Montgomery had never elected a Black mayor. Steven Reed entered a 12-candidate field, ten Black and two white, that included a former congressman, a commissioner and a retired Air Force general. In the runoff he faced David Woods, a white TV station owner and former congressional candidate, whose campaign ran attacks one publication called “racist signals.”

His reelection brought a different threat. Because of Alabama's filing calendar, his opponent didn't emerge until six weeks before the election. Within 36 hours, a $750,000 campaign of attack ads, mailers, anonymous websites and bot-driven social media hit the city's first Black mayor. In a city like Tampa or Nashville, that spending would have been the equivalent of $9 million in six weeks.

We built a broad Black and white coalition and defined the race early. Reed was the first campaign on Black radio, and his first TV ad aired three months before the primary. His message owned the ground on education and a “New Generation of Leadership.” We tested three ways of filming him and found the town hall format captured his voice best, so our strongest spots used it. In the runoff, polling had Reed tied with Woods on crime, 40-40, so we took the issue back with our runoff media, answering attacks with comparative TV and mail while keeping digital and radio positive and focused on turnout.

For the reelection, the whole team sprang into action at once on social media, digital, Black radio, streaming TV and network TV to fight back.

Reed moved 17 points in the primary and 21 points in the last week of the runoff, a 42-point positive swing overall. After our crime message aired, he led on the issue 50-40. He converted 110% of undecideds, won 94-97% of the Black vote and 35-40% of the white vote, and Black turnout rose 27%. He won with 67% and became Montgomery's first Black mayor.

In his reelection, Reed overcame the late attack and won decisively with 58% of the vote.