Liz Barker for Sarasota School Board: A Winning Campaign
A case study in a well-rounded local campaign
Overview
Sarasota Mother and school psychologist Liz Barker ran for school board in August against incumbent chairwoman Karen Rose.
The Sarasota School Board, under the leadership of Karen Rose, faced national attention for scandal and corruption. Liz’s core message was simple; let’s put the kids and the schools over the political chaos that has become so prevalent in Sarasota. Liz’s paid communications plan focused on defining Liz as a pragmatic mother who wants to see her kids receive a great education, rather than have the school board be consumed in politics that have nothing to do with our children and their education.
With the right targeting, using both positive and negative message tracks, and building a well rounded and nimble digital campaign that encompassed social media, programmatic/search ads, and CTV, Liz was able to communicate and persuade the necessary voters to win the election by 3,000 votes, or 3%, in a district that ultimately saw Donald Trump win in November by about 20%, and in a county that has a partisan split of 46% Republican, 27% Democrat.
Though a non-partisan race, the partisan lines were drawn quickly. DeSantis and the far right supported incumbent chairwoman Karen Rose, whose main message aligned with issues that the right champions on school boards nationwide. Liz’s message, one of pragmatism and fiscal responsibility, needed to be well positioned against Karen to connect with and persuade enough voters on a tight budget.
Digital Program
The targets for the digital campaign captured a wide range of voters that were either persuadable or needed to turn out. This was a universe of likely Democratic, No Party Affiliation, and Republican women voters (likelihood was determined by past participation in August elections). We felt that, given a direct comparison, a percentage of Republican women would break for Liz. Our reach was about 100,000 voters, with an average frequency of 12-15. The digital campaign began early in June and ran for about three months until Election Day. This race was an uphill battle for Liz and her name recognition was relatively low, so starting early allowed us to define Liz and her message before her opponent.
Our media mix for this campaign was thorough and ramped up steadily until early voting began, and decreased slightly as voters fell out of the universe. It included a mix of social media, programmatic ads, video, and CTV, with the majority of each flight dedicated to video and CTV. One of our core strategic principles throughout the campaign was that video content would resonate and leave a bigger impression than programmatic display content, so we relied on our video content to persuade voters, which proved to be a success.
Our team wrote the script, filmed on-location with Liz, and handled post-production in-house to ensure the video ads were exactly what the campaign needed. Video was the main medium through which we were able to define Liz, through an introduction of Liz and an overview of her core campaign messages, while driving home the point of pragmatic leadership and putting kids over political chaos. As the campaign ramped up, some negative ads were thrown at Liz and her family, and we were able to respond quickly and effectively by coordinating to shoot a direct to camera response in which Liz calmly and decisively responds to the attacks and clearly points out that the attacks are only meant to promote chaos, playing into Liz’s exact message.
Mail Program
Our digital program was underscored by our mail program. Reaching voters directly at their homes provided an extra layer of communication with our voting universe, building up name recognition while increasing awareness of Liz’s core campaign message.
We utilized two pieces of mail to further drive the contrast between Liz and her opponent, Karen. Our first piece drew a direct comparison between the two both visually and textually. It should only take the reader a moment or two to understand the message even without reading all the text. Karen plays politics, Liz wants to put our kids first. A deeper dive into the text reveals increasingly detailed information about Karen’s record on the school board and Liz’s plan, should she be elected.
The second piece was a direct negative, painting Karen as an agent of chaos, again both through the visuals and through text, with a play on the now well-known use of the name “Karen” to describe a person who is generally unnecessarily demanding and excessive. The tie-in to Karen Rose on the school board seamlessly starts to define the opponent and captures the reader’s eye.
The universe for the mail pieces was rather simple but managed to capture the necessary voters. This mail piece was sent to likely voters (voters that have voted in at least two of the last three August elections) with a Democrat Support Score of 35 to 85, a universe of about 14,000 households. Dipping into the bottom half of the Support Score allowed Liz to communicate with center-right folks, no matter their party registration. Of this universe, about 30% scored below a 50.
Liz’s core message, community over chaos, resonated with voters. Ultimately, her commitment to running a sound campaign paid dividends, with digital media as the backbone of her communications and special attention paid to staying on message in a race where she faced personal and familial attacks. The digital campaign’s ability to adapt and respond as necessary, while having a sound foundation, ultimately helped the underdog candidate win a contentious race.
Election Day Performance
In the August 20, 2024, Sarasota County School Board elections, Liz Barker won the District 2 seat by defeating incumbent Karen Rose. Barker secured 51.5% of the vote (51,739 votes), while Rose received 48.5% (48,747 votes).
Conclusion
Liz Barker’s decisive victory in the Sarasota School Board race underscores the power of strategic messaging, disciplined digital outreach, and a clear campaign narrative. In an election where partisan lines were quickly drawn, Liz’s message of putting kids and education over political chaos resonated with voters across the spectrum.
Despite being the underdog against an entrenched incumbent backed by Florida’s far-right establishment, Liz’s targeted digital and mail strategy allowed her to define herself early, counter attacks effectively, and persuade key voter segments—particularly Republican and independent women—to break ranks and support her candidacy. By leveraging compelling video content, precision targeting, and a data-driven approach, her campaign reached 100,000 voters with an average frequency of 12-15 impressions, ensuring that her pragmatic, solutions-oriented message cut through the noise.
With a 3,000-vote margin of victory (3%) in a county where Donald Trump later won by 20%, Liz’s win is a testament to the effectiveness of nimble, well-executed campaign strategy. Her ability to stay on message, respond swiftly to opposition attacks, and maintain a disciplined focus on community over chaos ultimately led to a hard-fought yet well-earned victory.
This race serves as a model for winning in tough districts, demonstrating that a well-crafted digital-first approach, combined with strategic mail and responsive messaging, can successfully overcome name ID challenges and partisan headwinds.
Liz Barker’s success on Election Day was not just a win for her campaign—it was a win for Sarasota’s schools and families, proving that voters will choose solutions over spectacle when given the right choice.