Political Upsets and Fake Congeniality

How do Christians view each person they meet as more than just a potential voter, donor, or customer? John Pudner will explore this theme as he shares stories and lessons from his 3-decade career as a political campaign manager, which culminated in orchestrating one of the biggest upsets in American history. As America gears up for another presidential election, John will give anecdotes and practical tips about being apostolic in every interaction, and keeping our intentions focused even when a relationship leads to a vote, donation, or sale.

About the Speaker

John Pudner is a campaign strategist and the Executive Director of Take Back Our Republic. John was the oldest of 9 children growing up in a 3 bedroom house in inner city Richmond, VA. Now himself a father of 9 children, he learned at a young age how to live on a shoe-string budget, as well as the importance of timing, negotiation and diplomacy. Those early life lessons helped put him on the national political scene when in the 2014 primaries, he jump-started the campaign of Dave Brat, who would ultimately unseat U.S. Majority Leader Eric Cantor in what Fox News called the biggest political upset in American history. Later in the general election of the same year, he would help defeat a 32-year incumbent state senator in Alabama’s general election. With an affinity for numbers and grassroots initiatives, John became known as the go-to-guy to help upstart candidates that didn’t have the financial backing needed to play in the political sandbox. During his career, he won 3 out of every 4 races in which he was involved. Through all his successes, he saw the manipulative influence of money on the political process—in which only select major corporate donors and union bosses were the true winners. This motivated him to found Take Back Our Republic, for the purpose of recreating the system instead of circumventing it.

Details

When: Thursday, June 30, 2016, 7:30 - 8:45 am
Where: Putnam Investments, One Post Office Square