Drew Wilson
Veteran Republican political operative Stephen Lawson is launching his own firm.
The new venture is named Battleground Strategies, a nod to Lawson’s experience in Florida and Georgia, two of the most hotly contested political states in the country.
Battleground Strategies will focus on strategic communications and public relations for clients across the political, corporate, and nonprofit sectors.
Lawson will draw on his experience having worked in senior-level positions in the Rick Scott and Ron DeSantis gubernatorial administrations as well as under former Georgia U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
“I’m excited and humbled to launch Battleground Strategies, which has been a dream of mine for some time now. In today’s media landscape, developing an effective plan, understanding your audience, and driving home a winning message is more important than ever,” Lawson told Florida Politics.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to do that for some incredible leaders on some of the biggest stages in politics, and I’m looking forward to delivering that experience and expertise for my clients.”
Lawson is a Tallahassee native who got his start in politics working for the Republican Party of Florida.
After a brief stint working at a boutique research and communications firm advising a wide range of clients, Lawson worked on then-Gov. Scott’s successful reelection campaign in 2014, serving as Rapid Response Director.
After the inauguration, he was tapped to serve as Scott’s Director of Research and Writing, as well as in high-level positions in the Scott administration at Enterprise Florida, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, and VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism marketing arm.
During the 2018 cycle, Lawson joined DeSantis’ gubernatorial campaign as Communications Director, overseeing all messaging, media, communications strategy, and execution across 10 media markets within a $100 million campaign. Lawson worked as the Director of Communications at the Florida Lottery after DeSantis’ inauguration.
Last year, he was recruited to Georgia to serve as the deputy campaign manager and Communications Director for Loeffler’s campaign.
Lawson got his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, where he was a Florida Blue Key member and received a graduate degree from the Florida State University Master’s in Applied American Politics and Policy program.
