Peter Schorsch
Political consultant Barry Edwards has been a political tour de force in the Tampa Bay area, particularly this past year.
Most recently, he successfully ran Robert Blackmon’s St. Petersburg City Council campaign, flipping a seat that has been for years held by a Democrat under Republican control (though the position is technically non-partisan.)
He’s currently working for former Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner in his County Clerk of Court bid and for state Rep. Susan Valdes in her re-election campaign to the Florida House.
In 2017, Edwards was part of former Rick Baker’s campaign team that, while they ultimately lost the race, ran a competitive campaign against a mostly popular incumbent with deep political roots in Democratic politics.
But for years Edwards was a behind-the-scenes guy, staying in the shadows and working mostly out of sight.
Edwards was forced into the shadows after a series of scandals stemming form his work as an adjunct professor at Florida State University saw him arrested and charged with extortion.
But more than 20 years later, Edwards seems to have pulled off a comeback, inserting himself yet again at the forefront of local politicos.
He’s, here in St. Pete, one of the few political people that has a very good depth of understanding of both the politics of St. Pete and of the state of Florida and that is unique,” Baker said.
Baker’s praise makes up exactly what makes Edwards a sought after consultant. He’s known for his insider political knowledge, his ability to turn data into actionable strategy and how to keep his candidates on track.
“I have found him to be a brilliant strategist. He knows numbers and stats and has a good pulse for policy,” said Sen. Darryl Rouson.
Rouson has been working with Edwards for more than a decade and arguably kept Edwards afloat in political circles even as his reputation took a hit.
Yet Rouson credits Edwards with a major role in his success, rising from a member of the Florida House, the Legislature’s lower chamber, into the more prominent Senate. Edwards is still by his side as Rouson faces a 2020 reelection.
Rouson described a consultant who fights with ferocity on behalf of his clients, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, but also one who works behind the curtain to keep candidates in line.
“We’ve had our arguments to say the least, but in many instances, when it comes to the political strategy, I’ve found him to be right on. He can be demanding and requires commitment,” Rouson said. “It’s like a personal trainer where when you’ve lifted 100 pounds nine times, they push you to make it 10.”
He also keeps his candidates focused, Rouson said. Rouson described a time when, during his first Senate campaign, he decided to get out of the office and check out some polling places on election day. Rouson noticed polling places where volunteers for his opponents’ campaign were handing out palm cards and greeting voters. Rouson went back to his campaign office and demanded to Edwards that they get their own volunteers at those polling places to counter the message.
“Barry answers the phone and he said ‘no, get back here, stay focused, call those who have not yet voted and get them to the precincts.’ I made like 125, 150 calls that whole day and half the people I called didn’t even know it was election day,” Rouson said.
Rouson wound up winning that race by a razor thin margin. Edwards explained to him, those people already at the polls, most of them have already decided who to vote for. A palm card isn’t going to change their mind, Edwards told him. Rouson thinks his phone calls might have made the decision in that race.
Blackmon felt a similar benefit from Edwards’ guidance.
“I compare Barry all the time to a linebacker in football. He wants to be where the action is,” Blackmon said.
And he said he knew he could trust Edwards.
“To him it’s not about the money. It’s not about Republican or Democrat. You realize he just wants to do what he’s interested in,” Blackmon said, noting that Edwards chooses campaigns based on whether the candidate or issue resonates with him.
Now Edwards is shifting his focus to Hillsborough County where he’s likely to have a tough race on his hands with Beckner. Beckner is running for the second time for Hillsborough County Clerk of Court. A lot of political insiders thought Beckner might have done irreparable damage to his reputation after his first bid four years ago.
Beckner ran a heated campaign and had no reservations about going negative. For those watching the behind the scenes action, it will be interesting to see what direction Edwards takes that campaign.
