On day two of the 2024 NAG Conference in Tampa Bay, Fla., attendees from across the country sat in on an educational session titled “Elections and the Industry: How will the results impact your business?”
Panelists at the session included Ashley Walker, partner, Mercury Public Affairs; Matt Mowers, president, Valcour; and Mark Braden, senior director for public affairs, Reynolds American.
Introductory remarks were provided by Erin Del Conte, CStore Decisions’ Editor-In-Chief, and Allison Dean, executive director of the National Advisory Group (NAG).
A Wealth Of Experience
Moderated by Reynolds’ Braden, Walker and Mowers took the main stage to share their viewpoints from the right and from the left, respectively.
Both panelists have an extensive background in politics.
Walker
Ashley Walker, as an expert in media strategy and political advising, has orchestrated winning public affairs campaigns for developers and national companies, crisis management operations for Fortune 500 companies and individuals facing monumental challenges, in addition to successful communication strategies for clients across a variety of sectors including healthcare, finance, technology, agriculture, utilities and telecom.
Prior to joining Mercury, Walker served as the 2012 State Director for Obama for America in Florida, building the most expansive grassroots organization that Florida politics has ever seen, including managing nearly 800 full-time staff and a $50 million budget.
Prior to being appointed as Obama for America State Director, Walker oversaw the grassroots efforts to support President Obama’s policy priorities including passing Wall Street Reform, Affordable Care Act and ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, as well as traveled throughout the country serving in various leadership roles to help President Obama win the Democratic nomination and eventually the 2008 General Election.
Walker has been named in City & State as a Florida Power 100 Woman, Influence Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in Florida Politics and Campaigns and Elections magazines top 50 Democratic Influencers in Florida Politics.
Mowers
Matt Mowers is a respected national public affairs strategist and former diplomat who serves as president of Valcour, a global public strategy firm.
Mowers served as a senior White House advisor at the U.S. Department of State, where he advised the Secretary of State and was engaged on issues including North Korea, immigration reform, and The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Later, he helped lead the $6 billion United States global HIV program (PEPFAR) which has saved over 15 million lives and led to 2.6 million babies being born HIV-free.
Mowers also spearheaded efforts to bring humanitarian assistance to the people suffering under the socialist regime in Venezuela.
He also served as an adviser to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. Politico named Mowers one of Washington, D.C.’s “Power Players” for his role shaping American foreign policy.
Prior to Mowers’ diplomatic experience, he served as a senior official on the historic Trump-Pence presidential campaign and the subsequent transition team, capping a ten-year career of advising political leaders, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and helping lead the New Hampshire Republican Party as its executive director.
The Political Scene
To kick off the educational session, Mowers and Walker painted a picture of the current political landscape.
Both panelists, despite their political differences, agreed that former president Donald Trump is the current frontrunner to win the 2024 presidential election, as it stands today.
“If Trump can focus on the top issues, he will win,” noted Mowers.
Walker mentioned that at present, President Biden is looking to “reset the race,” as the future of both parties becomes clearer with Trump and Biden at their respective helms.
“Once it’s clear who is running on each side, that’s when the real race begins,” said Walker.
Walker mentioned that in the coming weeks and months, both candidates will become more aggressive and pointed in their campaigns, noting that they “won’t pull any punches” from now until election day.
Mowers said that for President Biden to regain his audience, he needs to focus on the folks in the middle, which is a segment that is shrinking in this country, according to Walker.
Walker believes that as politics become more and more polarizing, independent voters are being pulled aggressively to one side or the other.
“The longing for the way politics used to be most likely will not come back,” she stated.
During the session, Walker noted that female voters will likely be President Biden’s most important demographic, as the topic of reproductive rights becomes increasingly tense.
“I think women are going to play a critical swing vote, especially independent women, and even some republican women,” she said.
On the other side, Mowers mentioned that President Trump has two “big winner” topics that could help pull the voters he needs — those topics being inflation and immigration.
President Biden has addressed these topics, but Mowers said that his biggest challenge during his campaign will be finding a way to motivate his base and formulate actionable solutions to these issues.
How It Pertains To The C-Store Industry
During the Q&A portion at the end of the session, the first topic that was brought up was inflation. Attendees inquired about what retailers can do to address inflation and what they can do to show their customers that they are trying to help.
“The biggest thing is to show empathy to customers,” said Mowers. “Most people know that retailers don’t have direct control over all prices.”
He also mentioned that retailers should try their best to educate their consumers about the larger policy issues. He referenced a campaign that he ran in New Hampshire to raise awareness about the proposed menthol ban. Through the campaign, which was launched alongside the Energy Marketers Association, Mowers and his team worked to elevate the topic into the national dialogue.
To do this, the team worked with individual c-store retailers to spread the news through TV advertising during the primaries, full page newspaper ads and more. Additionally, he worked with over 100 c-store retailers to display a sign on-site to bring attention to the proposed ban.
At the end of the campaign, nearly every Republican candidate in the state opposed the ban. Mowers said that this type of approach, on whatever scale possible, would be beneficial for retailers looking to spread the word about more complicated political issues like inflation.
Walker mentioned that she had previously launched a similar initiative, focused on attracting media attention to the topic of inflation.
In a more localized effort, Walker ran a few packages in local media to raise awareness about the issue, which she said was “very successful.”
“Sometimes consumers don’t realize all that goes into (inflation),” she said. Therefore, she continued, the most important thing to consider when it comes to inflation and your customer base is education.
Walker also mentioned that she is looking forward to the future of the political scene in the U.S., as both parties will “reset” in 2028.
In 2028, there will be no incumbent candidate, no Clinton candidate and no Bush candidate. This will lead to major opportunities for both parties to start fresh, she said.
“I think that’s good for democracy, and I think that’s good for our country,” said Walker.
