Meet the Path to Victory team.
We’ve managed state, local, and federal campaigns, worked with independent groups to achieve electoral success, led nonprofit and corporate organizations on public relations and message development, and shattered fundraising records.
Whether it’s helping a campaign quickly build the structure and systems they need to get off the ground, or bringing a campaign across the finish line – we’re ready to be a part of your next victory.
Josh Henderson
Founding Partner
Josh Henderson has more than a decade of experience in electoral politics and advocacy, specializing in helping candidates and organizations mobilize and organize their supporters to succeed in campaigns, advocacy, and politics.
Most recently, Josh led Get Out the Vote efforts for the Biden Campaign in Wisconsin. Prior to that, Josh was an advisor for the 2018 Wisconsin Coordinated Campaign that successfully defeated two-term incumbent Scott Walker and re-elected Senator Tammy Baldwin by a record margin. He also led The Arena PAC’s successful efforts in 8 House of Delegates races in 2017 in Virginia. Josh is also an alum of the 2008 and 2012 Obama campaigns and was part of the founding class of President Obama’s Organizing Fellowship.
Josh also has extensive experience in state-level advocacy campaigns, having worked on campaigns to expand access to high-quality public schools in Washington, DC, Massachusetts, New York City, Connecticut and Illinois. Josh also served in the Obama Administration at the US Department of Education, leading efforts to expand access to income-based repayment plans for student loans. Josh is a Teach for America alumnus, where he taught US Government at an underserved high school in Washington, DC.
Josh was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and currently lives with his wife in Madison, WI.
Email: josh@pathtovictory.co
Sam Roecker
Founding Partner
Sam Roecker is an experienced campaign manager, spokesperson, and strategist who works with campaigns and organizations across the country.
Since founding Path to Victory in 2018, Sam has played key roles in campaigns from the local to presidential level. With a strong background in communications, he has worked extensively with reporters across the country and served as a spokesperson for high-profile campaigns and causes.
Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Sam has been involved in the state's recent progressive victories. During the 2022 election cycle, he served as a senior advisor and deputy campaign manager to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers' re-election campaign, overseeing the campaign's communications, digital, and research departments. Evers’ victory was the first time since 1962 that Wisconsin elected a Democratic governor while Democrats held the White House.
Sam has also helped elect two members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, leading to the court's current progressive majority. He was a consultant and spokesperson for Justice Jill Karofsky's election in April 2020 – one of the first statewide elections during the pandemic – and served in the same role for Justice Janet Protasiewicz' historic victory that flipped control of the court in 2023.
In addition to his work in Wisconsin, he has consulted on earned media, paid media, and campaign strategy for candidates, organizations, and corporate clients across the country.
Spending more than a decade in Iowa, he was previously the communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party through the 2012 Iowa Caucus season and was the Iowa State Director for John Hickenlooper's 2020 presidential campaign. Most recently, he was the general consultant for Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen's election in 2023, electing a woman to the mayor's office for the first time in the city's history.
He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism and Mass Communication and currently lives in Madison, WI.
Email: sam@pathtovictory.com
Twitter: @samroecker
Lara Henderson
Partner
Lara Henderson has relationships with top donors, influencers, and organizations across the country. She was named Democratic Fundraiser of the Year for 2020 by the American Association of Political Consultants.
Lara led the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to a record-shattering fundraising haul of over $60M during the 2020 cycle as their Senior Finance Advisor. In that role, she managed the finance department and oversaw all major gifts. She also was an integral part of the party’s eight innovative grassroots fundraisers including the Princess Bride and Rocky Horror Show script-reads which raised a combined total of over $7.5M. The Princess Bride event was a viral sensation and put grassroots fundraisers on the map, creating a model for campaigns and committees across the country.
She later worked with Jon Ossoff for Senate and Warnock for Georgia on grassroots fundraisers for the January runoff including the Hamilton Holiday Celebration which raised over $2.5M. Collectively, Lara has produced more than 15 grassroots celebrity events that have raised over $12M.
Lara was the Iowa State Director for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s presidential campaign and was named one of the Des Moines Register’s “50 Most Wanted Democrats” for the 2020 Iowa Caucus. She also served as the Finance Director for Fred Hubbell’s 2018 campaign for Iowa Governor, raising over $21 million – more than double the previous Iowa gubernatorial record.
Lara is a graduate of the Drake University College of Arts and Sciences and lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband Sam Roecker and dog Ozzie.
Email: lara@pathtovictory.co
Haley Barbour
Principal
Haley Barbour has raised millions of dollars for Democratic candidates across the Midwest, including races in Iowa, Kansas, and Wisconsin. She most recently was the Finance Director for Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers’ 2022 re-election campaign, raising over $46M into the candidate committee alone and advising on the millions raised into separate affiliated committees. Haley raised nearly $30M while serving in the same role for Barbara Bollier’s 2020 US Senate race in Kansas.
Haley got her start in politics in Des Moines, IA as a field organizer on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential campaign. In 2018, Haley was the Deputy Finance Director for Fred Hubbell’s Iowa gubernatorial campaign. The following cycle, she served as the Iowa political director for U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand during her 2020 presidential run before heading to Kansas.
Haley is a native of Kansas City and graduated college from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She now resides in Madison, Wisconsin.
Email: haley@pathtovictory.co