Field · Infrastructure · Strategy
Field · Infrastructure · Strategy
Kentucky Democratic operative — director-for-hire

Kentucky field. Modern infrastructure. Twenty years of receipts.

Director-for-hire campaign operations for Democratic candidates who need to actually win on the ground. Field-first. Data-driven. Kentucky-rooted, with strategic and infrastructure work available beyond the state.

Start a campaign conversation Explore the approach
  • 20+ yrs Kentucky Democratic operative since 2004. Field, fundraising, coordinated campaigns, and the systems that hold them together.
  • 2007 Beshear-Mongiardo First operative to coordinate all 120 Kentucky counties on a single GOTV plan — election weekend, every county, one operation.
  • Federal to local Senate, Congress, Governor, Mayor, State House and Senate, county and metro — plus statewide and local coordinated campaigns.
Hard receipts
$2.95 per vote · Jim Gray for U.S. Senate, 2016
42.7% in a Trump-wave year

Second most cost-efficient Democratic Senate performance in Kentucky's modern data set. Field investment over paid media. The case study in why ground game is still the highest-leverage spending on a campaign.

How the practice organizes the work

Strategy. Field. Infrastructure.

Three pillars that turn a campaign idea into something that can win — built around the candidate, the district, and the calendar that actually counts.

01 · Strategy

Strategy

Campaign architecture, message discipline, targeting, fundraising goals, budgets, calendars, and the operational structure that keeps every week pointed at victory.

02 · Field

Field

Coordinated campaigns, GOTV, voter contact, coalition building, and grassroots organizing that meets communities where they actually are. The ground game is the moat.

03 · Infrastructure

Infrastructure

Websites, project management systems, voter data workflows, online fundraising, email and texting, KREF compliance tools, and the modern campaign systems that hold an operation together — without the duct tape.

Capabilities

The full campaign stack.

Tanner Norkus Consulting is a one-person practice led by Lisa Tanner Norkus — a 20-year Kentucky Democratic field operative. The work covers strategy, targeting, field, fundraising, and the modern operational infrastructure that keeps a campaign running. Built for the races that have to actually win on the ground.

KPI

Strategy & Organization

Campaign architecture, targeting, message discipline, budgets, calendars, and team structure that keep every week pointed at victory.

COORD

Coordinated Campaigns

Multi-candidate operations that move whole ballots — shared field, shared data, shared message. Built to lift every Democrat on the slate. Statewide and county-wide coordinated campaign direction is the core specialty.

MSG

Communications

Web, social, email, mail, and press that turn a candidate's real voice into a message voters can understand, trust, and repeat.

GOTV

Field & Coalitions

Grassroots organizing, voter contact, coalition building, and political programs that meet communities where they are.

TECH

Digital & Campaign Tech

Websites, online fundraising, email and texting, data tools, automation, and the modern infrastructure campaigns need to operate at speed and scale.

↗

Growth Systems

List building, coalition expansion, turnout, and the long-term capacity that makes one race the foundation for the next.

ASK

Fundraising

Call time systems, events, online fundraising, donor pipelines, and finance habits that make the math less mysterious and the campaign stronger.

About Lisa Tanner Norkus

Grounded Kentucky strategist. Sharp modern campaign operator.

Since 2004, Lisa Tanner Norkus has worked across politics, nonprofits, and political organizations with a focus on creating lasting progressive change in Kentucky — a 20-year Democratic operative who has run, advised, and built campaigns at every level of the ballot.

She is an advocate for listening to voters through direct contact, then crafting the right campaign for the district. She is not afraid of a tough fight and has worked races against entrenched incumbents — and currently serves the Jefferson County Democratic Party as Vice Chair of Legislative District 41.

Her experience spans campaigns for U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, Mayor, State Senate, State Representative, County Executive, Metro Council, and statewide and local coordinated campaigns — the multi-candidate operations that move whole ballots, not just one race.

A reporter in Wisconsin once called Lisa "a fiery red-headed politico from the South." She brings energy, candor, and a deep respect for voters to every race.
Selected work

Federal, state, and local campaigns.

Winning federal, state, and local campaigns across Kentucky — from Senate and Congress to Governor, Mayor, and local races.

Some past & present clients

Proof

Experience across the ballot.

Federal, state, and local campaign work — from the candidate at the top of the ticket to the down-ballot races that decide which way a county actually runs.

Coordinated
Coordinated Campaigns Multi-candidate operations that move whole ballots — shared field, shared data, shared message — built to lift every Democrat on the slate.
Federal
U.S. Senate
Federal
U.S. Congress
Statewide
Governor
State
State Senate
State
State Representative
Local
Mayor
Local
County Executive
Local
Metro Council
FAQ

Common questions.

What kinds of campaigns does TNC work with?
Tanner Norkus Consulting works at every level of the ballot — U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, Mayor, State Senate, State Representative, County Executive, and Metro Council — plus statewide and local coordinated campaigns: the multi-candidate operations that move whole ballots. The studio scales strategy, fundraising, communications, field, and tech to the size of the race.
Are you only available for races in Kentucky?
Kentucky is home, and Kentucky is where I run hands-on field and coordinated work. For campaigns outside Kentucky, I take strategic and infrastructure engagements remotely — campaign architecture, operational systems, fundraising and field plans you can run with your own team on the ground. If you're outside Kentucky and looking for someone to physically run your operation, I'm not your person.
When in the cycle should we bring in a consultant?
As early as you can. The strongest results come from building infrastructure — message clarity, fundraising systems, coalition map, and field plan — before the race officially begins. Late-cycle support is also available, but the work is sharper when there's runway.
What does an engagement with TNC look like?
Every campaign is different. TNC offers retainer engagements for full-cycle work, project-based engagements for specific deliverables (a fundraising sprint, a communications overhaul, a field plan), and advisory roles for campaigns that already have a team but want experienced strategic counsel.
Do you only work with Democrats and progressive campaigns?
Yes. TNC is a progressive political strategy studio. The work focuses on Democratic and progressive campaigns, organizations, and causes.
Contact

Build the race before the race begins.

Ready to win? Let's talk strategy, field, infrastructure, coordinated campaigns, or communications. Lisa is available for progressive campaigns, organizing, and field-first campaign operations across Kentucky and beyond.

Primary contact Lisa Tanner Norkus
Email lisa@tannernorkus.com
Focus Progressive campaigns, field operations, coordinated campaigns, infrastructure, and message strategy
Email Lisa