A group of Democratic strategists announced the launch of a new female-run media consulting firm on Thursday as the party prepares for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Strategists Mindy Myers, Tracey Lewis and Sarah Callahan Zusi launched MZL Media this week, pooling together their experience in Democratic politics. The group is unique in that it is an all-woman firm in a male-dominated industry.
“We really came together as a team of experienced political producers, campaign managers, field people that I think can stand up to the male firms out there,” Zusi told The Hill. “When we have more voices at the table, the more powerful the product is.”
Zusi, who owns her own strategic and creative services production company, has worked with a long list of famous Democratic names and organizations including President Biden, Hillary Clinton, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MoveOn.
Myers most recently served as an adviser to Vice President Harris during the vice presidential selection process. She became the first woman to serve as executive director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2016 after she served as Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) chief of staff.
Lewis was most recently based in Georgia, playing a key role in the state flipping from red to blue this past campaign cycle. She served as a senior adviser to the state’s Democratic Party during the Senate runoffs and was Biden’s state director in 2020.
The strategists are keenly aware of how critical the 2022 midterms are for Democrats. The party holds narrow majorities in the House and the Senate. And the party in control of the White House historically has lost seats going into the administration’s first midterm election.
“We fully understand how much is at stake in 2022 and beyond,” Myers said. “We want to get to work to help really good candidates get elected or get reelected. The way we see it was our democracy was on the brink and it didn’t collapse, but there’s a lot at stake and a lot of tough challenges ahead.”