Christopher Smith is a National Democratic Strategist and cast member on Disney+ show Encore. He is sought after by high-profile candidates, nonprofit organizations, and elected leaders to provide targeted strategies, progressive oversight, and crisis management.
He is president of the Campaign Engineers, Campaign Lessons and Co-Founder of the National Political Consultants and Organizers Association, an organization created to recognize the minority organizers and operatives in the movement and political space.
Chris has worked on dozens of local, state and national campaigns across all 50 states and US Territories as a manager, senior advisor, and general consultant. Recent highlights include serving as deputy campaign manager for Stacey Abrams for Governor and Senior Advisor for Field Strategy for Andrew Gillum for Governor during the primary. The Progressive served as deputy national field director for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ Presidential bid, and led Mississippi Democrat Travis Childers to one of the largest upsets in U.S. history, in a congressional region that leaned 14 percent Republican. Other clients have included: U.S. Senators Harry Reid, Mary Landrieu, Kay Hagen, and Congressman Sanford Bishop.
Fancy: How did you begin your career as a political strategist?
Chris: I began my career in politics while in school at Tennessee State. I started as a canvasser and worked my way up to college outreach organizer.
Fancy: Can you share more about what your work entails?
Chris: My work consists of a general strategy for campaigns. This includes communications, fundraising, organizing and political outreach for campaigns from local judges to presidential.
Fancy: Did you always know you would work with the democratic party?
Chris: The Democratic party has always held my values and as a Progressive black operative from the south it has always produced candidates who I believe kept progress going forward more than the other side.
Fancy: You’ve worked with some candidates many of us would have liked to have seen as winners, but who had unfortunate outcomes. How do you deal with that type of defeat?
Chris: I was fortunate to only be on the winning campaigns during the primaries for the Gillum and Abrams campaigns. The impact of the losses after you have put so much of your time missing homecomings and birthdays still has a lasting effect. Campaign operatives give up a lot to fight for candidates who we believe can help progress the country forward.
Fancy: So what exactly does Campaign Engineers, Campaign Lessons do or offer and what inspired it?
Chris: Campaign Engineers is a political consulting firm that works with candidates across the country to help get them elected.
Campaign Lessons is a new venture that was inspired by the lessons my team and I were learning from running multiple campaigns a year and how these lessons were not being applied across the country in other big democratic campaigns.
Fancy: Did you have a mentor or a particular male role model who helped you navigate professionally?
Chris: I have had several mentors to help me navigate early in my career from Nicole Francis who was my biggest early influence with Jerry Maynard. Then later as I started on the national scene Andi Pringle and Harold Gist, who were some of the first senior black staff on a presidential campaign.
Fancy: Have your views of politics changed over the years, and if yes, how so?
Chris: There has been a shift in my politics over the years. I think early on I was lead by the issues and topics that were presented to me and made a lot of decisions based on those topics. As I have matured as an operative, I am now inspired by change that affects Black and other marginalized communities specifically because I believe these groups are the most lacking when it comes to the pressure they place on decision-makers.
Fancy: So do you work with Senator Sanders now or was that in the past?
Chris: I worked for Sen. Sanders in the 2016 presidential run.
Fancy: What do you think of the current state of the democratic party and would you care to share your predictions for the upcoming presidential election?
Chris: I think the democratic party is at an interesting place in 2020. The biggest challenges are more than just the divide between Moderate and Progressive Democrats but I think the bigger challenge is the party recognizing its base of Black and Brown voters who are the base and the group that is most impactful to winning elections as we saw what happen in 2008.
My prediction is that Joe Biden will be our next president and we will have a woman vice president. While we can only dream of Michelle Obama I think the pick is likely to come from Leader Stacey Abrams, Congresswoman Val Demmings of Florida, or Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Fancy: Do you have any upcoming events or projects that you would care to share?
Chris: Campaign Lessons will be launching soon will be trainings for volunteers and seasoned operatives. The online version will be launching later this summer.
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