8bb3b2ef-e60e-4e66-b649-b8b245463aa7/Verdugo-Strategies
- “/r/BucksCountyPA Weekly Events Thread (Week of January 14, 2024).” Reddit. January 2024. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.reddit.com/r/BucksCountyPA/comments/196fego/rbuckscountypa_weekly_events_thread_week_of/.
- “Our Team/” Verdugo Strategies. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://verdugostrategies.com/our-team/.
- “Sarah Z.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahzutter/.
- “Daniel Whitley.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielwhitely/.
- “Tony Espinoza.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyespinozawv/.
- Jonathan Hughes.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathonmh/.
- “Kobie Wells.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kobie-wells-91b66b1a1/.
- “Elizabeth Sullivan.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-sullivan-6a5577184/.
- “Homepage.” Verdugo Strategies. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://verdugostrategies.com/.